Behind the immense global popularity of Korean dramas today lies a powerful common denominator: "webtoon originals." Historically and currently in the offline publishing market—the realm of traditional "manga"—Japan undeniably holds the dominant leadership position globally. However, as we transitioned into the digital age, the demand for mobile-optimized content surged, and Korean webtoons perfectly satisfied this generational need, establishing themselves as the undisputed standard of the global digital comic market. With a massive influx of brilliant creators and high-quality works, webtoons have evolved far beyond simple comics, serving as robust intellectual properties (IPs) that firmly anchor the roots of the visual content industry.
The unique consumption method of webtoons, which originated in South Korea—scrolling vertically from top to bottom on a smartphone screen to follow the narrative—has completely revolutionized the paradigm of the global comic market. Utilizing the blank space between panels to convey the passage of time and building tension paced by the speed of scrolling provided a new level of immersion never experienced in traditional print manga. As this outstanding directing method and high artistic quality have been proven worldwide, not only Japan, a traditional comic powerhouse, but also massive entertainment markets in the West, such as the United States, are now benchmarking the Korean webtoon system to create their own platforms and works. These successful webtoons, having become a global standard, are now being exported for screen adaptations, serving as an excellent nourishment that makes the subject matter of Korean dramas even more diverse and rich.
Almost all Korean dramas that currently receive critical acclaim and public praise for their excellent artistic quality or engaging plots are, more often than not, based on popular webtoons. The most difficult and crucial stage in drama production is writing a script with a solid framework. When a popular webtoon, already validated by countless readers, is used as the original source material, the production starts with the massive advantage of a highly robust narrative arc and a clear storyline. Because narrative flaws or plot holes were corrected and entertainment elements maximized through immediate reader feedback during the original serialization period, the Korean dramas that adapt them also possess intricate plausibility and a strong gripping power. This power of the original work has become the most reliable foundation enabling Korean dramas to overcome borders and language barriers, marching triumphantly across the global market.
The fierce momentum of Korean webtoons is also gaining significant popularity and ripple effects in the Japanese market, often referred to as the home of comics. Among them, the Korean webtoon How to Fight (also known as Viral Hit), which gained massive popularity in the school action genre, was recently produced and released as a Netflix original live-action drama locally in Japan. When this work was first announced to be dramatized and released to the public, it was placed on a comparative line with another popular webtoon adaptation, True Education (Get Schooled), which was being discussed around the same time, and was marketed splendidly as if they were friendly competitors. Since the original webtoon recorded top-tier view counts even on Japanese platforms, expectations for the live-action adaptation were immense. However, once the lid was actually opened, it experienced a failure in both box office and critical reception—to the extent that the word "fiasco" is not awkward—leaving it in a bitter position where it is now difficult to even compare it with other works.
Despite using the equally excellent Korean webtoon as the original source material, there is a clear reason why dramas produced directly by Korea record global hits, while How to Fight produced in Japan suffered such a painful difference and failure. This can be analyzed as the result of a very complex interplay between the drama production systems, directing styles, and actors' acting tones of the two countries, rather than simply a problem of the original work's brand awareness. Naturally, it leaves a strong question and sense of regret: if How to Fight had been made by Korean production crews with the acting of Korean actors instead of Japan, would it have succeeded? If this work had been produced in Korea with Korean sentiments and systems, it is judged that it would have certainly achieved much greater success and public buzz than the result of being produced in Japan and subsequently ignored as it is now.
This hypothetical certainty perfectly aligns with the core reason why dramas currently produced in Korea are achieving massive global success. The Japanese live-action drama version of How to Fight released on Netflix was produced in a rather short volume of a total of 6 episodes, giving the impression of hastily wrapping up the story. If a Korean production crew had planned this, they would have scheduled a generous volume of at least 8 episodes or more, creating a much deeper and richer narrative, such as the backstories of the surrounding characters or the psychological changes of the protagonist. In contrast, this recent product made in Japan was too busy cramming in the vast episodes of the original work, causing the three-dimensional depth of the story to disappear, and left a deep sense of regret by showing a bland development that flowed too fragmentarily and in a straight line.
Not only in the narrative and direction of the work, but also in the acting skills and expressive methods of the actors driving the play, Korean and Japanese dramas show distinct differences and become subjects of comparison. One of the powerful secrets behind the global success of Korean dramas today is that the outstanding and profound acting skills of Korean actors play a significant role. Even if overseas viewers cannot fully understand the nuances of the dialogue due to the language barrier, they can completely feel the situation of the play through the subtle facial expressions and explosive emotional expressiveness of the actors. In particular, Korean actors excel at delicately controlling the dynamics according to the flow of the play, and are adept at natural acting that perfectly melts into the situation, maximizing the immersion of the work.
Of course, Korean drama production crews also frequently receive criticism for damaging the original work by excessively changing the original settings or characters during the process of adapting a webtoon into live-action. However, fundamentally, the process of transferring a flat comic original into a three-dimensional visual medium like a drama should be viewed as a process of recreating a work on a different level. If the development and dialogue of the webtoon were made into a drama exactly without changing a single word, it would not provide any tension or fresh fun to viewers who already know the original work. Cleverly adapting the narrative to fit the pacing of the visual medium and granting it new charm—it is precisely because Korean production crews demonstrate this creative reinterpretation ability so outstandingly that they can attract such great popularity.
In the Korean drama market as well, from the past to the present, a considerable number of genre works dealing with issues of youth growth and violence have been planned and produced. The vast majority of those hit works were also often based on webtoons, but when comparing just the final results, they were completed in a much more entertaining way, both narratively and commercially, than How to Fight produced in Japan this time. Korean production crews possess a sense of controlling the tempo of the play by appropriately mixing in comic elements that allow viewers to catch their breath, even with subject matters that could easily become heavy and dark. Above all, they unfold the weighty narrative of an immature protagonist growing internally and externally through various trials in a much more sophisticated and persuasive manner, drawing sympathy from the viewers.
As a final addition, another webtoon,
Manager Kim, released by the same company that planned and produced the original work of
How to Fight, has also demonstrated immense power by gaining massive public popularity. Recently, in some quarters, it is said that Japanese films receive better evaluations than Korean ones in the field of art-house cinema, where a unique calm and lyrical artistic quality stands out. However, this recent case clearly proves the fact that the South Korean content industry currently holds a far superior edge in the skill of planning and rapidly producing commercial, mass-appealing box office hits that anyone in the world can easily and enjoyably immerse themselves in.
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