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Busan Metropolitan City Selected for “Regional-Based Webtoon Artist Training Program” for Two Consecutive Years… Accelerating Its Leap Toward a Global Webtoon Hub

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Agency) has been selected for two consecutive years in the “2026 Regional-Based Webtoon Artist Training Program” contest hosted by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), securing KRW 150 million in national funding.

The “Regional-Based Webtoon Artist Training Program” supports platform institutions equipped with human and material educational infrastructure in the webtoon sector. The Agency, which operates the Global Webtoon Center, has been selected for the second consecutive year.

With the secured national funding of KRW 150 million, the city plans to intensively nurture emerging artists who will lead the regional webtoon industry and operate various programs to expand outcomes, including entry into domestic and international markets.

The program aims to discover and foster emerging artists by leveraging the region’s excellent human and material educational infrastructure. In particular, during the 2025 program operation, it achieved tangible results, including a 100% completion rate for all 13 trainees and six commercialization-linked outcomes, which served as the foundation for this consecutive selection.

The city and the Agency plan to go beyond simple education by providing a step-by-step growth system that enables local creators to make a practical entry into the webtoon industry.

Key programs include one-on-one customized mentoring by experts, practice-oriented special lectures on webtoon creation, evaluation sessions and field training, support for exhibitions in cooperation with overseas institutions, and programs linked to regional festivals and events.

Applications for aspiring and established artists to participate in this program will be accepted from April 10 to May 3. The 13 selected trainees will begin receiving full-scale expert mentoring and creative support starting in June. Detailed information can be found on the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency website (www.busanit.or.kr).

Cho Yu-jang, Director General of the Culture Bureau, stated, “This selection once again demonstrates Busan’s strong webtoon creation ecosystem and the capabilities of its artists,” adding, “By organically linking this project with existing infrastructure such as the Busan Global Webtoon Center and webtoon festivals, we will solidify a virtuous cycle that enables talent discovered in Busan to advance into the global market.”