Use of legal webtoon platforms has surged alongside the implementation of a system that rapidly blocks access to illegal content distribution sites. Industry observers note that fundamental measures to prevent illegal distribution, such as simultaneous global webtoon serialization, must accompany this trend to sustain its momentum.
According to Mobile Index on Tuesday, new installations of the Naver Webtoon and Kakao Page applications jumped sharply late last month and have remained elevated since. In the fourth week of April (April 27 to May 3), combined new installations of the two apps totaled 155,181, up 38.7% from 111,804 in the previous week (April 20-26). Although installations fell roughly 21% to 121,861 in the first week of May (May 4-10), the figure far exceeded this year's weekly average of 104,351. The fourth week of April and the first week of May rank as the first and second highest weekly totals for combined new installations of the two apps this year.
The industry attributes the influx to legal platforms from late April to the emergency blocking system for illegal content distribution sites, which took effect May 11. Under the system, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) can block access to a site as soon as illegal content distribution is detected. Previously, even when reports were filed, review processes took time, limiting the effectiveness of access blocks. The new system enables swift action. Nu Toki, Korea's largest illegal webtoon site, appeared to anticipate the change by announcing the termination of its service on April 27.
Observers say robust preventive measures must accompany the trend for legal platforms to remain active. Despite emergency blocking, bypass access and the creation of similar sites remain possible. In particular, many call for alternatives to address overseas illegal distribution, which is difficult for the government to influence. "Illegal webtoon distribution is now a more serious problem overseas than in Korea," said Suh Beom-gang, chairman of the IP Convergence Industry Association. "The government and platform companies must provide more active support so that more Korean works are officially serviced overseas."
A practical alternative cited is expanding "simultaneous global serialization," which releases official translations without a time gap from the Korean release. Users often turn to illegal sites because of the delay in local-language translations of Korean webtoons. Naver Webtoon recently piloted simultaneous serialization on four titles, and overseas payments rose by as much as 208% compared to before. "Simultaneous serialization requires both creators to meet deadlines faster and platforms to translate faster, and AI use is essential for this," Suh said. "Some webtoon readers tend to view AI use as taboo, but an appropriate level helps the webtoon ecosystem." According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the Japanese government also announced measures earlier this year to promote AI translation in response to the overseas illegal distribution of anime.
