Webtoon readers in South Korea have chosen the martial arts series Return of the Blossoming Blade as their favorite, according to the 2024 survey on comics and webtoon usage released by the Korea Creative Content Agency on Dec. 15.
The survey, conducted among 3,448 webtoon users, ranked Return of the Blossoming Blade at the top of the list. This marks a shift from the past three years, during which Lookism held the No. 1 spot. Lookism was pushed to second place this year.
Return of the Blossoming Blade tells the story of Cheongmyeong, a martial arts master from the Mount Hua Sect who dies and reincarnates 100 years later. Finding his sect in decline, he sets out to rebuild its former glory. The series originated as a web novel, which has recorded 700 million cumulative downloads on Naver Series. Its webtoon adaptation has also enjoyed immense success, with its second season generating 4 billion won ($3 million) in revenue within just one day of its release in June 2023.
Meanwhile, Lookism follows the life of Park Hyung-seok, a bullied and impoverished high school student who gains a new, attractive body and navigates the complexities of his transformed life. Created by Park Tae-joon, who leads Park Tae-joon Comics Company, the webtoon has been serialized since Nov. 2014 and is now in its tenth year. It boasts over 10 billion cumulative views.
