Kakao Webtoon: How You Can Read Webtoon Stories Every Day

Have you ever wanted to read the stories Kakao Webtoon recommends every day? Did you know that you can unlock episodes of your favorite webtoon just by waiting? Would you like to learn how Kakao Webtoon’s embedded technologies and a library full of amazing content are combined to deliver webtoons that match your particular tastes through its personalized recommendation system? Learn about how South Korea’s first major webtoon pioneering platform got started, how it rose to prominence, why it had a rebranded global launch, and how you can enjoy Kakao Webtoon today.

The History Of Kakao Webtoon

If you’ve never heard of a webtoon before, then think of it as a digital comic that is read on a web portal or a smartphone application on mobile devices. However, unlike western comic books from the likes of Marvel and DC which have panels and pages that a reader will flip through, webtoons have what is often called an ‘infinite canvas’ that can be scrolled from top to bottom for a single chapter. This makes them easily digestible on mobile devices.

South Korea’s First Digital Manhwa

South Korea’s version of comics is referred to as ‘manhwa’, and they first appeared in digital form on web portals like Lycos Korea and Yahoo! Korea in the early 2000s. In 2002, due to the rising popularity of these digital manhwa, the industry received government support from the Korea Creative Content Agency, which was also tasked with regulating web content.

Daum Webtoon

The first platform that was designed solely to cater to this new type of digital content was Daum Webtoon in 2003. The webtoon pioneering platform generally worked with artists under contract to create a limited series of webtoons consisting of 25 chapters. After the 25 chapters were completed, they would either sign a new contract to continue the story or simply begin with a completely new webtoon. Moss and The Great Catsby were some of the first hit webtoons on the Daum Platform.

Webtoons Explode In Popularity

Daum’s first major competitor Naver Webtoon started in 2004. It is estimated by Bloomberg that by 2007, these digital manhwa were so popular that nearly 25% of book sales in South Korea were comics, which is unheard of in western countries. At the time, there were more than 03 million users who purchased paid episodes of webtoons, while 10 million read them for free.

KakaoPage And Merger With Daum Webtoon

The Kakao Corporation launched its webtoon service called KakaoPage in 2013. Most of the other services at the time offered a mix of free episodes and the ability to unlock paid episodes. KakaoPage offered an alternative ‘wait or pay’ system. Users could unlock episodes for free by waiting for a certain amount of time. They also had the option to unlock paid episodes immediately by paying now. 
This became hugely popular since readers could enjoy stories in full by simply waiting. KakaoPage also offered individual users to create their own content and upload it to the platform where others can purchase it. Through a combination of great publisher and user-generated content, the webtoon service quickly became a hit. When Kakao merged with Daum in 2014 to form Daum Kakao, both Daum Webtoon and KakaoPage operated alongside each other, offering endless popular stories to their respective user bases.

The Kakao Webtoon Rebranded Global Launch

After creating over 1,300 original webtoons with thousands of artists for nearly two decades, the Daum Webtoon platform had a rebranded global launch in 2021 as Kakao Webtoon. The new service combined Daum’s highly successful content library with KakaoPage’s, allowing users to enjoy stories like Itaewon Class, Solo Leveling, Space Sweepers, and Navillera, all in one platform. 

Apart from the massive Korean fanbase, Kakao Webtoon is also hugely popular in Japan thanks to its Piccoma app which delivers webtoon services there. Kakao Entertainment, the subsidiary of Kakao Corporation that operates their webtoon services have already begun to expand into countries like Thailand, Taiwan, India, and China, as well as regions like Europe and North America. 

How You Can Read Stories Kakao Webtoon Recommends

Now let’s find out how you can enjoy stories every day on Kakao Webtoon entirely free of charge. First, you have to download the Kakao Webtoon app which is available for mobile devices on Apple App Store or Google Play Store. You can also enjoy Kakao Webtoon on a web browser if you prefer, but the readership experience is far better on the smartphone app.

Free Unlock Episodes

The app will load into what Kakao calls its ‘Universe Circle’ which displays a combination of trending webtoons and daily updates for ongoing popular stories. Users are allowed to infinitely explore different stories as long as they are free chapters. Usually, the prologue and the first couple of chapters of each story can be read free of charge. You will be able to seamlessly dive into different stories every day and wait for the next chapters to unlock.

Wait Or Pay To Unlock Paid Episodes

After reading the free chapters, users have a choice of waiting a few hours until the next chapters get unlocked. You can also rent the chapters you like to read immediately for 72 hours or purchase them to add to your permanent collection. The purchased webtoons will be visible in your library. If you would like to rent or purchase, you will require a Kakao Account.

The Kakao Webtoon Personalized Recommendation System

The endless popular stories Kakao Webtoon recommends are personalized based on your preferences and reading history. Kakao Webtoon’s embedded technologies will go through their massive content library and find you different stories to recommend every day. As the personalized recommendation system gets used to your preferences, your readership experience will continue to improve. You can also search categories similar to the webtoons you already like.

The Kakao Webtoon Gift Tickets

As you continue to use and enjoy Kakao Webtoon, you will also receive rewards such as gift tickets. These gift tickets will allow you to unlock paid episodes, allowing you to access even more webtoons for free. 

Popular Stories On The Kakao Webtoon Pioneering Platform

As you infinitely explore and enjoy stories on the Kakao Webtoon platform, you will no doubt come across a few of the most popular webtoons like The Great Catsby, Moss, and Soonjung Manhwa (Love Story) many of which are still available on the platform.

The Great Catsby

This popular webtoon created by Doha Kang and Kim Seung-jin is one of the earliest hits on Daum Webtoon. The title is a play on  F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby classic novel. It revolves around the unemployed university graduate Catsby who is facing a situation where his girlfriend Persu might leave him for a wealthier partner. While originally discontinued by Daum, The Great Catsby is available for free on Kakao Webtoon today and has been translated into English. The webtoon has also been adapted into a live-action tv drama and a musical. 

Moss

Moss was created by Yoon Tae-ho with its original run in Mankkik magazine in 2007 and was released on Daum from 2008 to 2009. This webtoon follows the story of Yoo Hae-guk who is investigating the death of his long-estranged father and a mystery surrounding the village where he died. Moss was adapted into a film directed by Kang Woo-suk which was nominated for many awards in South Korea.

Love Story

Soonjung Manhwa known internationally as Love Story or Crush On You was a romance webtoon created by Kang Full. This was one of the biggest hits on Daum Webtoon, bringing in over 60 million views on the platform in its early days from 2003 to 2004. Due to this massive popularity, Love Story was adapted into a 2008 feature film called Hello, Schoolgirl which was directed by Ryu Jang-ha. Although there were significant deviations from the source material, many agreed the themes of the popular webtoon were intact. The movie was a smash hit in South Korea.

The Future Of Kakao Webtoon

According to Jinsoo Lee the CEO of Kakao Entertainment, the company has invested 1.5 trillion Korean Won in recent years in efforts to build up its original content library to include over 8,500 webtoons. And with their new acquisitions of Tapas and Radish in markets like North America, Kakao Webtoon seems intent on delivering webtoons for their global audience for years to come. 
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FAQ

Is Kakao Webtoon Available In English?

The Kakao Webtoon app is currently available in South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, and Indonesia in their respective languages. Kakao Entertainment, the company that operates the webtoon service has plans to release content supporting English, French, Spanish, and German.