RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta -Indonesia’s rich culture, folklore, and ethnic diversity are valuable assets that enable local creators to produce webtoons that can compete in international markets.

This potential is increasingly being realized through collaboration with South Korean creative industry leaders, who have built a world‑class webtoon ecosystem.

Chairman of the Korean Webtoon Critics Association, Park Se Hyun, said Indonesia has an abundant source of story inspiration that has yet to be widely explored in the global webtoon industry.

“Indonesia has extraordinary diversity. Its local stories can be a strength for producing works that touch readers worldwide,” Park said at the Indonesia K‑Culture Youth Global Frontier: Webtoon Road in Indonesia event in Jakarta on Saturday, July 18, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

He explained that for eight days, Korean creators visited villages, museums, and mosques across Indonesia to learn about local life and draw inspiration from culture. The experience reinforced his belief that Indonesia has strong potential to produce webtoons that resonate with international audiences.

Park noted that the webtoon industry in Indonesia still has ample room for growth. The exhibition, a collaboration between Indonesian and South Korean creators, is expected to be a first step toward producing more digital works from Indonesia that can compete globally.

Kisai Entertainment CEO Tessa Yadawaputri, whose company pioneered webtoon production in Indonesia, said learning directly from Korean professionals is an invaluable experience for Indonesian students and young creators.

“Korea has set the global standard for webtoon, and we hope this collaboration will continue and produce the next generation of Indonesian creators,” she said.

SMB Holdings Director Park Gun Yong emphasized that the success of today’s creative industry depends not only on the quality of content but also on an ecosystem that connects creators, platforms, and global markets.

“K‑content is loved by the global community. However, simply creating good work is not enough. Content must be connected with other industries to create greater economic value,” he said.

He added that SMB Holdings is developing an international digital payment platform to support the content industry ecosystem and make it easier for Indonesian creators to reach global markets.

Meanwhile, E‑Jong News Editor Lee Chul Ho explained that Indonesia was chosen as a partner because of its large market and wealth of unique local stories that can be developed into digital content.

“I was curious why Indonesians love horror so much. After learning more about Indonesian culture and diversity, I realized there are many folktales and legends that could be developed into interesting webtoons,” he said.

SMB HUB Prospera President Director Lee Buyong added that advances in digital technology have opened new opportunities for Indonesian creators. The shift from print comics to digital platforms has made the webtoon industry more accessible and offers promising growth prospects.

“We used to read comics in book form, but now everyone is reading them on their mobile phones. This shows that the future of the webtoon industry is very promising,” he said. ***