South Korean-born ”webtoons” are gaining momentum in the global market, but they are once again suspected of plagiarizing Japanese works.

On the 8th of this month, South Korean media reported on suspicions of plagiarism by Naver Webtoon, a web comic service provided by Naver, the country's largest portal site. Theft in Naver Webtoon
Two incidents occurred last year as well. Webtoons are digital manga that originated in South Korea and are now gaining popularity around the world. Japan, a ``manga superpower,'' has also been pushed by this momentum, and has regained its former brilliance.
There are also indications that they are being lost. It goes without saying that plagiarism is never an acceptable act, but when we look at cases where people try to steal Japanese works, it becomes clear that Japan is the ``absolute power'' in the manga market.
It seems that the position is still in good condition. Webtoon is a coined word that combines the word ``web,'' meaning posted on the Internet, and the word ``cartoon.'' Posting on the web
Taking advantage of the fact that it is published in Japanese, the work is characterized by being vertically scrolling and entirely in color. There are works in various genres such as comedies, love stories, and fantasy. 2000s
It first appeared on the scene, and with the spread of smartphones and tablets, many works have now been translated and are gaining popularity not only in Korea but also overseas, such as Japan and the United States.
Webtoons have also brought about changes in the training of manga artists. Until then, manga artists had published publishers' manga magazines and famous manga artists.
He started his career as an apprentice to a manga artist and was aiming to make his debut, but webtoons inspired a new type of manga artist who runs his own homepage and serializes short manga.
began to appear. It can be said that the door has become more open for amateur manga artists to become professionals. Naverwebtoon, Korea's largest webtoon platform
Woon was established in 2004 as one of Naver's services. Currently, Webtoon Worldwide is a coalition of platforms made up of group companies from around the world.
The company provides webtoons to approximately 82 million users in 10 languages around the world. "The Goddess Advent", "Hell" (original title), and "Now, our
The company has expanded its business into a variety of industries, including the publication of original web comics, movies and TV series based on web novel IP, and has become popular after being made into a movie.
While the size of the manga publishing market is decreasing year by year, the size of the global webtoon market continues to expand, reaching a scale of 5.6 billion dollars (approximately 825,731 million yen) in 2030.
is expected to grow. Last year, the British current affairs weekly magazine The Economist wrote, ``Japan's manga industry has lost its luster as it has been eclipsed by Korean webtoons, which have emerged in line with the digital age.''
An article was published stating that The article points out that while webtoons are experiencing rapid growth, Japan's manga industry is in decline. ``Since the 1960s, manga production has followed the traditional method.
"The conservative structure of the industry has created this contrasting situation." On the other hand, the article cited works such as Masahiko Inoue's ``Vagabond'' and Kentaro Miura's ``Berserk,'' and ``Japan's
"Nga has preserved his strengths, such as his structure and delicate drawings, which allow him to convey complex stories." As Korean-born webtoons gain momentum, Korean newspapers such as Chosun Ilbo are reporting on them.
According to reports, ``I Want to Date Girls'', which is being serialized every Friday on Naver Webtoon, will have several episodes based on the popular Japanese manga ``Kaguya-sama: Love Love: Love Love of Geniuses''.
There are rumors that he plagiarized the works ``Nousen~'' and ``Oshi no Ko'' (both works by Aka Akasaka). “I Want to Date Girls” began serialization on Naver Webtoon in September last year.
Ta. According to Chosun Ilbo, readers have pointed out that, ``Although the characters' appearances are different, the emotional situations, dialogue, and story development of the characters in the story are the same.''
This is not the first time that a plagiarism affair has occurred in Naver Webtoon.
Publication was temporarily suspended after it was pointed out that ``Rules'' was very similar to the popular Naver Webtoon work ``Girls' Trial''.
Naver Webtoon is being monitored after a series of plagiarism reports
・In addition to the program, if plagiarism is confirmed, measures are taken such as canceling the series. South Korea is trying to compete on the world stage with its homegrown "webtoons"
If so, I would like the work to be completely original.