A sharply dressed office worker scolds into a phone, “You can’t work like this,” as a boss chuckles approvingly in the background, saying, “That’s enough, hohoho.” Captioned “Pretending to be angry while actually not caring at all,” the comic captures workplace antics with wit and bold, vibrant visuals resembling North American comic art. The single-panel cartoon is the creation of Ji Chang-hyun, 29, who shares his work on Instagram under the handle “Kimtoesa.”
Such cartoons are part of a growing trend known as “Instatoons,” where creators publish comics directly on Instagram. Accounts like “Geupyang Manwa,” blending proverbs into modern tales for 200,000 followers, and “Amoi Toon,” chronicling family life for 100,000 followers, showcase the platform’s reach. The hashtag “#Instatoon” boasts over 2.37 million posts as of Nov. 27, with many amateur creators migrating from forums and blogs to Instagram. For instance, “Geupyang Manwa” began on DC Inside forums before expanding to Naver Blog and Instagram.
Instagram’s rise as a comics hub is evident in the Korea Creative Content Agency’s 2024 White Paper on Comics. Among domestic webtoon users, 20.9% now read comics on Instagram, surpassing Kakao Webtoon (20.8%) for the first time—a leap from just 5.9% in 2021.
Unlike traditional webtoon platforms, many Instatoon creators, such as Ji, operate independently, posting directly to social media. Drawing on three years of office life, Ji has amassed 57,000 followers in six months. His growing popularity has led to collaborations, including anti-drowsiness gum featuring his characters, and a pop-up store opening in Seoul on Nov. 29. “Instagram’s format is ideal for single-panel comics—it’s easy to share widely and go viral,” Ji said.
An Instagram spokesperson emphasized the platform’s compatibility with comics, supporting various image formats and allowing targeted hashtags like #ParentingToon or #BrandToon. Pop culture critic Ha Jae-geun observed that Instatoons align with a growing preference for short-form content, noting, “Rather than competing with long-form webtoons, Instatoons excel as a distinct genre, thriving in their own space.”
