How Webtoons Changed Comics
The format
Webtoons are digital comics formatted as vertical scrolling strips rather than pages. The format was developed in South Korea in the early 2000s, initially for mobile phone screens with small displays. Instead of pages that fill a horizontal screen, webtoons use an infinitely long vertical strip, read by scrolling downward.
The practical consequences for storytelling are significant. Panels can be very wide, very tall, or both. There is no page turn, which removes one of the core dramatic tools of print comics. The rhythm of the reading experience is different: continuous flow rather than discrete pages.
The global reach
The major Korean webtoon platforms, Naver Webtoon and Kakao Webtoon, have between 70 and 80 million monthly users globally. Several webtoons have been adapted into Korean dramas, animated series and live-action films, including Itaewon Class, True Beauty and the upcoming Tower of God adaptation.
The platforms operate a model where creators publish directly, often weekly, and reader engagement data is immediate. This is different from both the traditional manga serialisation model and the American monthly comic model.
What traditional comics learned
The scrolling format influenced digital comics platforms outside Korea, including Tapas and LINE Webtoon in Western markets. Marvel and DC have experimented with vertical scroll formats for some digital releases.
The creator-direct model, where writers and artists publish without a publisher as intermediary, has been more influential in practice than the format itself, contributing to a broader shift toward creator-owned work and Patreon-style funding in independent comics.
