Webtoons (웹툰, wɛbtˈuːn) are a form of graphics novels, akin to comics and mangas, but specified to Korea. Whilst the popularity of Webtoons have expanded overseas in the past years, another form of webtoons are emerging - Instatoons (인스타툰, ɪnstætˈuːn). A majority of these webtoons are uploaded on a handful of accredited platforms - e.g. Naver, Kakako, but of course, these are monitored for licensing and monetization. This makes sense, but sometimes the consumer wants easy-to-access material coupled with good user interface and less commitment. On the flipside, authors may want to release their work with less liability, not having to worry about publishers or platform logistics. The solution for both sides are the mentioned Instatoons, where some authors have begun releasing short webtoons on Instagram. The barrier for reading such toons is low; users can alternate from their daily Instagram actions to reading webtoons. As these are often short (Instagram only offers 10 slides), these webtoons are short-term/story content, which parallels with the small dopamine hits reels apps give nowadays. According to the article I read on Instatoons, the social interface of Instagram also helps with the popularity of Instatoons: sharability, comments, clear connections between authors.
I've linked the article on this phenomena - interesting read. An example of an account that does Instatoon is @tyeodya.
Comments
I remember reading Webtoons throughout my high school and middle school years. The most memorable ones to me were Sweet Home and B******d. But I also do remember the app starting to charge readers in order to read past work or stuff a couple weeks ahead. Kind of like David mentioned, it makes sense that these artists want to profit off their hard work but it also restricts people from reading what used to be free to others.
I remember reading Webtoons throughout my high school and middle school years. The most memorable ones to me were Sweet Home and B******d. But I also do remember the app starting to charge readers in order to read past work or stuff a couple weeks ahead. Kind of like David mentioned, it makes sense that these artists want to profit off their hard work but it also restricts people from reading what used to be free to others.
I also used to read a lot of Webtoons during my high school years. During that time most of the people were using Naver Webtoon. However, many people, including myself, started to read more Instatoons. I think it is more efficient for the creators because they have no contracts and liabilities. However, readers might have to wait for a longer time period than Webtoon websites because there are no contracts and liabilities. Even though Instatoons are more accessible, I think there are pros and cons and each side.