The business of webtoons -- online-only, mobile-friendly comics -- has seen explosive growth around the world since the format emerged 20 years ago in South Korea.
Meteoric rise of South Korea's webtoons powers Nasdaq IPO. Image: Photography ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP
When Bae Jin-soo quit his well-paying job at one of South Korea's biggest conglomerates to write stories, his parents were so upset they kicked him out of the house.
But around seventeen years later, Bae is one of the biggest names in South Korea's thriving billion-dollar webtoon industry, having taught himself to draw and penned hits that have been turned into YouTube reality shows, plus a major Netflix series.
The business of webtoons -- online-only, mobile-friendly comics -- has seen explosive growth around the world since the format emerged 20 years ago in South Korea.
Webtoon Entertainment, the most popular digital comics hosting platform, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the tech-rich US Nasdaq stock exchange.
Owned by the South Korean tech giant Naver, Webtoon could reach a valuation of more than $2.6 billion after the IPO, according to an SEC filing on Monday.