- Korean Cultural Centre India creates K-Webtoon experience and exhibition space

- Number of global monthly K-Webtoon users was 170 million in 2024

- The Korean market size of K-Webtoon is KRW 2.189 trillion (US$ 1.6 billion), with an average growth rate of 37% between 2020 and 2023

The Korean Cultural Centre India (KCCI) is thrilled to introduce a vibrant new space in the central lobby of their building, dedicated to Korean webtoons. This permanent experience area offers a unique way for fans to dive deeper into the world of K-content.

Visitors can enjoy interactive touch screens for browsing webtoons, screens displaying captivating webtoon promotional videos and cozy seating areas for relaxing and reading published webtoon works. This will be a perfect place to immerse oneself in the colourful and dynamic world of Korean webtoons, right here at KCCI in New Delhi.

Webtoon is a comic culture developed in Korea that refers to digital comics serialized on platform media such as Naver and Daum. It is also used overseas to refer to the digital comic (webcomic) format that originated in Korea. Webtoons, which started in the late 2000s in Korea with the spread of smartphones, have grown rapidly with the advantage of being easily accessible in various countries in a digital format. In particular, Korea's webtoon market has shown a high growth rate of 37% on average from 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic broke out, to 2023, and eventually leading to systematic invesments in the webtoon market, such as private equity funds investing in webtoon production companies. The size of the Korean webtoon business in 2023 reached 2.189 trillion won (1.6 billion USD), and the number of global monthly active users reached 170 million in 2024.

Originally a free online service, Korea’s webtoon industry has rapidly evolved into a thriving content ecosystem. It has evolved through new industry models such as mobile apps, social media platforms, secondary creative content, pop-up stores, films, and dramas. As webtoon-based intellectual property (IP) continues to gain global traction, its export to overseas markets is further driving the industry's growth and solidifying Korea’s position as a leader in digital storytelling.

Nikita, a college student who visited the webtoon experience space at the Korean Cultural Centre India, said, “I’m so excited that KCCI has a dedicated space for Korean webtoons. This was my first time experiencing Korean webtoons. The experience space is so cozy and comfortable. I think it will be a visual learning space where people can understand Korean culture and encounter Korean webtoons.”  Another visitor, college student Subhashri, said, “I really liked the Korean webtoon ‘Crimson Heart’ when I read it through a mobile app. I am excited to be able to see other Korean webtoon works through the experience space installed at the Korean Cultural Centre India.”

Hwang Il Yong, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre India, said, “As the global culture and content industry continues to expand, the Korean Cultural Centre India is actively working to support the growth of India’s cultural content market and industry ecosystem. Rather than a one-sided influx of content, our goal is to foster a mutually beneficial market through locally adapted ‘Make in India’ initiatives. In Korea, K-webtoons are emerging as the next major content powerhouse following K-pop and K-drama, serving as a key source material for various media adaptations. Similarly, in India, I hope to introduce the K-webtoon market model and establish K-webtoons as the next-generation content driving the Korean Wave alongside K-pop and K-drama.”