Latest news with #NaverWebtoon
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Naver Webtoon to launch new short-form video service
New service Cuts to offer original series by popular webtoon artists Naver Webtoon is set to launch a new short-form video service called Cuts, designed to offer a new webtoon experience. On Monday, the company unveiled Cuts via a special episode of the hit series "My Daughter Is a Zombie." With the film adaptation of "My Daughter Is a Zombie" slated to premiere Wednesday, the episode doubled as a cross-promotional effort, featuring characters from the webtoon teasing the movie while introducing the new Cuts platform. According to the webtoon episode, Naver Webtoon will debut 'A Day in the Life of Ms. Kim Ae-yong' (translated), a slice-of-life comedy starring Ae-yong, the feline character from "My Daughter Is a Zombie," exclusively on Cuts. The series will follow the daily lives of the webtoon's family members, with the cat as the series' main protagonist. Additional original series by popular webtoon creators are also in the pipeline for the platform. Slated to roll out in September, Cuts marks a shift from the traditional vertical-scroll webtoon format by offering webtoon series as short-form video content. The move follows Naver Webtoon's earlier foray into short-form with the New & Hot feature launched in May on its North American platform. New & Hot focused on recaps of existing webtoons in a short-form format, whereas the upcoming Korean launch will blend both recap content and exclusive original productions. Cuts arrives as Generation Z and young Millennial audiences — the core consumers of webtoons — increasingly turn to short-form video as their medium of choice. According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's 2024 Youth Media Usage and Harmful Environment Survey released in April, 94 percent of Korean students from grades 4 to 6 in elementary school, as well as middle and high schoolers, reported that they consumed short-form content. In April, Kakao Entertainment also stepped into the format, launching Helix Shorts, which features AI-generated videos designed to promote webtoons on Kakao Page.
Pink Villa
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Lee Min Ho's Omniscient Reader The Prophet: Original web novel storyline to star cast and budget, 5 things to know before watching
Korean fantasy cinema is getting a major upgrade as Omniscient Reader: The Prophet prepares for its theatrical release. The film brings action, mysticism, and an alternate reality pulled straight from an internationally beloved webnovel. Set to hit theaters on July 23, 2025, here are five essential things to know before it arrives on the big screen. Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint inspires big-screen adaptation The movie takes inspiration from Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, a bestselling webnovel created by the duo Sing Shong. First launched in 2018 on Korea's Munpia platform, the novel became a cultural force. It amassed over 200 million views despite its sprawling length of more than 1 million words. International readers quickly caught on, thanks to the gripping plot, philosophical depth, and unpredictable twists. In 2020, a webtoon adaptation illustrated by Redice Studio brought the story to life visually through Naver Webtoon and LINE Webtoon. It further expanded its global fanbase. An anime adaptation is also currently in production, announced at Anime Expo 2024. Omniscient Reader: The Prophet storyline The heart of the story follows Kim Dok Ja, an unremarkable office worker. He becomes trapped in the plot of the web novel he's been obsessively reading for years: Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World. Unlike others, he alone knows the story's full arc, including how it ends. As his familiar world collapses into chaos, Kim must team up with Yoo Joong Hyuk, the novel's invincible hero. Yoo possesses the ability to resurrect after death. Together, the unlikely pair face supernatural trials, monstrous beings, and a collapsing reality. What begins as fiction becomes Dok Ja's new world, and his knowledge is humanity's only hope. Ahn Hyo Seop and Lee Min Ho lead a star-studded cast Bringing these complex characters to life is a top-tier cast. Ahn Hyo Seop makes his big-screen debut as Kim Dok Ja. Chae Soo Bin plays Yoo Sang Ah, his loyal and quick-thinking colleague who sticks by him through the storm. Shin Seung Ho and Nana portray two major supporting characters: former soldier Lee Hyun Sung and goddess-like warrior Jung Hee Won, respectively. Veteran actor Park Ho San plays real estate mogul Gong Pil Du. Meanwhile Choi Young Joon portrays company manager Han Myung Oh. Both of whom get pulled into the new world order alongside Kim. Meanwhile, global star Lee Min Ho takes on the role of Yoo Joong Hyuk. He plays the charismatic and immortal main protagonist of the original novel. Adding even more star power, BLACKPINK's Jisoo portrays Lee Ji Hye. She's a fierce fighter and key ally in Joong Hyuk's team. Omniscient Reader: The Prophet had a jaw-dropping production budget of 30 billion KRW (approx. 22 million USD). This makes it one of the most expensive Korean fantasy productions to date. It's helmed by acclaimed director Kim Byung Woo, known for The Terror Live and Take Point. The film promises grand-scale action sequences, world-building, and visual storytelling of the highest order. From cutting-edge CGI to massive set pieces, every element of the production reflects its epic ambition. Fans of large-scale stories and world-shattering conflict won't be disappointed. Lee Min Ho returns to big screen After a decade After years of dominating K-dramas, Lee Min Ho is finally returning to theaters. His last major film appearance was in 2016's Bounty Hunters. Although countless offers came his way, he chose to step away from movies for nearly ten years. In a recent press conference, he shared, 'Honestly, it feels like a lot of pressure. Movies have a clear metric for success ticket sales. So it feels like I'm waiting to be judged.' With this ambitious role, Min Ho hopes to break boundaries and remind audiences of his range and screen presence.
