웹툰/웹소설 플랫폼의 구독제 현황 및 전망 = Current State and Future Prospects of Subscription Models in Webtoon and Webnovel Platforms

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This study explores the transformation of webtoon and webnovel creation and consumption in the subscription economy. Traditionally, platforms favored per-episode payments, resulting in narrative homogeneity, increased reader fatigue, and making it difficult to dicover new authors. The research examines subscription-based platforms like Joara, Novelpia, Jaedam Shorts, and Milly’s Library, which focus on specific genres and themes to support content creation, new authors, and story development, while enabling adaptation into media like short-form content and audiobooks. However, stubbornly conservative content selections and the challenges of balancing respect for original creators while retainning reader engagement remain as issues. The study also reviews whether platforms integrate subscription models alongside existing systems. While significant as an early exploration, this research is limited by its lack of genre differentiation and focus on select platforms, with future studies planned to address these issues.