Webtoons are taking over the world. Is the US next? - The Hustle

While superhero movies own pretty much every American box office record ... Webtoons, a digital comic format that originated in South Korea, ... Home›entertainment›Webtoonsaretakingovertheworld.IstheUSnext? Webtoonsaretakingovertheworld.IstheUSnext? ThedigitalcomicformatmaybeSouthKorea’snextbighitintheUS. Webtoons/YouTube RobLitterst March30,2022 WhilesuperheromoviesownprettymucheveryAmericanboxofficerecord,thecomicbooksthey’rebasedonhavealwaysbeenanicheinterestintheUS. Webtoons,adigitalcomicformatthatoriginatedinSouthKorea,arestartingtomakeasplashoutsideofEastAsia—andabigpushfortheAmericanmarket,pertheFinancialTimes. Webtoons… …aredigitalcomicsmeanttobereadonasmartphoneorcomputer.Thetechnologyoriginatedcirca2003asphysicalcomicsalesdwindledinSouthKorea. Theriseoftheformathashappenedinlockstepwiththecountry’s2leadingplatforms: NaverWebtoon,whichhas750kcreatorsonitsplatformand82mmonthlyactiveusers KakaoWebtoon,whoseJapaneseaffiliate,Piccoma,wasthe2ndhighestgrossingnon-gamingappintheworld,behindTikTok,in2021($96minmonthlyrevenue) BothplatformsallowcreatorstouploadWebtoonsforfree,leadingtoamassiverangeofstoriesandtitles.Thisvariety,alongwiththeabilitytoconsumeWebtoonsquicklyandon-the-go,hasledtotheformat’sgrowingpopularityinSouthKoreaandbeyond. ButwillAmericansbite? CriticswonderifSouthKorea’s“digitalsnackculture”willworkwithAmericanaudienceswhohaveshownmixedfeelingsaboutshort-formcontent. Ononehand,TikTokhas50mdailyactiveusersintheUS. Ontheother,Quibi,theshort-formstreamingplatform,raised$1.75Bonlytoshutdown6monthsafterlaunchwhenitstruggledtohitsubscribertargets. SouthKoreancreators… …havealreadygeneratedmassivehitsintheUSacrossformats: BTS,theK-Popgroup,hashadthebestsellingsongintheUS2yearsinarow Parasite,the2020Oscarwinner,isthe4thhighest-grossingforeignfilminUSboxofficehistory SquidGame,theNetflixhit,wasthe6thtitletoreach3BminutesstreamedinasingleweeksinceNielsenstartedtrackingstreaming Foritspart,NaverWebtoonhas14msubscribersintheUS,makingup17%ofitstotalreadership—anicelittlenichealready. Getthe5-minuteroundupyou’llactuallyreadinyourinbox​ Businessandtechnewsin5minutesorless​ Thankyouforsubscribing. Yoursubmissionfailed.Pleasetryagain! 100%free.Wedon’tspam.Unsubscribewhenever. Brief Lease-to-ownagreementsareblowingup ByMiaSullivan  / July1,2022 InthenextMission:Impossiblemovie,EthanHuntshouldtrybuyingahouse. Homepricesrosefasterthaneverin2021,mortgageratesarethehighestthey’vebeensince2008,… ReadMore Brief Inflationiscomingforyourcookout ByRobLitterst  / July1,2022 Gorgingonburgers,hotdogs,andpotatosaladisastapleofJulyFourth. Butbeforeyoufillyourcarttothebrim,youmaywanttotakealookatthepricetagonthat… ReadMore Brief The‘littlethings’thatimpedeinclusivity ByJulietBennettRylah  / June30,2022 Everbeentoldtosmilemoreatwork?Thenyou’reprobablyawoman. YouShouldSmileMore:HowtoDismantleGenderBiasintheWorkplaceisanewbookbyTheBandofSisters,… ReadMore Brief BedBath&Beyond…bad ByJacobCohen  / June30,2022 Nothingbetterthanagoodol’20%-offcouponfromBedBath&Beyond.UnlessyouareBedBath&Beyond. Alot’shappenedwiththecompanythelastfewyears,and… ReadMore Brief Independenceisthehighestformofwealth ByMorganHousel,TheCollaborativeFund  / June30,2022 