'Get Schooled' and 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' vie for grand prize ... Who will claim the first 15 million won award?

Global K-webtoon festival gets underway as fans choose the year's best work

The '2026 World Webtoon Awards', which honors the best of South Korea's webtoon industry, will officially open Dec. 3 at Starfield Library in Starfield COEX Mall in Seoul's Gangnam district. Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency, the event was organized to solidify South Korea's global standing as the birthplace of webtoons and inspire creators across the industry.

The awards ceremony, now in its third year, features 20 strong contenders for the main prizes, including global megahits such as 'Get Schooled', 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' and 'The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call', setting the stage for a fierce competition.

This year's awards have drawn particular attention because substantial prize money will be presented for the first time since the program was established. The winner of the prestigious 'Grand Prize' will receive 15 million won, while the 'Jury Prize' carries 13 million won and each of the other eight main-prize winners will receive 10 million won.

The 10 winners of the main prizes will be determined transparently by combining scores from a panel of expert judges (50%) with the results of an 'online reader vote' (50%), in which fans around the world can participate directly. Anyone can vote through the official website (www.webtoonawards.kr) from the 17th through the 19th of next month.

The 'World Webtoon Festival' will also take place across the COEX area from Dec. 2-6, during awards week. The festival will bring together the industry and its fans through a range of events, from special exhibitions and interactive experiences to webtoon pop-up stores offering limited-edition merchandise.

Choi Sung-hee, director of content industry policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stressed, "We will elevate this event into a global festival that enhances the standing of the webtoon powerhouse through rigorous and fair judging," adding, "We urge readers to take an active part in the voting so they can directly choose this year's greatest masterpiece."