 | |
| Industry | Webtoons |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founder | Han Hee-sung |
| Parent | InfinityOne Comics Entertainment Inc. (CJ ENM) |
| Subsidiaries | Lezhin Studio [1] |
| Website | www |
Lezhin Comics is a webtoon portal that was founded by South Korean blogger Han Hee-sung in 2013. It is based in South Korea and its services are offered in Korean, Japanese and English.
Han Hee-sung, a Korean blogger, launched Lezhin Comics in June 2013. By November 2014, it hosted over 400 webtoons and cartoons, making it South Korea's largest webtoon publisher as of 2014. [2] The content is created by professional and amateur cartoonists including 2013 Korea Content Awards winner Lee Jin-young (Yool Lee) and 2014 Today's Cartoon Award winner Yoo Ayoung. [3]
In April 2015, Lezhin Comics launched its services in Japan. First started as a beta site, an official website was opened in July.[ citation needed ]
In December 2015, Lezhin Comics expanded its services to include English speaking regions. [4]
In May 2017, it became the largest shareholder in management agency UL Entertainment. [5]
In April 2019, it founded a drama and film production company Lezhin Studio. It will be led by former Warner Bros. Pictures Korea and NEW executive Byun Sung-min. [1]
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In September 2017, Lezhin faced a scandal regarding their treatment of Gray (회색), the author of Records of the Cold Moon (월한강천록), who announced on Twitter at the end of her contract with Lezhin that she was forced to work on her webtoon despite her reporting that she had cancer. [6] [7] In December 2017, Gray stated in another blog post [8] that she was not paid for the profits her webtoon made in the Chinese server for two years since the first payment in 2015 and that it was the true reason her contract ended with Lezhin. She also stated that she was not told the amount she would be paid by Lezhin, nor informed when the publication for her comic ended in China. Lezhin stated that they did not receive the payment for the sales nor the number of sales due to a change in management in their Chinese division. In response, Gray contacted the Chinese company who stated otherwise. It was also discovered that more than ten other artists were similarly unpaid.[ citation needed ]
In September 2017, the Korean Webtoon Authors Association posted a statement regarding problems in Lezhin's late penalty fee. [9] The late penalty fee charged the artist up to 9% of their monthly income should they give their manuscript late by more than two days after the due date. In November 2017, Lezhin released a statement announcing that the late penalty will be discontinued by 1 February 2018 to allow a three-month period to negotiate contracts with the artists. [10]
In December 2017, an article reported a blacklist Lezhin had for their artists, [11] which specifically excluded them from advertisements and promotional events. Lezhin responded by denying the existence of the blacklist. In January 2018, SBS reported a leaked email to exclude several works from the main page and any promotional works. [12]
In January 2018, Lezhin announced that their contracts with authors EunSong and Michii will be terminated on February 6. Both authors stated that they were informed not by Lezhin but by their social media accounts. Lezhin later stated that they would take legal action against EunSong and Michii for the spread of false rumors. [13] [14]
On January 11, a protest was held in front of the Lezhin office for the legal action and treatment against the authors. [15] A forum organized by the culture ministry was held late in the month to address the issue of abusive practices within the industry. [16]
In July 2018, Lezhin's CEO Hee-Sung Han officially acknowledged and apologized for the allegation that it created a blacklist of creators that gave them a disadvantages in the exposure and advertisements of their works; as well as the confusion caused to writers after the sudden discontinuation of its web novel platform. [17]
Manhwa is the general Korean term for comics and print-cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korean comics. Manhwa is directly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries. These comics have branched outside of Korea by access of Webtoons and have created an impact that has resulted in many movie and television show adaptations.
Webtoons (Korean: 웹툰) are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones.
Hello, Schoolgirl is a 2008 South Korean film. Adapted from Love Story, a popular webtoon by Kang Full, it is the second film directed by Ryu Jang-ha. It stars Yoo Ji-tae, Lee Yeon-hee, Chae Jung-an, and Kang-in.
Misaeng: Incomplete Life is a 2014 South Korean television series based on the webtoon series of the same title by Yoon Tae-ho. It aired on tvN from October 17 to December 20, 2014, on Fridays and Saturdays at 20:30 (KST) for 20 episodes.
Hyde Jekyll, Me is a 2015 South Korean television series starring Hyun Bin and Han Ji-min. It is based on Lee Choong-ho's webtoon Dr. Jekyll Is Mr. Hyde, which gave a romantic comedy spin on the literary character. The series aired on SBS from January 21 to March 26, 2015 on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 20 episodes.
A Girl Who Sees Smells is a 2015 South Korean television series adapted from the KTOON webtoon of the same title by Seo Soo-kyung a/k/a Man Chwi. Starring Park Yoo-chun, Shin Se-kyung, Namgoong Min and Yoon Jin-seo, it aired on SBS on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 21:55 for 16 episodes from April 1 to May 21, 2015.
Webtoon is a South Korean webtoon platform launched in 2004 by Naver Corporation, providing hosting for webtoons and compact digital comics. The platform is free, and is found both on the web at Webtoons.com and on mobile devices available for both iOS and Android.