Ivalueindependencemorethananythingelseinfinance. MorethanIvalueabigpaycheck. MorethanIvaluebigreturns. MorethanIvalueanyamountofmoney. Doingwhatyou… ReadMore Brief KhabyLameisthekingofTikTok ByRobLitterst  / June29,2022 Instagram’smostfollowedaccountsbelongtofolkslikeCristianoRonaldo,KylieJenner,andDwayne“TheRock”Johnson. TikTok’sbelongtoBellaPoarch,CharliD’Amelio,… ReadMore Brief Whatyoushouldknowaboutgeofencing ByJulietBennettRylah  / June28,2022 InJanuary,NewYorklawmakersproposedbanninglawenforcementfromusinggeofencingandkeywordwarrants. Thoughthebillhasn’tseenmuchmovementyet,theoverturningofRoe… ReadMore Brief F1’sinsanegrowthhighlightedinnewdeal ByJacobCohen  / June28,2022 NASCAR’sculturedEuropeancousin,asweoncecalledit,isonaroll. FormulaOne(F1)reportedlyagreedtoathree-yeardealwithDisneyandESPNforUSbroadcastrightsata… ReadMore Brief RIPtoaneyewearlegend ByRobLitterst  / June28,2022 Intheworldofsunglasses,thereisonecompanythatrulesthemall:Luxottica. Whileyoumaynotbefamiliarwiththatname,you’relikelyfamiliarwithitssubsidiarieslike… ReadMore Brief HaveMeta’selectionprioritiesshifted? ByJulietBennettRylah  / June27,2022 InthewakeofRussianinterferenceinthe2016election,MarkZuckerbergtoldCongressthatelectionsecuritywasFacebook’stoppriority. Butrecently,fouremployeestoldThe… ReadMore TRENDINGORIGINALS ‘Juststopbuyinglattes’:Theoriginsofamillennialhousingmyth Canacorporation"own"acolor? WhyasmallcandycompanyisWarrenBuffett’s‘dream’investment AchatwithRayDalio WhyAmericahassofewcarpenters NeverMissWhat’sHappeningInBusinessandTech Thankyouforsubscribing. Yoursubmissionfailed.Pleasetryagain! TrustedBy2M+Readers Vettedbusinessideasyoucanlaunchinaweekend Get1,000+Ideas💰 “Entertaining,informative,keepsyoucomingbackformore...” TheHustleDailyShow ListenonApplePodcast ListenonCastro ListenonSpotify Psst How'dBezosbuildabilliondollarempire? In1994,JeffBezosdiscoveredashockingstat:Internetusagegrew2,300%peryear. Datashowswheremarketsareheaded. Andthat’swhywebuiltTrends—toshowyouup-and-comingmarketopportunitiesabouttoexplode.Interested? YES,IWANTIN→ WeusecookiestomaketheHustlewebsiteabetterplace.Cookieshelptoprovideamorepersonalizedexperienceandrelevantadvertisingforyou,andwebanalyticsforus.Tolearnmoreaboutthedifferentcookieswe'reusing,checkoutourCookieSettings.Forfurtherinformation,checkoutourCookiePolicy&ourPrivacyPolicy.DeclineAllowCookiesManageconsent Close PrivacyOverview Thiswebsiteusescookiestoimproveyourexperiencewhileyounavigatethroughthewebsite.Outofthesecookies,thecookiesthatarecategorizedasnecessaryarestoredonyourbrowserastheyareessentialfortheworkingofbasicfunctionalitiesofthewebsite.Wealsousethird-partycookiesthathelpusanalyzeandunderstandhowyouusethiswebsite.Thesecookieswillbestoredinyourbrowseronlywithyourconsent.Youalsohavetheoptiontoopt-outofthesecookies.Butoptingoutofsomeofthesecookiesmayhaveaneffectonyourbrowsingexperience. Necessary Necessary AlwaysEnabled Necessarycookiesareabsolutelyessentialforthewebsitetofunctionproperly.Thiscategoryonlyincludescookiesthatensuresbasicfunctionalitiesandsecurityfeaturesofthewebsite.Thesecookiesdonotstoreanypersonalinformation. Functional functional