Choi Gyu-seok, creator of the webtoon "Hellbound," on July 2 talks to fans at the exhibition "K-Comics World" hosted by the Korean Cultural Center in Cairo, Egypt. (Korea Creative Content Agency)

By Kim Seon Ah

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) on July 7 announced the launch of the traveling exhibition "K-Comics World" to promote Korean webtoons abroad.

Cohosted by Korean Cultural Centers (KCCs) in five countries, the event is being held in Egypt this month and later in Hungary, Canada, China and Japan in that order.

Opening on July 1 at the KCC in Cairo, the event uses interactive content centered on "Hellbound," a webtoon co-created by artist Choi Gyu-seok and writer Yeon Sang-ho, which was adapted into a hit Netflix series. Highlights include a brief intro to the webtoon, displays of main scenes, photo zone and stamp tour.

A Q&A session with Choi on July 2 attracted 150 attendees, and was followed by an autograph signing.

The Cairo exhibition runs through July 31.

The next venues are Hungary, Canada and China in September and Japan in October, with a variety of popular Korean webtoons selected for each country. The event's purpose is to boost interest in Korean webtoons and expand the genre's global reader base.

Lee Hyun-joo, director of KOCCA's content intellectual property division, said, "We expect this exhibition to do more than simply introduce content and serve as an opportunity to form an emotional connection with readers worldwide and set the basis for K-webtoon's growth on the global market."

sofiakim218@korea.kr