Korea Herald
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Naver Webtoon's 'Wind Breaker' joins growing list of plagiarism cancellations
Popular series removed from platform after tracing allegations, highlighting systemic challenges in South Korea's digital comics market A decadelong franchise came to an abrupt end last week when Naver Webtoon pulled one of its most popular series from the platform after plagiarism allegations were confirmed. "Wind Breaker," a sports webtoon about a high schooler who discovers his passion for competitive cycling, had amassed over 600 million views since its 2013 debut. Created by Jo Yong-seok, the series followed protagonist Jo "Jay" Ja-Hyun as he broke into amateur racing circuits and built friendships through a cycling team. Controversy erupted on June 30 when readers noticed similarities between episode 176 and panels from the Japanese manga "Tokyo Ghoul." Side-by-side comparisons of the illustrations that show nearly identical compositions and character poses spread rapidly online. The artist made changes to the disputed artwork without any public acknowledgment. Throughout early July, users uncovered more instances of apparent copying from various Japanese manga and fan art. Each discovery prompted silent edits to the webtoon, which drew further criticism from fans who saw the unannounced changes as dishonest. On Friday, both Jo and Naver Webtoon issued statements acknowledging the allegations. "Among the reference materials I used during production, some scenes ended up being very similar to — or nearly identical in expression to — those from other works," Jo wrote in Korean. "This is clearly my fault." Jo posted the story's draft ending on his blog before the work was permanently removed from Naver's platform Saturday. A pattern in the industry Tracing represents one of the most blatant forms of plagiarism in the comics industry. It involves copying the exact composition, poses and angles from existing work — often by literally drawing over the original or reproducing it nearly identically. "Wind Breaker" adds to a growing list of webtoons canceled mid-publication over plagiarism. In 2018, veteran artist Kim Sung-mo's "High School Chronicle" was pulled after readers discovered traced panels from Takehiko Inoue's basketball manga "Slam Dunk." The plagiarism problem on the platform extends beyond traced illustrations. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" was pulled in 2021 after accusations of imitating character designs and layouts from Naoki Urasawa's "Monster" manga and the "Evangelion" anime series. In 2023, "Desperate to Date" faced cancellation over similarities in scripting and panel layouts to the popular manga "Kaguya-sama: Love is War." Following the "Wind Breaker" fallout, a Naver Webtoon official said the platform has enforced stricter internal measures since 2023. The company conducts regular monitoring and provides educational guidelines to creators, the official added. Gray areas Under South Korean copyright law, tracing constitutes an act of reproduction, defined as fixing or recreating work through any method. The reproduction does not need to be identical; substantial similarity is enough to establish infringement. Unauthorized tracing for commercial purposes can violate both reproduction and transmission rights, according to guidelines published by the Culture Ministry. What makes these cases tricky is that plagiarism remains a complaint-based offense in South Korea, as is the case in many other countries. Without the original rights holder pressing charges, these cases rarely become legal matters. This means that platforms can move on after terminating contracts and removing content. Given the absence of legal proceedings, some in the webtoon community have downplayed the gravity of these incidents. In 2021, the artist known as "248," who creates "Iseop's Romance" for Naver Webtoon, posted in the platform's comment section defending colleagues who had faced similar accusations. While acknowledging that tracing was "unethical," the artist argued that the practice should not result in career-ending consequences, particularly given the lack of legal action from original creators. "Comics artists should be more cautious about this issue," said an industry official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We're in an era when viewers are paying to view work, and they have very high awareness about these issues. It's up to the artists to raise the standard."