Functionalcookieshelptoperformcertainfunctionalitieslikesharingthecontentofthewebsiteonsocialmediaplatforms,collectfeedbacks,andotherthird-partyfeatures. CookieDurationDescription__cf_bm30minutesThiscookie,setbyCloudflare,isusedtosupportCloudflareBotManagement. Analytics analytics Analyticalcookiesareusedtounderstandhowvisitorsinteractwiththewebsite.Thesecookieshelpprovideinformationonmetricsthenumberofvisitors,bouncerate,trafficsource,etc. CookieDurationDescription__hssc30minutesThiscookiekeepstrackofsessions. ThisisusedtodetermineifHubSpotshouldincrementthesessionnumberandtimestampsinthe__hstccookie. Itcontainsthedomain,viewCount(incrementseachpageViewinasession),andsessionstarttimestamp.__hssrcsessionWheneverHubSpotchangesthesessioncookie,thiscookieisalsosettodetermineifthevisitorhasrestartedtheirbrowser. IfthiscookiedoesnotexistwhenHubSpotmanagescookies,itisconsideredanewsession. Itcontainsthevalue"1"whenpresent.__hstc6monthsThemaincookiefortrackingvisitors. Itcontainsthedomain,utk,initialtimestamp(firstvisit),lasttimestamp(lastvisit),currenttimestamp(thisvisit),andsessionnumber(incrementsforeachsubsequentsession)._ga6monthsThe_gacookie,installedbyGoogleAnalytics,calculatesvisitor,sessionandcampaigndataandalsokeepstrackofsiteusageforthesite'sanalyticsreport.Thecookiestoresinformationanonymouslyandassignsarandomlygeneratednumbertorecognizeuniquevisitors._gat_gtag_UA_58267113_71minuteThiscookieissetbyGoogleandisusedtodistinguishusers._gat_UA-58267113-71minuteThisisapatterntypecookiesetbyGoogleAnalytics,wherethepatternelementonthenamecontainstheuniqueidentitynumberoftheaccountorwebsiteitrelatesto.Itappearstobeavariationofthe_gatcookiewhichisusedtolimittheamountofdatarecordedbyGoogleonhightrafficvolumewebsites._gcl_au3monthsProvidedbyGoogleTagManagertoexperimentadvertisementefficiencyofwebsitesusingtheirservices._gid1dayInstalledbyGoogleAnalytics,_gidcookiestoresinformationonhowvisitorsuseawebsite,whilealsocreatingananalyticsreportofthewebsite'sperformance.Someofthedatathatarecollectedincludethenumberofvisitors,theirsource,andthepagestheyvisitanonymously._omappvp6monthsThe_omappvpcookieissettodistinguishnewandreturningusersandisusedinconjunctionwith_omappvscookie._omappvs20minutesThe_omappvscookie,usedinconjunctionwiththe_omappvpcookies,isusedtodetermineifthevisitorhasvisitedthewebsitebefore,orifitisanewvisitor._omra6monthshubspotutk6monthsThiscookiekeepstrackofavisitor'sidentity.ItispassedtoHubSpotonformsubmissionandusedwhendeduplicatingcontacts. ItcontainsanopaqueGUIDtorepresentthecurrentvisitor.om-wip10afyetrnlu70kibe1monthUsedtodetermineifavisitorhasbeenshownacampaignbytheslugsailthru_content1yearNodescriptionavailable.sailthru_pageviews30minutesNodescriptionavailable.sailthru_visitor1yearNodescriptionavailable.test_cookie15minutesThetest_cookieissetbydoubleclick.netandisusedtodetermineiftheuser'sbrowsersupportscookies. Advertisement advertisement