East Asian Perspective in Transmedia Storytelling | Do Webtoon-Based TV Dramas Represent Transmedia Storytelling? Industrial Factors Leading to Webtoon-Based TV Dramas

Authors

  • Ji Hoon Park Korea University
  • Jeehyun Lee M.A. Student Korea University
  • Yongsuk Lee Seoul Broadcasting System

Keywords:

webtoon, webtoon-based drama, transmedia, cross-media adaptation, OSMU

Abstract

With the rise of mobile media and snack culture, the webtoon has become a leading form of popular culture in Korea. Korea is also producing a growing number of webtoon-based TV dramas. If the proliferation of the mobile phone and the migration of traditional cartoonists to the mobile platform contribute to the emergence of the webtoon as a source for creative stories, it is the industrial factors and considerations that promote the practice of webtoon-based drama production. The following industrial factors lead to webtoon-based TV drama production: the success of earlier webtoon-based dramas (e.g., Misaeng and Cheese in the Trap), the limited pool of top drama scriptwriters, the use of the webtoon as a cost-saving option (as opposed to hiring a top scriptwriter), the strategy of reducing the risk of hiring a mediocre scriptwriter, the use of the webtoon as a deal point when production companies pitch a show, and the effectiveness of promoting TV dramas on the basis of a webtoon’s existing reputation.

Author Biographies

Ji Hoon Park, Korea University

ProfessorSchool of Media and CommunicationKorea UniversitySouth Korea

Jeehyun Lee, M.A. Student Korea University

M.A. Student Korea University

Yongsuk Lee, Seoul Broadcasting System

SBS Drama ProducerSeoul Broadcasting System (SBS)South Korea

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Published

2019-05-01

Issue

Section

Special Sections