MediBang Partners with Korea Webtoon Industry Association to Boost Global Webtoon Market

MediBang and KWIA Forge New Path for Webtoon Industry

MediBang, a leading developer of painting applications with over 100 million downloads worldwide, has embarked on a strategic partnership with the Korea Webtoon Industry Association (KWIA). This collaboration was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at advancing and promoting the Korean webtoon industry.

A Growing Global Webtoon Market

In recent years, the market for webtoons—comics optimized for smartphones—has seen significant and rapid growth globally. Particularly in Japan, the presence of webtoons is steadily increasing, projected to account for over 10% of total electronic comic sales by the fiscal year 2024. This remarkable expansion offers Japanese creators new avenues for innovation and income, serving as a gateway to global challenges.

Promoting Collaboration and Creator Support

As part of the partnership, MediBang and KWIA aim to foster technical sharing and know-how in the production of manga and webtoons. This strategic alliance is designed to quickly address specific production challenges faced by webtoon studios and enhance the competitiveness of MediBang’s creator-focused products, such as MediBang Paint.

Strengthening Cultural Exchanges Between Japan and Korea

Both organizations will collaborate on hosting webtoon-related events, seminars, and creator development programs to promote cultural exchange between Japan and Korea within the content industry. Leveraging each other's networks, they will facilitate the distribution of outstanding Korean webtoon works to the Japanese market and support Japanese manga and webtoon development within Korea.

Development of Global Webtoon IP Business

Korea stands out as a powerhouse in the digital content field, producing a multitude of highly talented creators whose creative capabilities are among the best globally. Through this partnership, MediBang’s global creator base—along with its multilingual translation and distribution network—will merge with KWIA’s webtoon industry ecosystem, aiming to create high-quality webtoon works and extend them into overseas markets. This includes adaptations into anime, games, and other multimedia. The goal is to maximize IP value while expanding creators' revenue opportunities and contributing to the sustainable development of the global webtoon industry.

The Korea Webtoon Industry Association (KWIA)

Established on October 28, 2015, the Korea Webtoon Industry Association (KWIA) is dedicated to expanding the cultural value of Korean webtoons and fostering the growth of the webtoon industry. Comprising major webtoon platform operators and production companies, the association aims to advance the industry as a whole while enhancing international competitiveness. The current chairman is So Bum-gang.

About MediBang

MediBang operates under the mission of enabling anyone worldwide to become a creator. Their flagship products include MediBang Paint, MediBang Pro, and ART street, an illustration and manga submission site, along with the Jump official manga production software, Jump PAINT.

For more details, visit MediBang's official site and follow them on Twitter.