The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) has launched a new Startup Support Program to help emerging companies break into South Korea’s growing manhwa and webtoon comic industry.

This accelerator program will run until November 30, ending with KOCCA selecting eight projects to receive funding. Applications are now open on the Korean government’s website to both pre-startups (companies founded after March 20, 2024) and early-stage startups (founded between March 20, 2022, and March 19, 2024), closing on April 8.  

KOCCA will distribute the funding among four projects per category, with pre-startups receiving US$35,000 to add new content and features to their manhwa and webtoon platforms, while early-stage companies will receive up to US$75,000 to scale up content and enhance existing services. 

The South Korean webtoon industry generated a record-breaking US$1.49 billion in global revenue in 2023—up 19.7% from its 2022 results, according to a report published in January by KOCCA and the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Japan is the largest market for these products, accounting for 40.3% of the global take, followed by North America at 19.7%.

Pictured is Miriam Bonastre Tur’s fantasy series Hooky.