The government has announced measures aimed at promoting the nation's comic book and webtoon industries as the next leading K-content.

Under the plan put forth by the culture ministry on Tuesday, the government will provide foreign market information and consulting for domestic companies seeking a global platform similar to Netflix for “manhwa” – Korean comic books and webtoons.

The state budget for interpretation and translation services for businesses seeking to expand overseas has been increased from 600 million won, or around 450-thousand U.S. dollars, last year to one billion won this year.

A new training program to foster around 30 webtoon writers annually will launch in 2025, while another program to develop translators to offer services for overseas exports will be introduced by 2027.

A department to support the creation, distribution, overseas market entry of manhwa and webtoons will be established at the state-run Korea Creative Content Agency, while a committee to promote the cartoon industry will launch to facilitate communication between creators and businesses.

The ministry will seek to start a prestigious international award event for the cartoon industry akin to the Cannes Film Festival. 

Officials have set a growth target for the country’s manhwa and webtoon industry at four trillion won by 2027, with exports rising to 250 million dollars.