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WEBTOON is gearing up for a significant expansion, placing a spotlight on creators with the launch of a new Creator Support program. This initiative aims to assist storytellers in flourishing on various levels.
According to WEBTOON’s official announcement, this Creator Support program will debut in early 2026. A key feature of this initiative is offering creators, particularly those on CANVAS, enhanced avenues for monetization. This comes as a welcome update after the company faced criticism for discontinuing its Creator Rewards Program. The upcoming dashboard will be equipped with new tools that simplify the process of tracking the performance of creators’ series. More specifics on these monetization opportunities and dashboard enhancements will be disclosed in the future.
Yongsoo Kim, the Chief Strategy Officer and Global Head of WEBTOON, elaborated on the motivation behind this expanded support for creators. He described creators as the “heart of WEBTOON,” underscoring their importance in the platform’s strategic vision. Kim noted that their enthusiasm and confidence are crucial for the platform’s success. “Looking toward 2026, we’re increasing our investment in creators at every stage, from budding talent to seasoned professionals,” he affirmed.
WEBTOON Rolls Out Major New Creator Support Program in 2026
Explaining the thought process behind this creator support expansion, Yongsoo Kim, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global WEBTOON, emphasized that creators are the “heart of WEBTOON.” Kim highlighted that the platform’s future roadmap relies on their passion and trust. “As we look ahead to 2026, we’re expanding our investment in Creators at every phase of their journey, from emerging talent to established voices,” he stated.
As a part of this vision, the program opens new avenues for creators to connect with their fandoms. WEBTOON plans to increase its investment in key industry events, bringing more talent to major U.S. conventions. This aligns with the company’s recent strategy to secure a stronger foothold in the West, following its listing on the U.S. stock exchange and the tie-up with Warner Bros. to animate titles like The Stellar Swordmaster, which shares similarities to Solo Leveling.
Apart from the U.S., the platform will also expand its on-the-ground presence at conventions in select international markets — specifically, Europe and Southeast Asia — hosting meet-ups and portfolio reviews.
Additionally, WEBTOON will introduce a redesigned Creator Resource Hub, complete with a video series that showcases professional experiences and success stories while offering advice to emerging talent. Starting in 2026, Creator Care teams will also host digital Open Houses, providing opportunities for creators to connect with editorial staff and align on their goals.
New WEBTOON Creator Launch Includes LA Residency & VIP Trips
Image by Morena Perez Vitale
WEBTOON also announced a new residency program, which will be held twice a year at the company’s Los Angeles headquarters, inviting groups of up to nine original creators from the English-language service for a two-week in-person workshop.
Designed to offer unprecedented access to WEBTOON’s editorial resources, this includes dedicated story-building sessions, development workshops, and opportunities to meet with teams across the company to better understand the platform’s ecosystem. Applications for the first session are set to open on Dec. 18 via the Creator Portal.
Alongside the residency, the platform introduced a VIP recognition program for select creators, inviting them to Korea to visit the company’s global office and meet industry leaders. This follows a pilot program in 2025 that hosted 23 creators, including instantmiso (Siren’s Lament) and Junepurrr (SubZero).
“The Creator Residency Program has been such a validating experience – coming to LA with other creators, talking about our favorite parts of being WEBTOON creators, hearing their processes, how similar they are, how different they are. Just feeling inspired by the work happening at WEBTOON. It’s been incredibly enriching,” instantmiso said.
WEBTOON had previously announced the development of two new AI products to help reduce the workload on creators by helping them produce higher-quality content. Earlier this year, the platform also overhauled its website and mobile app to improve user experience, once again leveraging AI for personalized recommendations of titles and webcomic discovery.
