We live in an era where AI creates art and anyone can easily create webtoons. While generative AI-based webtoon startups are receiving investment and calls for production efficiency are growing louder, a veteran creator with nearly 20 years of experience in the field has reached the opposite conclusion.
"Webtoons are a creative art industry, not a manufacturing industry. A conveyor belt system can't produce high-quality work."
Kang Won-gu, CEO of Uranus, a webtoon production company specializing in action and fantasy under Red Ice, is currently leading a studio with 20 employees and annual sales of 1.5 billion won, based on his experience of failing to segment divisions and increase staff while running a 100-person organization.
His conclusion was clear: "The key is to strengthen individual writers' capabilities and foster a corporate culture that fosters these capabilities."
The survival line is 15th place in the daily rankings, and 10,000 paid views are required per episode.
CEO Kang Won-gu graduated from Sangmyung University's Department of Cartoon and Art and earned a master's degree from the same university's graduate school before entering the webtoon industry. Uranus, a subsidiary of Red Ice, the creator of "Solo Leveling," is the majority shareholder and has published several hit series, including mega-hits in the action and fantasy genres.
Uranus recorded annual sales of 3 billion won in 2023, but this year, it's expected to reach 1.5 billion won. The number of employees, which had exceeded 100, has been reduced to around 20. He explained the harsh reality of the webtoon market, saying, "We can operate solely on Naver and Kakao serial revenue, but that's based on ranking within the top 15 on a daily basis."
The webtoon production company's profit structure was also revealed.
"The revenue distribution is roughly equal across platforms, and settlements are made monthly, starting two months after the series begins. The minimum number of views typically needs to exceed 10,000 to recoup production costs."
There is a minimum guarantee (MG) system, but the specific amount is not disclosed for industry security reasons.
"We increased our staff by segmenting them, but it didn't work."
The part that the representative of Gangwon-gu emphasized was his experience in improving production efficiency.
"We tried many different things, but increasing the number of employees and segmenting operations into separate departments didn't work. Previously, we had created and operated a large number of employees and specialized process areas, but we didn't see much of an effect."
He clearly stated the reason.
"Because webtoons are not a typical manufacturing industry, but a creative art industry. Creating high-quality works cannot be achieved with structures like mass production systems or conveyor belts."
The solution he found was to strengthen individual capabilities.
"It's important to strengthen the capabilities of each writer and to unleash them. And creating an atmosphere and corporate culture that fosters this is key."
Currently, Uranus has shifted to a planning-focused approach, with direct production handled by another label, Triple Line. He explained, "Since several labels are operating together, Uranus's own sales are not significant."
The production process proceeds as follows: planning → adaptation → concept art design → storyboard → line drawing → coloring → proofreading → typesetter/editing. Uranus does not adopt a studio brand strategy, instead publishing under the name of the serialized team. The company adheres to a one-team, one-work production model. CEO Kang Won-gu directly participates in all aspects of directing, from planning to adaptation and overall illustration. The internal director investigates and reports on cumulative viewership and sales rankings for each work.
AI is at the level of a high school freshman aspiring to art school. It will be actively utilized as it becomes smarter.
The Gangwon-gu representative gave a realistic assessment of the use of AI tools.
"It's not that we haven't utilized AI and tools. However, they aren't being utilized to a great extent. We're seeing benefits at the level of creating references and utilizing them."
He currently evaluates AI's technical capabilities as "at the level of a smart first or second year high school student aspiring to an art school (comic department)."
However, he expressed expectations for future technological advancements.
"I anticipate technological advancements in this area soon. If so, I'd like to leverage the program to produce more work with our current small team of writers."
We plan to actively utilize AI as it becomes smarter, but at this point, we believe that human capabilities are far more important.
Preparing for animation and game expansion, investment will be "valuable after verifying technical capabilities."
Regarding the second business expansion, he said, “We currently have plans to produce animations and games, but I cannot go into detail due to security issues,” and “I think it will expand in the same form as the ‘I Solo Level Up’ animation and game from Red Ice headquarters.”
The biggest obstacle to IP expansion was IP ownership, with production costs cited as the second. He explained that from the planning stage, games, dramas, and films are differentiated and appropriate planning techniques are applied.
We are cautious about attracting investment.
"Aside from the investment we made in establishing Red Ice, we've never received outside investment. We'd like to attract investment. However, we want to receive valuable investment only after our unique production technology has been proven."
He hinted at the label's strategy, saying, "I want to receive investment from a pipeline manufacturer, not Uranus."
Arrogance toward writers and readers is a surefire path to ruin.
In his advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, he emphasized the importance of humility.
"It's always good to have fun and enjoy yourself. However, I believe that even once in your work and business, being rude and arrogant toward the author, or arrogant toward your readers, is a surefire way to ruin."
We live in an era where AI is churning out webtoons. Amidst the growing illusion that anyone can easily create content, a veteran with 20 years of experience in the field has reached a clear conclusion: creation isn't a factory, and masterpieces don't come from conveyor belts. Uranus's decision to downsize from a 100-person organization to 20 and focus on strengthening individual capabilities over specialized departments is drawing keen attention to what fruits will bear under Red Ice.
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