Abstract

This study investigates some of the previously unrecognized reading, writing and sharing trends emerging across Asian-born popular digital webtoon and webnovel platforms. These particular sectors of the creative industries are rapidly becoming energizing vehicles for transmedia intellectual property (IP) – referring to a network of interconnected media, popular culture and merchandise emanating from a single creative source. Specifically, South Korean webtoons and Chinese webnovels are cultivating new audiences and participatory cultures beyond their Asian borders, and thus playing a significant economic role in the percentage of global GDP that the broader cultural and creative industries generate annually. To shed light on how this phenomenon is shifting various modes of production, this study analyses how a range of active fans, otherwise known as ‘cultural intermediaries’, have moved to the forefront …

Date

2020

Authors

Aegyung Shim, Brian Yecies, Xiang Ren, Dingkun Wang

Journal

Information, Communication & Society

Volume

23

Issue

6

Pages

833-848

Publisher

Routledge