One fund manager thinks that webtoons will be the next Korean cultural phenomenon after the success of K-pop bands and dramas.
Following the lead of consumers at home and in Japan, Americans and Europeans will soon catch on to Korea's online comics. The producer of webtoon became its largest shareholder this year.
Park Jihong, the firm's chief executive, said in an interview that there are great opportunities in the web toon market. There are not many listed companies that we can invest in.
Hot investment themes include demand for Korean music and films. The popularity of K-pop has been driven by SM Entertainment Co. and Hybe Co.
Park expects a lot of growth for online comics in the next few years. Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp. have webtoon platforms.
Online comics from Korea have attracted interest from overseas investors. According to a recent report, Saudi Arabia's wealth fund is in talks to invest in a company that plans to go public next year. This year, GIC invested in Ridi.
The market is growing fast. According to a report last year from the Korea Creative Content Agency, sales of webtoons in Korea reached about $800 million in 2020, up from less than $300 million in the previous year.
Online comics are getting more noticed by consumers and media, which may be a sign that webtoons will be a hit.
She said that it is popular with Gen-Z and that streaming platforms are taking notice of it. Foreign content and animation can be found on streaming platforms such as Netflix.
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