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KIDARI ENT is a company of a new genre that produces webcomics. So far, the norm in Korea was that webcomic authors themselves would produce their works, draw them and finally look for the right platforms on which to publish them. But KIDARI ENT produces and creates its own webcomics and web fictions and then publishes them on various platforms. 

For instance, the company has been serially publishing webcomic Makeup Genius (the unique chronicle of a makeup artist) and the webcomic adaptation of romance novel Light and Shadow on KakaoPage and other webtoon platforms. In addition, it actively seeks to sell the intellectual property rights of its webcomics and web fictions. 

KIDARI ENT consists of film production and local distribution company Cineguru and KIDARI Studio which does the actual production and creation of webcomics and web fictions. We have had the pleasure to meet KIDARI Studio’s Team Manager, LEE Woo-jae, to ask him a few questions.

Although KIDARI ENT’s main activity is film production, I think it’s more about selling stories rather than films. For example, we adapt a novel for the webcomic format, and then make a film based on that webcomic. Author agencies just manage and represent authors, while we are at the helm of the production and its financing from the very beginning. 

The writers’ income has improved a lot, but we’re still at the beginning of creating a studio system. The situation of writers in Korea when it comes to copyrights is somewhat unusual. Instead of the conditions that became the standards in Europe or the US, they are like those found in Japan. In Europe and the United States, agencies can keep the rights for their characters and use them in their webcomics, but in Korea these rights pass to the authors a couple of years after the end of the serial publication. And so, considering the writer’s fees, it’s a system that makes it difficult to produce big projects. But in order to increase our traffic we need long-running webcomics with 100 to 200 installments. Therefore, we expect to sell more subscriptions once the serial publication is over than during the serial publication. On top of that, each project requires the full investment of four or five people from the studio.

By the way, simultaneously with the appearance of webcomics and web fictions, we’ve seen the emergence of many genres that used to be overlooked in Korea. Literature market may have shrunk, but in the meantime the interest for romance, fantasy and chivalry novels have largely increased. What do you think may be the cause of these changes?

First, it is because the on-line payment system is convenient. Sales can even show different results depending on the payment methods. Also, the emotional context has changed. In the past, there weren’t as many people who would openly read fantasy, chivalry or romance novels like today. These days, a trend that is worth keeping an eye on is BL (or Boys’ Love, which designates romance novels featuring gay men). When an underground culture rises up and begins to lead a market, suppliers have to provide what readers demand. 

For the time being, we consider the film and drama markets, but we’re planning to start making web dramas in 2017. We also have an important business of productions linked to films. The prequel webcomics of thriller The Deal (2015) was produced by KIDARI ENT and another one based on crime noir Precious Woman (W/T) will be released soon. Both films are produced by Cineguru. Prequel webcomics used to be thought as a mean of promotion of movies, but our webcomics tell new stories based on scenarios that can be developed in different genres.

Do you consider expanding to overseas markets? 

We are going to provide content to Weibo in collaboration with Chinese company Shinhwa Comics. The interesting thing is that webcomics that are popular in a country are also famous in other ones. The French webcomic platform Delitoon is the only one in Europe that publishes Korean webcomics, and works like Honey Blood and Rewind are gaining popularity on that site. Prominent webcomics seem to have no frontiers. I guess the same will happen in China. Of course, there are still some differences to consider. For example, reading webcomics while scrolling down the page is still an unfamiliar practice for some Chinese readers. 

People say there are many authors in Korea, but in fact they are no more than 300 or 400. I don’t know about the scriptwriters, but the cartoonists have to be trained for more than fifteen years. However, many webcomic authors are expected to submit a completed work before they can even get a commission for the time and effort spent. Although the number of webcomic platforms has increased, the benefits are spent on advertising and marketing, not on the contents. Many qualified webcomic authors are now working in Japan or Europe. In response, we have decided to explore the paid subscriptions market so that we don't have to depend on the serial publication. 

I like ‘dark’ genres like thriller. (laughs) It is one of the best-selling genres abroad. Also, I have a liking for graphic novels as I used to work on their exports.