Gwang Jin shares how his webtoon ‘Itaewon Class’ has transformed into two TV series, a musical — and there is more to come
” on Tuesday at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Jamsil during the 2025 World Webtoon Festival. (KOCCA)” />
Webtoon artists are often stereotyped as reclusive creators perpetually racing against deadlines, and that image was partly confirmed at the World Webtoon Awards on Wednesday.
Many of the main award winners were absent for familiar reasons: Some were still battling deadlines, while others have not revealed their identities.
Even the grand prize winner nearly missed the ceremony.
“I just worked for 48 hours straight to meet my deadline. I initially thought I wouldn’t be able to attend, but I’m glad I did,” said Gu A-jin, the creator of “Mirae’s Antique Shop,” upon receiving the main award.
The awards marked the finale of the second World Webtoon Festival, a four-day celebration that offered a rare chance to experience webtoons beyond the screen — and to meet, at least some of, the creative minds behind global hits. The event also shed light on how a single story can evolve across platforms, becoming not only a webtoon but also a TV series, film or even a musical — a testament to how a webtoonist’s imagination can spark an endless stream of new content.
In a talk session on Tuesday, three webtoon artists — Hong Bicira, who is behind “Trauma Center: Golden Hour,” Gu Eun-min of “The Adventures of a Demon King’s Daughter,” Jeong Hye-won of “Cheonghak-dong Project” — shared their behind-the-scenes stories.
“I’ve never thought my webtoon would be adapted into a Netflix series because I thought the story was uniquely Korean, but it was beloved by many global viewers,” Hong said.
“In the end, resonance comes from universal human experience. Whatever the subject, if we express it truthfully, we can win readers’ hearts. If we (Korean artists) simply keep doing what we do best and keep doing it better, I believe audiences around the world will continue to embrace our stories,” she added.
Cho Gwang-jin, whose pen name is Gwang Jin, the creator behind “Itaewon Class,” shared how he decided to write the megahit webtoon that came out in 2016.
“I considered three questions: Is it a blue-ocean subject? Does it have mass appeal? And can I execute it?” he said. “When a platform first rejected the webtoon, I didn’t give up — though I normally would have moved on. Something told me it could work.”
The webtoon, which celebrates its 10th anniversary next year, was adapted into a TV series in Korea in 2020, followed by a TV series and musical in Japan.
The secret was that the story resonated with producers.
TV Asahi General Producer Ikuhide Yokochi said he watched the Korean TV series on Netflix and then read the webtoon. After, he knew he wanted to remake it into a Japanese version.
“I found both the characters and the story overwhelmingly engaging, and the art style was sleek and contemporary,” Yokochi said.
In 2022, the Japanese adaptation “Roppongi Class” was introduced.
Toho Chief Producer Mariko Kojima, who created the Japanese musical “Itaewon Class,” which hit Tokyo’s Tatemono Brillia Hall in June, said: “Each character in ‘Itaewon Class’ is impossible not to love. I was drawn to the way these outsiders come together, joining forces to make the world a little better.”
#While Gwang Jin’s “Itaewon Class” continues to generate a steady flow of fresh stories across formats and borders — with TV remakes now in the works in the Philippines and Vietnam, the webtoon artist told The Korea Herald that he is now working on a new story centered on Jang Dae-hee, the main antagonist of “Itaewon Class” — yet another example of how a strong narrative can keep evolving.
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