W is a 2016 South Korean television series, starring Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo. Consisting of 16 episodes, it aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22:00 (KST) on MBC from July 20 to September 14, 2016. W centers on the clash between "two worlds": the real world and an alternate universe inside a webtoon, from which the title of the television series was taken.
School 2017 is a South Korean television series starring Kim Jung-hyun, Kim Se-jeong, Jang Dong-yoon, Han Sun-hwa, and Han Joo-wan. It aired on KBS2 from July 17 to September 5, 2017 every Monday and Tuesday at 22:00 (KST) for 23 episodes. The series is the seventh installment of KBS2's School franchise.
Illang: The Wolf Brigade is a 2018 South Korean science fiction action film directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Gang Dong-won, Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung and Kim Mu-yeol. It is a live action adaptation of the 1999 Japanese animated film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, itself based on Mamoru Oshii's manga Kerberos Panzer Cop and his wider Kerberos Saga.
Gangnam Beauty is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Im Soo-hyang, Cha Eun-woo, Jo Woo-ri and Kwak Dong-yeon. Based on the webtoon of the same name published in 2016 by Naver, it centers on the life of a college student who went under cosmetic surgery to evade derision from her bullies, yet her decision seems to backfire as her peers ridicule her artificial look. The title of the webtoon and of the TV series alludes to the Korean word gangnammiin, a derogatory term in South Korea for people who are attractive but look as if they went through a number of plastic surgeries for a pretty face, a hot body or both.
Studio N is a subsidiary of Webtoon Entertainment Inc. launched in August 2018 that produces drama films and television series based on stories from their Korean library of webtoons and web novels. The subsidiary is headed by Kwon Mi-kyung, who was a former head of the film business division of CJ ENM. Kwon describes the studio as a "IP bridge company that collaborates with existing film and drama production companies".
True Beauty (Korean: 여신강림) is a South Korean television series starring Moon Ga-young, Cha Eun-woo, Hwang In-youp, and Park Yoo-na. Based on the Line Webtoon of the same name by Yaongyi, it centers on a high school girl who, after being bullied and discriminated against because of being perceived as ugly, masters the art of makeup to transform herself into a gorgeous "goddess". It aired on tvN from December 9, 2020 to February 4, 2021, every Wednesday and Thursday at 22:30 (KST).
D.P. is a South Korean streaming television series directed by Han Jun-hee, from a screenplay by Kim Bo-tong and Han, based on the Lezhin webtoon D.P Dog's Day by Kim. The series stars Jung Hae-in, Koo Kyo-hwan, Kim Sung-kyun, and Son Suk-ku. The first season aired on Netflix on August 27, 2021. The second season was released on July 28, 2023.
True Beauty, also known as The Secret of Angel and other names, is a South Korean manhwa written and illustrated by Yaongyi. First published in Naver Webtoon from April 2, 2018 to June 28, 2023, it centers on a young woman who mastered the art of makeup in her teenage years in order to transform herself into a gorgeous "goddess" after being bullied and discriminated because of being perceived as ugly.
Island (Korean: 아일랜드) is a 2022 South Korean web series starring Kim Nam-gil, Lee Da-hee, Cha Eun-woo, and Sung Joon. Part 1 of the series premiered on TVING and Amazon Prime Video on December 30, 2022 and later aired on tvN on February 10, 2023, every Friday and Saturday at 22:10 (KST). The Part 2 of the drama premiered on February 24, 2023.
Moving (Korean: 무빙) is an ongoing South Korean television series directed by Park In-je. It is a Disney+ original starring Ryu Seung-ryong, Han Hyo-joo, Zo In-sung, Cha Tae-hyun, Ryoo Seung-bum, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Jung-ha, Go Youn-jung, and Kim Do-hoon. Based on the eponymous webtoon by Kang Full, the series is a supernatural drama that deals with three teenager high school students and their parents who discover their super powers. It premiered on August 9, 2023.
PULSE is a drama romance webtoon created by Thai artist Ratana Satis. The series follows the relationship between a renowned heart surgeon, Mel, and Lynn, a cardiac patient who refuses to get a heart transplant. It began publishing weekly on Lezhin Comics between May 2016 and November 2017 after winning Lezhin Comics' second World Comic Contest.
Love Is an Illusion! is a Korean boys' love manhwa written and illustrated by Fargo. The series has an omegaverse setting and follows Hye-sung, an Omega who thought he was an Alpha until recently, and Dojin, an Alpha who can't stand Omegas. The series was serialized online via Lezhin Comics between January, 2018, and March, 2021. On February 12, 2022, a sequel, Love is an Illusion! - The Queen, began serialization.
What Does the Fox Say? is a Korean girls' love manhwa series written by Gyeomji and illustrated by Gaji under the collective Team Gaji. The series follows Sungji as she joins a mobile game developer, Hello Studio, and begins a relationship with her team manager Sumin. The manhua was serialized online via Lezhin Comics from April 2015 to December 2019 after winning Lezhin Comics first World Comic Contest. It was collected into 6 prints volumes by Polar Fox on December 20, 2021.