Lydia Kim
In South Korea, worlds built within comic panels are increasingly finding fame beyond their original format. The South Korean webtoon industry has achieved global success through an adaptation strategy called the one-source, multi-use (OSMU) model, in which popular webcomics are adapted into derivative works such as dramas, films, video games, animations, books, musicals, exhibitions, and merchandise.1 Some famous examples include Solo Leveling (Anime of the Year at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards), All of Us Are Dead (one of the most-watched Netflix series of all time), and Sweet Home (the first South Korean series to enter Netflix's U.S. Top 10).2 By using the OSMU strategy to "monetize a single story across multiple media formats and geographies," analysts say that established original works with strong brand identities and fanbases can continue to generate profits beyond their source material, while reducing creation costs and minimizing uncertainty risks.3
But let us scroll back to the beginning. While Korean webtoons may be unfamiliar to many, these vertical-scrolling online comics generated total revenue of ₩1.83 trillion (about $1.28 billion) in 2022, up 16.8% annually.4 And if 11 years ago, about 20% of the entire South Korean population was reading webtoons daily, this number has only grown in the past decade.5 Industry growth relies on a symbiotic relationship between webtoon creators who offer lucrative IP and webtoon platforms that offer creatives a platform to spread that IP. As business booms, these platforms have looked to leverage this IP to diversify their businesses and adapt it to other mediums.6 From 2006 to 2021, 28 films, 62 dramas, and 10 feature-length animations based on webtoons were released in South Korea. From 2020 to 2021, 24 webtoon-based series were released on Netflix.8
However, the rights to these derivative works do not always belong to the creators. Much like U.S. copyright law, South Korea's law grants the author the right to reproduce and create derivative works based on their original work.9 Yet, earlier this year, the Korean Federal Trade Commission (KFTC) found over 1,000 unfair contract clauses across 23 webtoon content platforms and publishers (e.g., total transfer of derivative rights, forced co-authorship, moral right infringement, unilateral contract extensions, unfair payment, and excess liability imposed on creators), all of which violate principles of Korean copyright and contract law.10 Creators under these terms were effectively deprived of their right to create secondary works—a critical issue given the number of works increasingly being adapted under the OSMU strategy. Interestingly enough, in 2018, the KFTC had already investigated the terms and conditions of various webtoon platforms, and in 2024, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the KFTC released a notice stating that they had drafted two standard contracts and various amendments to address secondary works and creator rights.11 As unfair practices persisted, they expanded their search to other content providers and serialization platforms—uncovering a goldmine of unfair contract provisions.12
Though the Korean webtoon industry continues to expand rapidly and its derivative works capture global audiences, the practice of depriving creators of their statutory right to these secondary works through unfair contracts undermines the trust of the entire industry. Fortunately, the KFTC plans to take strict measures to prevent the use and exploitation of unfair clauses against creators.13 Webtoons have been depicted as stories that develop and evolve in real time as a user scrolls, with a magical ability to help storytellers unleash their creativity: "The use of white space highlights a character's isolation and loneliness. A crowded panel creates chaos. Long blank panels build suspense. Action words and onomatopoeia, sometimes bursting out of the four corners of the panel, bring a vivid sense of motion and sound to still images."14 Though these storytellers have the tools to create stories for the masses, many are under-equipped to protect the most important story—their own. Here's hoping they can give themselves the happy ending they deserve.
[1] 박인하 [Park In-Ha], 디지털 만화, ‘웹툰’의 전성시대 [Digital Cartoons, the Heyday of ‘Webtoon’], KDI 경제교육 [KDI Economic Education] (Jul. 31, 2014), https://eiec.kdi.re.kr/material/clickView.do?click_yymm=201408&cidx=2213 [https://perma.cc/HUC9-LMPH] (S. Kor.).
[2] Anime Awards 2025 Winners: Anime of the Year and Full List, Crunchyroll (May 24, 2025), https://www.crunchyroll.com/hi/news/latest/2025/5/24/anime-awards-2025-winners-list [https://perma.cc/9CUV-HCDX]; Kasy Moore, Netflix’s Most Watched Series and Movies Ever, What’s On Netflix (Oct. 1, 2025), https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/what-to-watch/most-watched-series-movies-of-all-time-hours-watched/ [https://perma.cc/T5E4-K26T]; Lim Jang-Won, ‘I Almost Became a Monster’, The Korea Herald (Dec. 22, 2020), https://www.koreaherald.com/article/2521733 [https://perma.cc/5C7Q-BUWN].
[3] WEBTOON ENTERTAINMENT INC., Registration Statement Under the Securities Act of 1933 (Form S-1) (May 31, 2024); 김영재 [Kim Young-Jae], 브랜드 아이덴티티 기반 문화콘텐츠 OSMU 전략 연구 [A Conceptual Framework for One Source Multi Use Strategy of Culture Content], 28 만화애니메이션연구 [Cartoon and Animation Studies] 155, 157 (2012) (S. Kor.).
[4] 오현석다라 [Oh Hyun-Seok Dara] et al., 웹툰산업의 지난 10년, 그리고 지속성장을 위한 과제 [The Last Decade of the Webtoon Industry and Challenges for Sustainable Growth], KOCCA Focus, vol. 172 (2024) (S. Kor.).
[5] Park, supra note 1.
[6] 김상임 [Kim Sang-Im] & 이영주 [Lee Yeong-Ju], 웹툰 플랫폼의 국제적 다각화 전략: 네이버웹툰과 카카오웹툰의 일본 진출 사례를 중심으로 [International Diversification Strategy of Webtoon Platforms: Focusing on Naver and Kakao Webtoon in Japan], 66 만화애니메이션연구 [Cartoon and Animation Studies] 589, 607 (2022) (S. Kor.).
[7] Id. at 595.
[8] Id.
[9] Jeojakgwonbeob [Copyright Law] art. 22 (S. Kor.).
[10] Kim Su-Jeong, Webtoon Providers in South Korea Face Scrutiny for Unfair Contract Practices, Chosun Biz (May 18, 2025), https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-it/2025/05/18/US5NE5GALVE6RGJ2UZ5PDGKPHE/ [https://perma.cc/5LQ7-28V9].
[11] Id.; Press Release, South Korea Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism & South Korea Federal Trade Commission, 만화·웹툰 분야 공정환경 조성 위한 표준계약서 제‧개정안 확정 고시 [Announcement of the Final Decision on the Enactment and Amendment of the Standard Contract to Create a Fair Environment in the Comic and Webtoon Fields] (Jun. 13, 2024), https://www.korea.kr/briefing/pressReleaseView.do?newsId=156635401 [https://perma.cc/Y9GT-ZWRA].
[12] Kim, supra note 10.
[13] Id.
[14] WEBTOON, supra note 3, at vi.