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There are several dramas and films that are familiar to most Koreans: Along with the Gods, the first Korean film that attracted as many as 26 million movie goers; Incomplete Life, a drama that stirred the emotions of audiences by showing the life, joys, and sorrows of office workers; What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim?, a romance about a couple playing hard to get; and Pegasus Market, a pleasant drama that unfolds at a troubled store. Even though these films and dramas are very popular, some people may not know that they all have something in common—they are all based on online comics, or webtoons.

Webtoons, created based on unique subjects and marked by outstanding creativity and remarkable imagination, form a general trend in Korea’s cultural content market. Diverse real-time, information-sharing platforms have appeared with the advancement of internet technology. This has led to the development of contents, such as Webtoons, created especially for these new platforms. Webtoons are appealing because they can be read simply by touching a screen and scrolling down. In recent years, the webtoon market has grown rapidly at a surprising rate.

This growth is the result of Korea’s “snack culture” (in which people consume media in short periods of time), which has spread due to the popularization of smart devices, and the trend of valuing speed and avoiding anything cumbersome. These trends have caused internet portal sites to become reliable supporters of webtoons, helping them take off in popularity. Webtoons have also gained popularity among many readers because they overcome the shortcomings of conventional paper comic books. This support has helped ensure greater profitability for webtoon artists, giving them more opportunities to create works and to strengthen their overall presence.

Korean webtoons are being combined with other genres to create new cultures and are being exported to foreign countries, offering a new revenue model. These changes, to some extent, are ensuring the sustainability and success of webtoons, arousing an even greater feeling of expectancy in the market.

Many times, fans of a webtoon look forward to adaptations of the original webtoon. Loyal fans maintain their interest in the work, wondering how the original webtoon will be adapted into a musical, play, drama, and/or film, and they wonder who will play the characters that they love. Other times, people watch a recreated adaptation of a webtoon first and then want to read the original webtoon.

“One source multi use (OSMU)” is a term that refers to the way a creative work is converted into various additional creative works. Cultural content recreated in this way has the positive effect of raising consumer interest in related creative works.

Even just a few short years ago, few people seriously considered producing drama or film adaptations of webtoons. This hesitancy stemmed from the fact that if the adaptation failed at the box office or had a low viewer rating, the production company would experience large losses or have difficulties recouping the tremendous production costs. However, more recently, these hesitations have been overcome, and the popularity of original webtoons and their drama and film adaptations have soared. Now, webtoons are even being converted into plays and musicals.

When the webtoon series What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? and Pegasus Market were recreated and converted into dramas, the adaptations made were kept at a minimum to keep the same moods as the originals; these adaptations subsequently gained much popularity. In contrast, the webtoon-turned-film Along with the Gods made different changes to add elements of fun and suspense. This film was also very popular and attracted tens of millions of movie goers. So then, what decisions must be made when producing a play or a musical based on a webtoon? To answer this question, I watched two works created based on webtoons that are lavishly acclaimed by audiences.

It's Okay if You Don't Shine, a play staged last October, was created based on Kkamajung’s popular webtoon of the same title, which was serialized from July 2017 to March 2019. Fans of the original webtoon had great expectations when they heard the news that the webtoon, which received an average rating of 9.97, would be made into a play.

Park Kyung-chan, the director of the play said, “I felt quite burdened during the production process. We maintained the keywords of the original work, such as empathy, consolation, and growth, while focusing on delivering the story that unfolds in Chanran’s mind, an abstract space, on stage.” In actuality, the play was very close to the original, and even the actors and actresses were almost identical in appearance to the webtoon’s original characters. This was done out of consideration for the fans of the original webtoon.

However, some changes were unavoidable due to the characteristics of a play. First, the personalities of the characters were made more prominent for theatrical amusement and to create touching scenes. Some episodes were also added to the play to visually show Chanran’s state of mind using a variety of devices.

The play It's Okay if You Don't Shine went through a development period of more than two years. The storyline of the original was maintained in a balanced manner, while living, breathing sensibilities were added to suit the stage environment. As a result, the play successfully touched the hearts of audiences with the same warm sense of comfort conveyed by the original, overcoming the limitations of time and space.

