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Tag: creative industry

  • World Webtoon Festival Opens to Massive Crowds in Seoul

    The 2025 World Webtoon Festival kicked off on October 19 at Lotte Town in Jamsil, Seoul, attracting an impressive 42,000 visitors on its opening day.

    According to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), over 200,000 people are expected to attend during the four-day event, marking a 2.5-fold increase from last year.

    The festival aims to bring mobile webtoon content into physical spaces, showcasing the global competitiveness of the K-webtoon industry. Exhibits span over a century of Korean comic and webtoon history — from political cartoons of the 1910s to digital webtoons of the 2000s — allowing visitors to experience the evolution of the medium through live drawing shows and hands-on workshops.

    Pop-up stores for hit titles such as Lookism, What It Means to Be You, The Remarried Empress, and Maru is a Puppy were fully booked in advance, demonstrating the massive popularity of K-webtoons. These collaborations with fashion, fragrance, and F&B brands also highlight the growing potential for webtoon IP commercialization.

    Industry experts view the event as a major step toward creating a global festival that embodies K-webtoon identity.

    Veteran webtoon artist Lee Jong Beom remarked, “If the festival establishes its own brand identity like New York Comic Con, it could become the representative global event for K-webtoons.”

  • Swedish Royals Visit SM Entertainment — A Cultural Bridge Between Korea and Sweden

    Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden visited SM Entertainment’s headquarters in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, to experience the heart of K-pop creativity firsthand.

    The visit was part of the Swedish royal family’s official itinerary to Korea, focusing on cultural and creative industry exchange. Touring SM’s studios and recording rooms, the royals observed the K-pop production process up close. They expressed particular interest in the collaboration between Swedish songwriters and SM Entertainment, praising how K-pop continues to generate cultural synergy in the global music market.

    Their schedule also included a meeting with rookie girl group HARTS TO HARTS, where they discussed music training and daily practice routines. The members gifted the royals autographed CDs and official merchandise, to which the Crown Princess replied that it was “an unforgettable present.”

    During a discussion with SM executives, the main topics included K-pop’s global influence and the sustainability of its creative ecosystem. Both sides agreed that combining Sweden’s musical creativity and technology with K-pop’s cultural power could yield even greater synergy.

    Crown Princess Victoria concluded by saying, “We are delighted that Sweden can contribute to the growth of K-pop,” and expressed gratitude for SM’s warm hospitality. The visit has been hailed as a symbolic moment of cultural cooperation and artistic exchange between the two nations.