By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee 

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), together with the Korea Creative Content Agency announced the 26 nominated works for the main prizes in the “2025 World Webtoon Awards” on Sept. 3.

Now in its second year, the World Webtoon Awards celebrates excellence in webtoons to boost pride among people in the industry and solidify Korea’s status as the originator and leader of the global webtoon market. This year’s awards ceremony will take place on October 22, at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Seoul.

The call for submissions drew 1,338 reader-recommended works, showcasing the strong interest of fans worldwide. The nominees were selected from a total of 99 titles, comprising 78 entries from creators and production companies and the top 21 reader-recommended works.

After a rigorous screening by key domestic webtoon platform representatives, 26 titles were selected as shortlist nominees, including three titles by Japanese creators.

This year introduces a new “Readers’ Choice Award,” allowing readers around the world to participate directly in voting. The award will go to the nominee with the highest number of votes cast online among the 26 shortlisted works.

Online voting runs from September 1 until October 21, the day before the awards ceremony, through the official website (www.webtoonawards.kr). Each person can vote once per week, for a total of eight votes during the period. Participants will also have a chance to win a variety of prizes through a draw.

Winners of the main prizes will be selected from the 26 nominees, with ten titles, including those awarded the Grand Prize and the Jury Chairman’s Award. The final judging panel consists of ten experts representing creators, academia, critics, and industry professionals, led by Jury Chairman Lee Hyun-se.