The Star
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Webtoon on teacher-student romance pulled, drama cancelled amid backlash
The webtoon received the excellence award at the inaugural World Comics Contest hosted by Lezhin Comics in 2014. Photo: Handout The webtoon The Elementary School Student I Love , which has drawn widespread criticism for depicting a romantic storyline between an elementary school teacher and her student, has been pulled from distribution across major platforms, with plans for a live-action adaptation also being scrapped in response to the mounting controversy. As of now, the series is no longer available for purchase on Naver Series. 'We suspended sales of the webtoon as a precautionary measure in response to widespread user feedback suggesting there could be potential issues. There is no set date for resumption of the webtoon series,' an official from Naver Webtoon told The Korea Herald on Friday. Kakaopage has also removed access to the title. 'After recognising the related issue, we consulted with the publisher and decided to suspend sales of the work,' said a Kakao Entertainment official, noting that a return date has not been determined. Additional platforms have followed suit. Kyobo Book Center, South Korea's largest bookstore chain, blocked search results for the series from its digital content platform on Thursday. Digital content provider Ridi has likewise removed the series from its platform. The move to suspend distribution follows intense backlash after news broke that the webtoon was being developed as a television series. The adaptation, previously announced by C&C Revolution — the original publisher — was slated to be directed by Jung Sung-hyun with a script by Jung Se-hyuk, known for theatrical work including Rooftop Room Cat . Further details, including casting and release timelines, had yet to be announced. Serialised on multiple webtoon platforms from 2015 to 2020, The Elementary School Student I Love centres on Shim Cheong-ah, an elementary school teacher who forms a connection with an online gaming partner who is later revealed to be her student, Im Dang-su. Shim initially develops romantic feelings for the online game player, but those feelings turn platonic after she discovers the truth. The series received the excellence award at the inaugural World Comics Contest hosted by Lezhin Comics in 2014. Despite its accolades, the title faced intense backlash following news of its planned drama adaptation. The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations issued a statement Tuesday condemning both the source material and its adaptation, stating: 'Attempts to sexualise children under the guise of creativity and artistic originality can never be justified.' The KFTA added, 'Considering the harmful impact this drama could have on society and educational settings, as well as the potential violence it may inflict on children and adolescents, we strongly urge an immediate halt to production.' The group further argued that portraying a teacher developing romantic feelings for an underage student is 'a clear glamorisation of grooming' and not a legitimate form of storytelling in any genre. In response to the backlash, production company Meta New Line confirmed via a local outlet on Friday that it would abandon the adaptation plans. 'We accept the voices of concern that have been raised socially with a heavy heart,' company officials told local media, adding that they apologise to the original author of the webtoon series for the controversy. – The Korea Herald/Asia News Network
Malay Mail
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Why is this S.Korean webtoon so controversial that it's now cancelled, alongside a planned drama?
SEOUL, July 6 — You wouldn't think a webtoon of all things would create a huge furore in South Korea but one has ruffled a lot of feathers with its questionable subject matter. According to The Korean Herald, the webtoon The Elementary School Student I Love's storyline about an elementary school teacher falling for her student is now no longer available online after severe backlash. Interestingly the webtoon even had a live-action adaptation planned for it, which is also now cancelled. The real question here is how did the webtoon even get greenlit in the first place considering its disturbing plot. Naver Webtoon confirmed that it had suspended sales of the webtoon as a 'precautionary measure' in response to 'widespread user feedback.' There is no set date for the resumption of the series. Besides Naver Webtoon, Kakaopage, Kybo Book Centre as well as Ridi have removed the webtoon. C&C Revolution, the original publisher of the webtoon, had announced a live series adaptation of the series but production company Meta New Line has confirmed on Friday it would not be happening. The webtoon isn't new — it was actually serialized from 2015 to 2020, telling the story of Shim Cheong-ah who forms a connection with an online gaming partner, only to find he is her student Im Dang-su. Shim initially develops romantic feelings for her partner until she discovers his true identity and her affections grow platonic. The Korea Federation of Teachers' Associations condemned both the source material and its adaptation in a statement: 'Attempts to sexualise children under the guise of creativity and artistic originality can never be justified.' It further added, 'Considering the harmful impact this drama could have on society and educational settings, as well as the potential violence it may inflict on children and adolescents, we strongly urge an immediate halt to production.' The portrayal of a teacher being romantically attracted to an underage student is 'a clear glamorisation of grooming,' the association said.