In both the webtoon and the play, Chanran, a 23-year-old college student, has a hard time as she works her part-time job every day. She feels weighed down by life, and for her, leisure time is truly a scarce and precious commodity. One day, she meets Dorae by chance, and through Dorae, she joins a theatrical club that is closing soon. She experiences different things together with the members of the theatrical club as she works with them to produce the club’s last play. The club members support and encourage one another as they share the shining moments of youth.

Each new day holds the same promise as the promise of youth. Youth is always beautiful and fresh. Yet, unfortunately, the youths of today cannot always afford to enjoy themselves in the present moment. Some young people don’t realize how valuable their youth is, while others cannot enjoy the present moment because they have too many other things that they have to do . The play shares the message that even the most “common” of youths have the ability to sparkle and shine in their everyday lives.

The play has a storyline that anyone can easily relate to, especially if they are in need of comfort and consolation. In the play, Dorae says to Chanran that he wants to help Chanran, who lives as if she has forgotten “how to breathe,” to learn how to breathe again. This sentiment resonates deeply in the hearts of audiences. I watched the play It's Okay if You Don't Shine in the middle of the fall. It is a play that has the ability to cheer people up as they go about their daily lives and to encourage them to always shine. It is a play that has the power to give consolation and courage to many people.

The musical One More, which premiered last September, is a unique and attractive time-loop romance in which the main character experiences the same day over and over again. Time travel is often used as the subject of many films and dramas, but this musical presents a time travel story in a new and fresh way.

The title of the original webtoon on which the play is based is The Day After We Broke Up, co-authored by Nam Ji-eun and Kim In-ho. The webtoon was made into a Korean web drama in 2016 and later broadcast in Japan and China. This hit drama can be seen through Netflix’s streaming services.

The stage background of One More creates a pretty and cozy vibe, using some scenes from the original webtoon. The stage background has preserved the setting of the original webtoon, and both the stage and cast look as if they have come straight out of the original webtoon.. However, some theatrical adaptations have been made, including many changes to the storyline.

The first noticeable thing is that the main character’s name has been changed. The unknown signer Yutak from the webtoon is renamed Yutan in the play and is the leader of an indie band. There are some changes to the setting, too. Yutan experiences the same day on repeat, and he has an equivocal relationship with Dain, his vocal instructor. Sometimes the two seem as if they are a couple, while at other times, they seem like they are only friends. In the original webtoon, the two quarrel due to mistakes and misunderstandings that happen during a Christmas concert. But in the musical, they quarrel when the main character makes a realistic decision to make his dream come true.

Given that musicals typically consist of music, acting, and compelling stories, this change is very natural. Unnecessary side stories were removed by changing the relationship between the two characters and the cause of the conflict. This makes Yutan’s behavior justifiable and accentuates his earnest feelings for Dain.

Watching Yutan as he tries to free himself from repeating the same painful day and win back the most important person in his life teaches the audience about taking care of the important people in their lives. After repeating the same day numerous times, the main character finally realizes the importance of his beloved. When he happily sings again and creates music, which gives life to his heart and soul, the audience feels both relief and a sense of catharsis. The musical One More uses magical scenes, experienced second hand by the audience, to share the message that we should treasure all the moments and people in our lives. It also gives the audience an opportunity to reflect on their present lives.

Selected for the Comics Related Content Production Support Project 2019 operated by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), the play It's Okay if You Don't Shine and the musical One More captivated the hearts of audiences with their sense of charm and fun, even though they are somewhat different from the original webtoons. Despite these differences, the recreated works draw their vitality from the original webtoons and present many moving moments that gain a very positive response from theater audiences.

People naturally look at webtoon adaptations with a mix of concern and hope. Excessive dependence on webtoons can lead to less opportunities for creation. Furthermore, when a webtoon is adapted into another form of art, the message of the original webtoon can be undermined or distorted, or the two forms of art can somehow cause damage to one another. Above all else, adaptations of popular webtoons are not always guaranteed to be a success.

However, webtoons that are truly outstanding do not lose their originality after being adapted and embellished in the recreation process or in the process of changing genres. Adaptations of webtoons typically maintain a clear sense of originality and are recognized as new created works. The successful coexistence of original webtoons and their adaptations is leading many to expect that new works and adaptations will continue to be produced.

The OSMU trend of Korean webtoons will certainly continue. I, for one, support this trend because it widens the Korean cultural base. I hope that newly recreated content will also stand as cultural contents with independent competitiveness and will continue to grow along with the original webtoons on which they are based.