Three of the most widely read Daum Webtoon titles in South Korea: (L) “Cashero,” (C) “Girl in the Mirror” and (R) “Just One Shot.” (Photo : Daum)
Online comic strip lovers may jump for joy at this one: the country’s latest import comes in the form of webtoons.
Huace Film & TV and South Korea’s Kakao Corp. joined forces to show five webtoons in China from Daum Webtoon, Kakao’s Web comic platform, according to Kakao’s official website.
The March 14 press release said that the two companies signed an agreement allowing Huace Film & TV to distribute five Daum Webtoon titles “across China.”
Established in Oct. 2005 and headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China Huace Film & TV Co. Ltd. (Huace Film & TV), on its website, presents itself as “a comprehensive film and TV media group focused on investment, production and distribution of film and television dramas.”
Founded on Feb. 16, 1995, Daum Communications Corp. merged with Kakao Corp. in Oct. 2014 and became Daum Kakao Corp.
On Sept. 23, 2015, the company renamed itself as Kakao Corp. and holds its headquarters in Jeju Science Park, Jeju-do.
Through this business deal, Kakao’s webtoon authors can “reach out to their current and potential fans in China,” said Iggy Park, head of the Daum Webtoon team.
“Cashero,” “Girl in the Mirror,” “Help! Breakup Ghost” and “Just One Shot,” the selected titles, “will be reproduced into movies, TV dramas or Web dramas,” according to the press release.
“To follow imminently,” according to Kakao, will be “My Boss Dies Once a Day.”
Kakao said that these webtoons “are proven hits” in its country.
Jean Noh, writing for Screendaily.com, said that “Cashero” is “a comic drama about an impoverished but feisty brother and sister making their way in the world.”
Noh said that “Help! Breakup Ghost” is a “supernatural fantasy,” “Just One Shot” is a “gambling mystery” and “My Boss Dies Once a Day” is about a “one-sided office romance.”
The fantasy “Girl in the Mirror” narrates the life of Jin-Uk who meets someone who looks exactly like So-Hee, his former girlfriend, whom he is trying to win back. He also has a doppelganger “destined to kill him,” according to Manga Updates.
Published on mobile and online platforms, Web cartoons--webtoons--are referred to as as animated or digital comic strips/comics or Internet-based comic strips.
Caroline Nixon and Michael Tomlinson explained to children that webtoons are “cartoons for the Internet” in their book, “Kid’s Box (Pupil's Book 5),” published by Cambridge University Press in Aug. 2009.
American author Michael Duggan referred to “webtoon” as another term for “Flash animated cartoons” in his 2010 book, “PSP Game Creation for Teens.”
Graphic artists use the multimedia and software platform Flash (Adobe Flash Player) in digital animation and in creating mobile, desktop and Internet applications.
Canadian animator Michael John “John K.” Kricfalus created an Adobe Flash cartoon series, and the “live animated serial cartoon” was launched on Oct. 15, 1997, reported Wired.
Animation World Network said on its website that it “was the first cartoon series to be produced exclusively for the Internet.”
Kim Suk, a Korean senior researcher at Korea Creative Content Agency, said that webtoons are “tailored for the Internet age,” reported an online edition of wknd., Khaleej Times’ magazine.
Kim said that smartphones “really fuelled” the growth of webtoons.
Korean Web portals Daum and Naver introduced webtoons in their country in 2003 and 2005, respectively, reported Arirang News.
Huace Film & TV “will continue to discover and introduce more valuable content to the Chinese viewers,” said Jon Chiew, the firm’s global business head.
It seems that Huace made a good discovery by introducing five top-rating Korean webtoons in the country.
