"Your Favorite Webtoon Character Becomes a Meme Star"...Enjoying Naver Webtoon Even Longer

Extending IP Lifespan Through Fan-Created Derivative Works
A Virtuous Cycle: From Derivative Creations Back to Original Content

Naver Webtoon is strengthening its intellectual property (IP) circulation structure that connects readers’ secondary creations with consumption of the original works. The company aims to extend the lifecycle of its IP and expand revenue opportunities by creating an ecosystem where readers can enjoy creating derivative works even from titles that are on hiatus or have already concluded.

A video created as a 'My Own Meme' using the character Kim Chorong from Naver Webtoon 'Encounter App Addiction.' Photo by Eunseo Lee.

According to the industry on September 18, Naver Webtoon is expanding features for both the Cutsmake app—which allows users to produce short animations using webtoon scenes and characters—and for the AI Story Chat Bias platform.

Cutsmake introduced a “My Own Meme” feature to users the previous day, providing dedicated prompts and templates for the latest trends. A new “Story Feature,” enabling users to link multiple scenes to create episodic story content, is scheduled for release by November. Users can arrange scenes, generate images for each cut, and assemble them into a video, with options to add AI voice, dubbing, and background tracks. Naver Webtoon aims to encourage ongoing creation and consumption by providing a short animation production environment where fans can continue stories for subsequent episodes.

Chaeonju, head of the Cutsmake Planning Team at Naver Webtoon, commented, “We are building a creative ecosystem where fandoms can actively participate with a single IP,” adding, “Our goal is for fan-created stories to flow back into the original work.”

By the end of this month, new IP will also be added to the AI Story Chat Bias platform. In the fourth quarter of this year, the service will be launched on Japan’s Line Manga, with plans to expand to North America and Taiwan next year. The aim is to keep up IP consumption through user participation and encourage users to return to the original works. Park Soyeon, Director of Naver Webtoon’s Digital Character Division, stated, “Through interactive experiences such as talking with favorite characters and directly influencing story development, we can broaden the way fans engage with IP itself.”

Naver Webtoon is reinforcing its “flywheel” strategy through these services. The flywheel strategy refers to a virtuous cycle where an increase in creators leads to a greater supply of diverse content, which attracts more users and revenue, subsequently drawing in more creators. To this end, Naver Webtoon is expanding its in-platform services to provide additional touchpoints for content consumption while also growing fandom externally through video, gaming, and merchandise businesses, and strengthening the pursuit of secondary business opportunities.

Cha Jungyun, Head of Communications at Naver Webtoon, said, “Even when the original work is on hiatus or concluded, readers can enjoy and utilize the IP, which will lengthen the life cycle of our IP.”

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