As Naver Webtoon, South Korea’s leading digital comics platform, prepares to make its Nasdaq debut this year, small and medium-sized webtoon platforms targeting niche markets are garnering attention for their specialized content. These platforms focus on adult or educational content to differentiate and expand their presence in the competitive webtoon market.
The global webtoon market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 36.8%, from $3.7 billion in 2021 to $56.1 billion, or 77 trillion won, by 2030, according to market research firm AMR on June 10.
The webtoon industry consists of writers who create content, agencies that manage these writers and oversee production and distribution, and platforms that distribute the webtoons to consumers. Naver and Kakao currently dominate the global platforms for webtoons, including Korea, Japan, and the U.S.
Topco’s webtoon platform, Toptoon, differentiates itself with adult 18+ content aimed at men. Topco distributes its domestic Toptoon content in Japan through its subsidiary Topco Media and operates a local platform called “Toptoon Japan,” which had 2.6 million members as of May. The year-end target is 3.5 million members. Japan is a market dominated by Naver’s Line Manga and Kakao’s Kakao Piccoma.
Topco generated 67 billion won in revenue last year, while Topco Media posted an annual revenue of 19.2 billion won. Adult content, which typically offers ten free views, has a higher conversion rate than other genres. “Considering that Line Manga and Piccoma have surpassed the sales of domestic platforms, Topco Japan is also expected to grow rapidly,” said Baek Jun-ki, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities.
Contents First has been producing and distributing more than 60 original webtoons a year since 2021 through its global webtoon platform, Tappytoon. Tappytoon boasts 8 million members in more than 240 countries and offers webtoons in English, French, and German. In 2021, Naver acquired a 25% stake in Contents First for 33.4 billion won.
The educational webtoon platform Emanbae - short for “learning through comics” - provides over 180 works across 12 fields, including history, medicine, science, economics, mythology, and humanities. Of these, 70%, or more than 130, are exclusive to Emanbae. As an educational comic platform, it primarily targets young audiences in their 20s keen on self-improvement.
Postype is an open platform for webtoon creators who cannot provide their content on larger platforms. Anyone can upload their content, decide whether to charge it and set the price. More than 5 million people visit the platform every month. Since the service was launched in 2015, the revenue content creators earned has accumulated to over 100 billion won.
“Giant platforms such as Naver and Kakao are absorbing talented writers and quality content, which is why the domestic webtoon ecosystem is focused on content providers rather than platform building,” said an industry insider. “The remaining platforms have no choice but to cater to niche tastes or turn to overseas markets.”
