Why are Naver Webtoons becoming South Korea's hottest source for k-drama content?

South Korean webtoons in recent years have seen a massive boom after the popularity of k-dramas on a global level. Webtoons, aka digital comics, have become a treasure for k-dramas adaptations for several renowned makers, topping the charts in many countries. These web-based comics include tropes of romance, action, mystery and visual appeal, which transition to become some of the most watched and highest-rated TV shows.

Why do producers choose webtoons as the safer bet for k-dramas?

Webtoons from South Korea are right now the hottest source for most of the production houses as they offer a reliable and ready-made source for cast and crew. In addition, not much time is wasted on storylines or frameworks of the story. Apart from the production cost restrictions, webtoon creators aren't bound by any obstacle.

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Another angle is that if a particular webtoon is already popular amongst the audience, it already attracts more attention with the announcement of making a show on it; for example, the highly anticipated one is Solo Levelling, which will star Byeon Woo Seok in the lead role.

K-dramas based on webtoons which gained global recognition

Several shows, based on webtoons, which have premiered on several streaming platforms, have become a massive source of intellectual property, ultimately leading to the global success of k-dramas. Some of the prominent webtoon based k-dramas in recent times that have achieved worldwide recognition are the following:

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Sweet Home

Sweet Home premiered on Netflix in 2020 and has three seasons. It tells the story of humans turning into savage monsters; however, one troubled teenager and his neighbours fight to survive and to hold onto their humanity. It is based on the Naver webtoon of the same name by Kim Carnby and Hwang Young Chan.

Lovely Runner

The time-bending romance drama Lovely Runner, premiered in 2024, is based on the web novel

Tomorrow's Best by author Kim Bbang, which was later adapted into an illustrated webtoon. It tells the story of a devoted fan, Im Sol, who travels fifteen years back to prevent the death of her idol and crush Ryu Sun Jae. The novel's success led to a serialised webtoon illustrated and adapted by Doong Doong. It is available to watch on Netflix.

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True Beauty

One of the most popular shows in South Korea, it is based on the global comic of the same name by artist Yaongyi. The webcomic originally ran on the Webtoon platform from 2018 till 2023. The show aired in 2020 and went on in 2021. True Beauty tells the story of Jugyeong Lim, a high schooler who is bullied for being perceived as ugly until she learns makeup techniques from online video tutorials. After facing bullying for quite some time, she stuns everyone in the school, she achieves overwhelming popularity by transforming herself into a gorgeous lady. But she gets caught in a love triangle, which leads to her self-discovery and deciding her love on her own.

Itaewon Class

Itaewon Class is directly based on the South Korean webtoon of the same name and was written and illustrated by Jo Gwang Jin. The webcomic was published on Daum Webtoon from December 2016 to July 2018. The show, available to watch on Netflix, was released in 2021. It follows the story of an ex-con named Park Seo Ro Yi, who was jailed in tragic circumstances and overcomes immense hardships alongside his ambitious friends. He opens a street bar in Seoul's Itaewon district to fight back against a corrupt food conglomerate, which is responsible for Park's troubled life.

Extraordinary You

The 2019 k-drama is based on a webtoon titled July Found by Chance by MooRyoo, which was later serialised on the Daum Webtoon platform. It tells the story of a high school girl who finds out that she is merely a character from a comic book whose identity is decided by the writer; she decides to change the plot to suit her desires and find the love of her life. It is available to watch on Netflix.

How have streaming platforms accelerated the boom of the webtoon and k-drama worlds?

In a precise manner, streaming platforms have made the webtoon boom by transforming it into a premier source of intellectual property. The main fundamentals for this process is market-tested IP (comments, likes and popularity of a particular webtoon and episode-by-episode engagement would make one of the key factors for giving a green light to turn it into a show) and diversified platforms (basically adapting the webtoons into shows to deepen their cultural footprint across different regions, making it more trending and worthy to watch).

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Moreover, the global reach of several streaming services and particular ones like Viki and Viu has made it possible to help introduce the new audience to following the shows and webtoons. Henceforth, as platforms continue to approach new strategies to make it more reliable for the viewers to have access to such content, it makes it a potential thing that in the near future probably a loyal fandom will slowly build up.