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| "Everything is Fine," a webtoon created by Mike Birchall / Courtesy of Naver Webtoon |
By Park Han-sol
A series of hit English-language webtoon titles originally published by leading North American platforms is gradually being introduced to Korean readers through their official translations.
Such a case was rare until recently as a majority of the webcomics that were translated into other languages to reach readers worldwide had their origins in Korean. Korea is credited with developing and popularizing the format of vertically scrolling digital cartoons.
On Dec. 27, Naver Webtoon began to release the Korean-language version of Mike Birchall's "Everything is Fine."
The psychological horror series, set in an idyllic, pastel-colored suburb, follows the cat-headed residents who all look and sound the same. A mystery enshrouds the whole town that seems to be under heavy surveillance at all times yet claims "everything is fine."
The original webcomic in English, available on Webtoon, the American arm of Naver Webtoon, has garnered over 83.3 million views worldwide for its gripping narrative since its debut in April 2021.
The work was nominated for the 2022 Harvey Award, one of the most prestigious prizes that celebrates quality comic books and graphic novels, in the Digital Book of the Year category.
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| "Lore Olympus," a webcomic created by Rachel Smythe / Courtesy of Naver Webtoon |
"Lore Olympus" is another webcomic sensation that has been translated into Korean in 2020 after it gained a huge global following.
The fantasy romance series, created by New Zealand-based artist Rachel Smythe, puts a contemporary twist on the tales of Greek mythology. The story mainly zeroes in on Hades, the Greek god of the dead, and Persephone, the goddess of spring who later becomes the queen of the underworld.
Since its release in March 2018 on Webtoon, the critically acclaimed digital comic has accumulated more than 1.2 billion views. In 2022, it scored the triple crown, winning the Harvey Award, Will Eisner Comic Industry Award and Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Award (more popularly known as the Ringo Award).
A similar trend is being witnessed in the web novel sector, whereby English-language literary content that has proven to be a hit among overseas audiences is introduced to Korean readers in a digital comic format.
Kakao Entertainment has recently unveiled a localized webcomic version of Violet Paige's romance series "Dating My Best Friend's Sister" that was originally published on Radish. Naver Webtoon is scheduled to roll out a Korean-language webtoon adaptation of Rebecca Sullivan's Wattpad original young adult fiction "Night Owls and Summer Skies" this year.
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