"Wait-for-Free" Model Falls Short... Strategies for Korean Webtoons to Overcome France's Collectible Culture

Strong Resistance to “Rental” Model and Tight EU “Dark Pattern” Regulations
Limitations of Traditional Single-Revenue Approach Exposed
“Collectible Print Comics” Rise by Tapping Offline Ownership Desire

Naver Webtoon advances to the France Amazing Festival.

France is the largest consumer in Europe, boasting a comics market worth 837 million euros (approximately 1.453 trillion won). However, this massive market size does not guarantee the success of Asian platforms. Notably, the core "wait-for-free" monetization model used in Korean webtoons has revealed significant limitations. For example, Kakao Piccoma, which entered the market in 2021, decided to dissolve its European operation and terminate its service after just three years.

According to the "Trends in the French Content Industry" report published by the Korea Creative Content Agency on February 26, the root cause of this failure lies in France's unique comics consumption culture, epitomized by "bande dessinée (BD)." For local readers, comics are not disposable consumer goods to be read once and discarded; they are collectible publications meant to be kept and reread. The Korean platforms’ episode-based viewing or time-limited access is perceived as "renting," which does not accumulate value and therefore does not lead to payment.

There is also psychological resistance to artificially imposed waiting. Locals see waiting periods as unnecessary restrictions that hinder reading, rather than as a reward. The cultural media outlet Télérama described the "wait-for-free" model as a mechanism that provokes reader impatience, pointing out that frequent payment prompts increase fatigue and ultimately cause users to stop consuming content.

Institutional regulations are as formidable a barrier as cultural differences. The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) and France's Consumer Protection Act strictly prohibit commercial user interface (UI) designs—so-called “dark patterns”—that interfere with users' rational choice. The time pressure and virtual currency charging promoted by the "wait-for-free" model can easily be interpreted by local regulatory authorities as opaque and deceptive design.

French webtoon artists are participating in a signing event at the Naver Webtoon booth at the Amazing Festival.

The fixed book price system also structurally clashes with the pricing policy of webtoons, where coin values fluctuate frequently. On top of that, the strengthening of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe has restricted targeted marketing based on user behavior data, making it difficult to deploy strategies aimed at maximizing user retention time.

To overcome these limitations, Korean companies have adopted a hybrid strategy that combines offline publishing with their digital offerings. This is an alternative tactic that leverages the strength of the publishing market to break through the barriers of mobile payment. Webtoons are offered for free via apps to stimulate the desire for ownership, which is then converted into purchases of print editions.

The impact of this strategy is evident in the numbers. In 2019, only four webtoon-based print volumes were published in France, but by 2024, that number had surged to 255—a sixty-four-fold increase. For instance, the print edition of "Solo Leveling," released through a local publisher in 2021, recorded cumulative sales of 2.5 million copies as of August last year, demonstrating explosive potential.

Naver Webtoon, which holds more than 70% market share in the French webtoon market, is at the forefront of this strategy. The company has formed partnerships with major local publishers such as Michel Lafon, distributing popular intellectual property (IP) titles to bookstores. The profits from offline publishing compensate for the limitations of digital-based sales. Naver Webtoon has also cleverly adapted the operation of its online platform to align with local culture. Instead of forcing the "wait-for-free" model, it uses a "daily free pass" system focused on completed works as a supplementary access feature, significantly reducing user aversion to artificial waiting.

Naver Webtoon France Homepage.

The company is also accelerating the creation of a self-sustaining local IP ecosystem, going beyond simple content exports. By investing in the "creator board (Canvas)"—a platform where French creators can freely serialize their works—Naver Webtoon has discovered over forty exclusive contract authors.

Moonjoo Kim, Head of the France Business Center at the Korea Creative Content Agency, stated, "France elevates comics as the 'ninth art' and strongly operates on the logic of protecting domestic culture. The key to dominance in the European market is to build a flexible ecosystem that embraces both publishing infrastructure and local creators without threatening the existing market under the banner of digital innovation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.