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Webtoon Entertainment unveiled anime projects and previewed a Marvel Comics app, while KOCCA showcased Korean game studios.
Key Issues
• 20th anniversary at the Javits Center: NYCC ran from October 8 to 11 in Manhattan. One of the largest pop culture events on the US East Coast, it drew about 250,000 visitors last year. Marvel, DC and Japanese studios exhibited.
• Two standalone booths: In its third straight year at NYCC, Webtoon Entertainment ran two booths for the first time. Its 330-square-meter booth recreated the world of POGO's 'FOG LAND' with a 6-meter structure and drew about 50,000 visitors.
• Creator signings: POGO held his first US signing alongside five North American creators. He said stories that entertain Korean readers can also appeal to international audiences and expressed hopes of expanding his work into animation, film and games.
• Marvel Comics app launching November 16: A second booth previewed the Marvel Comics app, developed and operated by Webtoon Entertainment. It will offer more than 35,000 digital comics from Marvel, Star Wars and 20th Century Studios.
• Anime partnership with HAYATE and Crunchyroll: LINE Digital Frontier, Webtoon Entertainment's Japanese subsidiary, will co-develop anime adaptations of about 15 webtoons with HAYATE, which leads production, and Crunchyroll, which will stream some exclusively in select regions.
• Three anime projects highlighted: 'The Remarried Empress' (about 3 billion cumulative views) and 'The Boxer' (1.06 billion) were unveiled as new anime projects, alongside the previously announced 'Teenage Mercenary' (2.84 billion).
• KOCCA showcases Korean games: KOCCA's Korea Pavilion, previously focused on webtoons, featured four Korean game studios, including one with a mobile game based on ENHYPEN's IP. It drew about 8,000 visitors and hosted 43 business consultations worth US$3.4 million.
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