Advertisementcookiesareusedtoprovidevisitorswithrelevantadsandmarketingcampaigns.Thesecookiestrackvisitorsacrosswebsitesandcollectinformationtoprovidecustomizedads. CookieDurationDescription_clck1yearThiscookieissetbyMicrosoftClarity.PersiststheClarityUserIDandpreferences,uniquetothatsite,onthebrowser.ThisensuresthatbehaviorinsubsequentvisitstothesamesitewillbeattributedtothesameuserID._clsk1yearThiscookieissetbyMicrosoftClarity.ConnectsmultiplepageviewsbyauserintoasingleClaritysessionrecording._fbp3monthsThiscookieissetbyFacebooktodisplayadvertisementswheneitheronFacebookoronadigitalplatformpoweredbyFacebookadvertising,aftervisitingthewebsite._lc2_fpi2yearsThiscookieissetbyLiveIntent.Arandom,unique,deviceidentifier,storedasa1stpartycookie,toenabletargetedadvertising_li_dcdm_csessionThiscookieissetbyLiveIntent.Thedomainnamewherethe_lc2_fpicookiewasstored_tt_enable_cookie13monthsTomeasureandimprovetheperformanceofyouradvertisingcampaignsandtopersonalizetheuser'sexperience(includingads)onTikTok._tt_sessionId13monthsTomeasureandimprovetheperformanceofyouradvertisingcampaignsandtopersonalizetheuser'sexperience(includingads)onTikTok._ttp13monthsTomeasureandimprovetheperformanceofyouradvertisingcampaignsandtopersonalizetheuser'sexperience(includingads)onTikTok._uetsid1dayThiscookieissetbyMicrosoftAdvertising.ItcontainsthesessionIDforauniquesessiononthesite._uetvid13monthsThiscookieissetbyMicrosoftAdvertising.UETassignsthisunique,anonymizedvisitorID,representingauniquevisitor.UETstoresthisdatainafirst-partycookie.ANONCHK10minutesThiscookieissetbyMicrosoftClarity.IndicateswhetherMUIDistransferredtoANID,acookieusedforadvertising.Claritydoesn'tuseANIDandsothisisalwayssetto0.CLID1yearIdentifiesthefirst-timeClaritysawthisuseronanysiteusingClarity.fr3monthsFacebooksetsthiscookietoshowrelevantadvertisementstousersbytrackinguserbehaviouracrosstheweb,onsitesthathaveFacebookpixelorFacebooksocialplugin.lidid2yearsThiscookieissetbyLiveIntent.Arandom,unique,deviceidentifier,storedasa3rdpartycookie,usedtoenabletargetedadvertisingMUID9monthsThiscookieissetbyMicrosoftAdvertising.IdentifiesuniquewebbrowsersvisitingMicrosoftsites.Thesecookiesareusedforadvertising,siteanalytics,andotheroperationalpurposes.SMsessionThiscookieissetbyMicrosoftClarity.UsedinsynchronizingtheMUIDacrossMicrosoftdomains.SRM_B1year24daysThiscookieissetbyMicrosoftClarity.IdentifiesuniquewebbrowsersvisitingMicrosoftsites.X-AB1dayNodescriptionavailable. Others others Otheruncategorizedcookiesarethosethatarebeinganalyzedandhavenotbeenclassifiedintoacategoryasyet. Save&Accept Poweredby Gotomobileversion [class^="wpforms-"][class^="wpforms-"][email-submission-formbutton-text="JoinFree"include-trends-opt-in="true"success-url="https://thehustle.co/signup"default-source="thehustleco"default-medium="home-exit-popup"default-campaign="home-page"form-id="exit-popup-general"optinmonster-conversion="true"redirect-after-signup="https://thehustle.co/thank-you-hub/"] varonloadCallback=function(){ grecaptcha.render('verify-your-humanity',{ 'sitekey':'6LdddrcZAAAAALyttpvOqiwQGwq5BNhgDz4tMQGE' }); }; functiongetCookieValue(a){ varb=document.cookie.match('(^|[^;]+)\\s*'+a+'\\s*=\\s*([^;]+)'); returnb?atob(decodeURIComponent(b.pop())):''; } functiongetCookie(name){ varcookieArr=document.cookie.split(";"); for(vari=0;i{ varsp=newURLSearchParams(window.location.search); setHiddenFieldValue(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-source','utm_source','funnel_source','thehustleco'); setHiddenFieldValue(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-campaign','utm_campaign','funnel_campaign','home-page'); setHiddenFieldValue(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-medium','utm_medium','funnel_medium','home-exit-popup'); setHiddenFieldValue(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-referral','ref','funnel_referral',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-a','a',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-c','c',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-o','o',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-oc','oc',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-e','e',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-f','f',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-r','r',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-t','t',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-s1','s1',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-s2','s2',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-s3','s3',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-s4','s4',''); setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv,sp,'funnel-s5','s5',''); varerror_message=getCookieValue('validate-email-message'); if(error_message&&error_message.trim()!=''){ varerror=wrappingDiv.getElementsByClassName('funnel-error')[0]; varprev_email=getCookieValue('funnel_email'); error_message=prev_email+"isnotvalid.Pleasetryagain"; error.innerHTML=error_message; error.style=''; } }); if(false){ initCaptchaFormV2(); } } functioninitCaptchaFormV2(){ varv3RecaptchaResponseEl=document.getElementById('recaptcha-response-v3'); v3RecaptchaResponseEl.parentNode.removeChild(v3RecaptchaResponseEl); varwrappingDiv=document.getElementById('email-submission'); varsubForm=wrappingDiv.getElementsByClassName('email-submission')[0]; varcaptchaVersion=document.createElement('input'); captchaVersion.class='g-recaptchahidden-input'; captchaVersion.type='hidden'; captchaVersion.name='g-recaptcha-response-v2'; captchaVersion.value='true'; subForm.appendChild(captchaVersion); varcaptchaEl=document.createElement('div'); captchaEl.id='verify-your-humanity'; subForm.prepend(captchaEl); varcaptchaApiScriptEl=document.createElement('script'); captchaApiScriptEl.src='https://www.recaptcha.net/recaptcha/api.js?onload=onloadCallback&render=explicit'; captchaApiScriptEl.async=true; captchaApiScriptEl.defer=true; document.head.appendChild(captchaApiScriptEl); } functionappendCheckboxes_email_submission(){ varwrappingDiv=document.getElementById('email-submission'); varoptInDivs=wrappingDiv.querySelectorAll('.trends-opt-in'); optInDivs.forEach(el=>{ el.style.display=null; if(el.getElementsByClassName('trends-opt-in-checkbox').length<1){ varcheckbox=document.createElement('input'); checkbox.setAttribute('id','trends_opt_in_email_submission'); checkbox.setAttribute('class','trends-opt-in-checkbox'); checkbox.setAttribute('type','checkbox'); checkbox.setAttribute('name','trends_opt_in'); varlabel=document.createElement('label'); label.setAttribute('for','trends_opt_in_email_submission'); label.setAttribute('class','trends-opt-in-text'); label.textContent="Yes,I'dliketoreceiveadditionalemailsonhotbusinessopportunitiesfromTrends,bytheHustle"; el.appendChild(checkbox); el.appendChild(label); checkbox.click(); } }) } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded',(event)=>{ initForm(); if(true){ appendCheckboxes_email_submission(); } }); Thankyouforsubscribing.