Issue Focus

Webtoon Goldmine: How Naver Cracked Thailand’s Paid Fan Economy While Rivals Flee

This article demonstrates how Naver Webtoon’s decade-long investment in the Thai market is 

translating into paid offline fan events with strong turnout: offering a blueprint for monetizing

K-webtoon fandom in Southeast Asia even as competitors retreat.

♦  Paid Fan Festival Breaks Attendance Records

     • Naver Webtoon’s first official fan convention in Thailand, “WEBTOON CON 2025,” drew 2,600 visitors in

       just seven hours at Bangkok’s Samyan Mitrtown

     • Over 2,000 attendees purchased bundled tickets including exclusive merchandise like T-shirts, proving

       willingness to pay for premium fan engagement

♦  From Digital to Physical Fan Universe

     • The event featured 50+ Thai-language webtoon booths, creator autograph sessions, pop-up stores,

       and immersive WEBTOON Universe experiences

     • This follows last year’s Bangkok pop-up store where some fans spent up to ₩550,000, with 10,000

       visitors recorded over two weeks

♦  Market Domination as Competitors Exit

     • Korean rivals are downsizing: Kakao is shutting its local subsidiary and ending Kakao Webtoon service

       by August 2026, though KakaoPage will relaunch

     • NHN also exited Thailand and Vietnam earlier, leaving Naver Webtoon as the most entrenched Korean

       platform in the region

♦  Southeast Asian Fan Economy Breakthrough

      • Thailand’s GNI per capita sits at $7,120, making ticket prices relatively high, yet strong demand reflects

        deep cultural penetration of Korean webtoons

     • Naver frames the success as proof of its 10-year fandom foundation, demonstrating resilience and

       scalability of Korean IP

Source

Herald Biz. (2025. 9. 9)

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10571708 (Korean version only)