The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism along with the Korea Creative Content Agency will host an exhibition of domestic comics and webtoons in six countries across Southeast Asia and Europe. Shown are two visitors in September last year taking a selfie at an exhibition held at the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in Washington to mark the 70th anniversary of the Seoul-Washington bilateral alliance. (KCC in Washington's official Facebook account)

By Israa Mohamed

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will seek to expand interest in and consumption of domestic webtoons in Southeast Asia and Europe, two relatively small-size markets for both genres.

Along with the Korea Creative Content Agency, the ministry on June 20 said the K-comics World Tour is scheduled in six countries in Southeast Asia and Europe with the participation of Korean Cultural Centers (KCCs) in each nation.

The first stop is the Philippines on June 21, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia and Belgium in September, Italy in October and Singapore in November.

Southeast Asia has a relatively small market for comics and webtoons, but the latter is expected to rise given growing interest in Korean content there. In Europe, fans of Japanese cartoon content are likely to widen their consumption choices to include webtoons from other countries.

Through this exhibition, the ministry aims to boost interest in and consumption of Korean webtoons in both regions, laying the basis for related Korean companies to expand globally.

In the Philippines, the exhibition will begin led by the popular works "What's Wrong With Secretary Kim" and "The Red Sleeve," given the popularity of rom-coms and dramas there.

In March, "Secretary Kim" was made into a Philippine live-action drama and held the No. 1 spot on the online video platform Viu for three straight weeks. The exhibition hall from the webtoon will feature real-life replicas of the offices of the vice chairman and the secretary.

"Red Sleeve" artist Cho Hye-seung will hold a story concert (reading of a tale) as well as a joint comic drawing workshop at the event venue in Taguig.

The ministry plans to select popular webtoons from five other countries for use at exhibition and interactive spaces that it will set up.

Other programs include a webtoon contest for locals, story concert featuring Korean writers and those from the host country, business exchange between comic companies of both sides and a workshop for aspiring webtoonists.

This is the official poster for the 2024 K-Comics World Tour in the Philippines. (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)

ess8@korea.kr