Daejeon, South Korea — Daejeon City is set to host the 2026 University Comic & Webtoon Festival and Webtoon Job Fair from November 5 to 6 at the Hotel ICC.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Daejeon City, this year’s consolidated event merges the city’s established university webtoon festival with the national webtoon job fair. The initiative aims to spotlight the creative talents of university students and emerging artists while expanding industry networking, career placement, and commercialization opportunities.

The event is organized jointly by the Korea Cartoon and Webtoon Society and the Daejeon Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency, with generous sponsorship from Naver Webtoon and Wacom Korea.

Key Highlights and Programs

*Exhibition and Awards Ceremony: A nationwide contest drew 255 submissions from 41 universities, with 55 projects selected for recognition. Winning entries—alongside special showcases from five local universities (Daeduk University, Daejeon University, Mokwon University, Pai Chai University, and Woosong Information College)—will be on public display.
*Prestigious Awards: Top honors include the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award (Grand Prize) and the Mayor of Daejeon Award (Gold Prize). Major prizes feature official serialization rights with Naver Webtoon for top winners, as well as professional digital creation hardware for silver medalists.
*Webtoon Job Fair & 1:1 Consultations: Seventeen prominent domestic and international companies—including 15 domestic firms and two major overseas platforms, Bilibili Comics (China) and Red Seven (Japan)—will participate. They will provide portfolio-based, one-on-one professional counseling sessions for aspiring creators.
*Webtoon & Science Technology Forum: Under the theme of convergence between webtoons and advanced technology, industry experts and active webtoon artists will gather to discuss the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and explore future trends in the digital content ecosystem.
*Global Exchange & Workshops: International seminars will offer young creators insights into entering overseas webtoon markets. Additionally, local popup stores will exhibit works by ten trainees from regional artist incubation programs, accompanied by a special masterclass by artist Bom So-hee.

Fostering Regional Talent and Industry Growth

City officials emphasize that the integrated event serves as a vital bridge connecting academic talent with global industry leaders, paving the way for sustainable employment, debut serialization, and startup ventures.

"We hope this joint event serves as a stepping stone for talented webtoon creators and global companies to forge meaningful partnerships and discover new opportunities," said Kwon Kyung-min, Director-General of Culture, Sports and Tourism at Daejeon City. "We will continue to support young creators so they can thrive locally while further strengthening the global competitiveness of Daejeon's webtoon industry."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]