A Glimpse Inside The Busan Global Webtoon Center

📍Busan, South Korea

Built by the Busan government to promote webtoon culture, the Busan Webtoon Center is a bustling hub for everything webtoons.

Besides being the location for the Busan Webtoon Festival each year, it’s a home for new and aspiring webtoon artists. And it’s competitive to secure a spot. But if they qualify, they get a working space of their own for three years. Afterward, their area opens up for the next batch of artists.

Our reason for traveling to the Busan Webtoon Festival is to listen to artists’ stories and understand their pains. We also wanted to share our story and vision — make comics affordable and accessible to everybody while helping the artists earn a living following their passion.

Thanks to director Nam Jeong Hun of Busan Webtoon Artists Union, we had a chance to meet many enthusiastic webtoon artists for the very first time. They welcomed us with open arms and weren’t shy about sharing their works and questions.

Despite their hectic schedule with the event, they set us up with an exclusive tour of the office space where webtoon artists continuously hone their drawing skills. Modern and vibrant, it’s no surprise why it’s so popular among the artist community.

Tour Photos

Enlarged statue of “I” comic book by author Nam Jeong Hun, situated just outside the building.

Author Nam Jeong Hun (the 3rd from the right) and our team.

The chill lounge and meeting room where we first met the artists.

From left to right excluding our team: Author Kim Tae Hyeon, Oh Young Seok, Byun Jang Wook, Jung Young Hwan, and author Kim Eun Soo.

From left to right excluding our team: webtoon artists Hyun Young Min, Lee Mal Nyeon (who we met unexpectedly) and author Mind C.

Exploring the Lab (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

The two talented and youngest artists Jung Young Hwan and Byun Jang-Wook showed us around their lab. We couldn’t help but think, “This is the perfect place for creating webtoons!”

Just take a look at their rooftop. It’s the perfect place to catch some air and take in the sights of the lively city of Busan.

Sweeping rooftop view of Busan Webtoon Center.

An ordinary working station for webtoon artists. (left) Author Nam Jeong Hun’s office space. (right)

With author Jung Young Hwan, who kindly showed us around and shared his cool action artworks from high school.

Having a great time strolling around and “awwing” at the lovely things in the lab.

New webtoon artists working in their cubicles inside the lab.

Thanks to this experience, we know that the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency is responsible for incubating webtoon artists. Along with a modernized building dedicated to promoting webtoon, the South Korean government provides webtoon creators with great benefits together with facilities. And even more, they actively encourage people to pursue careers as webtoon artists.

Undeniably Grateful

The tour and chanceful encounters with the webtoon artists were utterly unexpected.

We learned a great deal about the webtoon industry. We met passionate artists and listened to insightful stories. And most of all, we caught a glimpse of the comics world as they see it.

Our hosts were hospitable, open, and gave us their full attention during our visit. We hope they get the chance to visit our office in Vietnam. Because without a doubt, we’ll return the favor.

Special thanks to director Nam Jeong Hun, author Jung Young Hwan and Byun Jang-Wood, author Kim Eun Soo, and all other artists in the Busan Webtoon Artist Union who spent time with us.