Seoul, South Korea - The K-drama Strong Girl Nam-soon has a spin-off webtoon, Strong Girl Geum-joo, available on Kakao Webtoon and Kakao Page in South Korea.
International availability in Japan, the United States, and Thailand is expected later this year.
Multi-format approach to content
Kakao Entertainment's simultaneous launch of a webtoon and a TV drama aligns with its established strategy.
The same approach was used earlier this year for another title, King the Land, to expand on existing narratives.
Viewership Statistics
Strong Girl Nam-soon, a continuation of the franchise that began with Strong Girl Bong-soon in 2017, garnered 6.1 percent viewership in its first broadcast week, according to Nielson Korea.
The story follows three generations of women fighting drug-related crime in the Gangnam district.
Narrative depth through webtoons
The webtoon Strong Girl Geum-joo, created by Lee Won-sik and illustrated by Tuna Can, provides additional backstory to complement the TV drama.
It focuses on the high school years of Nam-soon's mother, Geum-joo.
Viewer Engagement Metrics
The webtoon was launched two weeks before the TV series, a strategic decision that resulted in approximately 400,000 views across Kakao's platforms within a few weeks.
Continuation of cross-format storytelling strategy
Kakao Entertainment intends to continue this multi-format approach to diversify how fans interact with its titles.
Further development in this direction is expected.
The data suggests that Kakao Entertainment's multi-format approach could set a precedent for narrative depth and viewer engagement in the industry.
