At the exhibition “Bang! K-Webtoon” held at the Korean Cultural Center in New York, three webtoons of “Nabillera,” “Goddess Kangrim,” and “The Red Sleeve” were introduced. The New York exhibition, which ran for about a month and a half, attracted about 900 visitors. In particular, there were many young K-Culture enthusiasts in their teens and 20s, and group visitors from middle and high schools in New York and nearby areas. Visitors showed great interest in Korean culture by watching an exhibition introduced with webtoons, traditional costumes, and historical materials, and taking commemorative photos in front of Gonryongpo.
Meanwhile, “Hola! K-Webtoon” is an exhibition where Korean comics meet Mexican visitors for the first time, and was prepared by the Korea Cartoon and Video Agency and the Korean Cultural Center in Mexico. The exhibition opened on 5 December 2022 at the Estudios Churubusco and will run until 5 February 2023.
The Mexican exhibition features three webtoons: “Goddess Kangrim,” which gained worldwide popularity for its colorful paintings, “The Red Sleeve,” which deals with the romance of King Jeongjo, the 2022 Korea Content Awards (comic category), and “Future Antique Shop,” which won the Bucheon Cartoon Awards. Through this exhibition using digital devices and three-dimensional directing techniques, visitors can experience Korean cartoon culture closer.
In particular, I tried to introduce Korean traditional culture through <The Red Sleeve>. Through the cooperation of the Seoul Museum of History, materials such as GwakjangYangmunrok and Gungnyeosa Temple are exhibited to enrich an understanding of the lives of court ladies of the Joseon Dynasty. In addition, it promotes the beauty of traditional Korean hanbok.
Mexico is also a region with high acceptance of Korean culture around the world. Even though the opening ceremony was a late evening on weekdays, many Hallyu and webtoon fans visited and took pictures with webtoon characters wearing hanbok, showing keen interest and enthusiasm for the exhibition.
Korean webtoons, which are captivating the world, are attracting attention as a new channel that expands the horizon of public diplomacy. Webtoons have an image of “innovation” in that they can be familiar to the public due to the nature of genres that can be expanded indefinitely, such as dramas, movies, animations, and games, and use digital devices. In this respect, webtoons can be used as a new driving force in giving a positive impression of Korea and continuing the Korean Wave boom. Webtoons are expected to continue to play the role of diplomatic envoys who take the lead in promoting Korea.
“Webtoons are captivating the hearts of people around the world,” said Shin Jong-chul, director of the institute. “The institute will continue cartoon diplomacy with domestic and foreign public-private institutions, and will continue to discover and actively support excellent cartoons so that Korea can move toward a soft power powerhouse,” he said.
