Generative AI draws positive praise at KCA forum

Webtoon artist Choi Jin-kyu praised the use of generative AI to speed up comic production, saying the technology helps creators “focus on the substantive work” of making art, at a forum hosted by the Korea Cartoonists Association (KCA) on Friday.

Webtoon artist Choi Jin-kyu speaks at a forum hosted by the Korea Cartoonists Association on the use of generative AI in producing comics at Mapo District, western Seoul, on March 13. [KOREA CARTOONISTS ASSOCIATION]

Webtoon artist Choi Jin-kyu praised the use of generative AI to speed up comic production, saying the technology helps creators “focus on the essence of storytelling," at a forum hosted by the Korea Cartoonists Association (KCA) on Friday.

The event aimed to give creators a space to explore practical ways to use AI safely and efficiently, countering what the association described as “vague fears about the technology,” the KCA said on Monday. The forum was the association’s first event this year on the use of AI in comic production and brought together webtoon artists with diverse backgrounds, the KCA said.

Speakers included Choi, a webtoonist at Ok Tokki Studio known for works like "Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior" (2023-); researcher Park Jung-hoon from the Korea Copyright Commission and Lee Ho-young, the CEO of AI startup Toonsquare.

Choi said he used AI tools he developed to reduce the time needed to draw and improve the quality of his work. Using the tool reduced the time needed to draw an image from about two hours by hand to around 10 minutes, and increased his satisfaction with the results “from 100 percent working by hand […] to 120 percent using AI,” he said.

"I try to use AI not as a technology that takes away artists’ pens, but as the most effective assistant that allows creators to focus on the essence of storytelling,” he said, according to the KCA.

Park stressed the importance of documenting the production process for legal purposes, saying AI-assisted works can qualify for copyright only if there is clear human creative input such as drawing or editing.

“It was ultimately the original creator and a strong story that allowed the work to generate meaningful revenue,” Lee said of a webtoon produced with AI that achieved commercial success. “Even in the age of AI, the most important element is still the story created by the artist.”

The forum comes amid broader debate on the ethics of using AI in creative work, with critics warning that AI models are trained on copyrighted material without consent and could undermine artists’ livelihoods, while supporters say the technology can serve as a tool to assist creators rather than replace them.

The Korean webtoon industry has grown steadily in recent years and was valued at 2.29 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in 2024, according to estimates from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]