Webtoons are predicted to be the next successful Korean wave, following the undeniable popularity of K-pop and K-dramas.

To be more precise, the investment hedge fund GVA Assets Management predicts that Korean digital comics will become the next big thing. 

(Photo : by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY PHILIPPE SIUBERSKI A woman looks at an exhibtion about South Korean and Belgium comic strip artists at the Korean Cultural Center, in Brussels, September 10, 2015. Belgium has long been a leading exponent of the traditional printed comic book, but a recent exhibition of South Korean "webtoons" has caused soul-searching in the land of Tintin and The Smurfs.

Hedge Fund Prediction: Webtoons To Become The Next Korean Wave

Without a doubt, K-pop and K-dramas, such as BTS and Squid Game, are successful phenomena in various parts of the world, as per the latest news story by Bloomberg.

Given that, a hedge fund is now looking at the next big thing to follow the success of these Korean cultural phenomena.

Bloomberg reports that GVA Asset Management is betting on the online comics of the home country of Squid Games, known as webtoon.

This hedge fund believes that Europe and United States markets are likely hoping onto webtoons in the near future. So far, it is widely popular in Korea and Japan. But GVA Assets thinks that would soon take the world by storm as well.

With that said, it turns out that the hedge fund has started dipping its toes in webtoons. GVA Assets reportedly invested a cool $15 million in a webtoon producer, Kenaz. And as such, the investment firm now sits as its largest shareholder.

So it looks like the hedge fund manager is betting on what it considers the next Korean phenomenon early on.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GVA Assets Management told the publication, "right now there are great opportunities in the webtoon market."

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FIrst-Ever Korean Webtoon-themed Exhibit

As early as now, webtoons appear to be seeing some popularity outside South Korea.

According to a recent report by The Korea Times, the first-ever exhibit to mainly showcase popular webtoons is opening in Mexico next week.

Webtoon fans are attending the "Hola! K-Webtoon" exhibit at the Estudios Churubusco Azteca in Mexico, starting this Dec. 5 until February 5, 2023.

The two-month-long exhibit is putting the shimmer of the spotlight on some of the most popular webtoons. It includes "True Beauty" and "The Red Sleeve," to name a few.

Bloomberg notes in its report that the sales of webtoons in Korea are slowly gaining momentum. The Korea Creative Content Agency reports that sales were only roughly $300 million last 2017. But in 2020, the figures shot up to a whopping $800 million.

And that is bound to swell significantly if the bets of GVA Assets hold true. For now, it remains to be seen if webtoons are going to be the next Korean phenomenon to reach various parts of the world.

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