Munpia
Korean web novel and webtoon content platform.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
* | N/A | Acquisition | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Munpia is a South Korean web novel platform that started as an online community called Go! Murim in 2002, founded by Kim Hwan-cheol, a first-generation web novel writer also known by the pen name Geumgang. The community initially focused on martial arts and fantasy genres, attracting an older readership. The company was formally incorporated as Munpia Inc. on December 27, 2012, and launched its paid services in 2013, shifting to a per-chapter payment model that proved to be a foundational business decision.
The platform operates as a gateway for aspiring writers, allowing anyone to serialize their work and potentially gain a readership. It has a system where initial chapters are free, and if the story proves popular through views and comments, the author can transition it to a paid series. This model has helped Munpia become a significant incubator for intellectual property (IP), with popular web novels like "Reborn Rich" being adapted into successful dramas and webtoons. The company also hosts annual contests to discover new talent, which since 2022 have been held in conjunction with Naver Webtoon. Its primary market is South Korea, where it stands as a major platform for male-oriented web fiction, particularly in the fantasy and martial arts genres. In addition to the main platform, Munpia operates 'Honeymoon', a sister site specializing in female-oriented romance web novels.
In October 2018, Munpia secured a 25 billion KRW investment from China Literature Limited and NCSoft. A major turning point occurred in 2021 when Naver Webtoon, a subsidiary of Naver, acquired a majority stake, making Munpia its subsidiary to strengthen its IP value chain. As of early 2022, Naver Webtoon held a 57.78% stake. This acquisition integrated Munpia into Naver's global ecosystem, creating synergies where Munpia's original stories are adapted into webtoons for Naver's platform, significantly boosting sales for the original novels. Following the acquisition, Son Je-ho took over as CEO.
Keywords: web novel, webtoon, content platform, intellectual property, Korean fiction, digital publishing, fantasy novels, martial arts novels, story serialization, IP adaptation, online community, creator economy, digital content, Naver Webtoon subsidiary, Korean drama source, content monetization, user-generated content, reader engagement, serialized fiction, digital storytelling