The world of webtoons is a fascinating one! The digital comics are a rage not only in Korea but there has also been a surge in its popularity across the globe. Its easy accessibility makes it immensely popular as anybody with internet access and a smartphone can read webtoons anywhere and anytime. However, illegal webtoon platforms providers pose a huge risk to the webtoonists. Translated webtoons still circulate illegally, gaining a large following and prompting webtoon providers to act to export them legally. According to statistics, webtoon revenue dropped by 50% in 2017 due to the illegal service provider Night Rabbit.
What’s more, global webtoon publishing is currently controlled by large companies and lesser-known artists find it a huge challenge to get a breakthrough. There are also huge costs involved in global publishing.
One-stop solution for webtoonists
Launched in 2017, Korean startup Neocomix aims to address all these issues by offering the unique opportunity for webtoonists to reach out to a global audience at an extremely competitive price. Neocomix uses AI which detects the text and analyses the image, translating Korean to English and further to multiple languages. This technology brings down the cost by almost 42% as compared to similar webtoon platforms. According to the Global Cartoon Market Analysis in 2017, Neocomix cut down webtoon global publishing expenses by 99%!
The Neocomix advantage
Founded by Matthew Kwon, Neocomix publishes webtoons globally by automating webtoons editing/translation and visualization. It also provides Free Webtoon services by Neocomix system. The company plans to start with the education sector by providing quality educational material to school children. It hopes to sign MoU with big publishers. The startup is targeting South America, India and Southeast Asia for its business expansion as these regions have a large population but low content. The company is planning to expand to video games, printed drama, movies, character goods, animation and even toys and stationery. It aims at getting 10 billion views in the next three years.
