*Weds-AM: The Hidden Heroine Behind Webtoons and Its Bold Vision for Background Art
(The company’s name, “Weds-AM” stands for “Wednesday morning,” calling to mind the days you’d wake up bright and early to watch morning cartoons.)
Korean webtoons have already established themselves as a recognized part of the Korean Wave. Behind the highly polished works that captivate global readers are the efforts of countless hidden contributors. Among them, Weds-AM, a company specializing in webtoon background art is gaining attention for its unique expertise and creative approach.
Webtoon Backgrounds, The Key to Completing the Feeling
It’s not just the lines or pictures of characters that make the story of webtoons come to life. When the background, color, sound cues, and precise text treatment come together seamlessly, readers experience true immersion. Weds-AM is a studio specializing in such work, and, since its establishment in 2021, it has produced backgrounds for more than 60 works, collaborating with major platforms like Naver, Kakao, Ridibooks, and Toomics
CEO Choi Jung-eun emphasizes that “background work” is not just “supporting work” but a key factor that determines the overall quality of the piece. “No matter how excellent the character artwork is, if the background is sloppy, the entire work’s completeness suffers,” she said, highlighting the importance of background production.
From Designer to Background Specialist: Unlocking a New Market
Choi originally studied visual design and spent 10 years working in web and editorial design. However, feeling limited by the lack of creative opportunities in her previous work, Choi discovered the appeal of webtoons and decided to pursue a new path. “Background work offered me the creative freedom I was looking for and a different sort of charm compared to other design work,” she said, setting her goal to elevate webtoon backgrounds into an art form. Her focus is now on creating unique backgrounds by combining 3D modeling with digital editing techniques.
A Competitive Edge in a Time of Talent Scarcity
Many readers may not be familiar with the webtoon production process, but today’s webtoon industry is not one where a single, talented artist does everything alone. The tasks of creating the story, illustrations, and backgrounds are divided among specialists, each contributing their particular expertise. This division of labor has helped raise the overall quality of work required by major platforms, with a growing demand for higher levels of expertise, especially in background art.
However, the market specializing specifically in webtoon backgrounds remains in its early stages. With a lack of specialized companies and professionals, most of the workforce in webtoon production is still focused on drawing and storytelling. Meanwhile, there are very few talents aiming to become background art specialists.
Weds-AM stands out as a company with a unique competitive edge in producing high-quality webtoon backgrounds, recognized for its expertise in the field. CEO Choi Jung-eun recalled, “Just 3 or 4 years ago, there was no clear division of labor, so artists were either doing their own backgrounds or production companies were hiring staff for the task. But this led to issues, like artists disappearing suddenly or getting scouted by large platforms. Weds-AM stands out because, as a professional company, we can consistently deliver high-quality work.” Weds-AM is gaining recognition and trust from webtoon producers through its strict in-house quality control system and is rapidly growing as a result. Since its incorporation in September 2021, Weds-AM has seen its sales rise sharply, from 160 million KRW in 2022 to 420 million KRW in 2023, with a goal of surpassing 1 billion KRW in sales by 2024.
Strategic Scaling and Global Expansion
Going forward, Weds-AM plans to build a webtoon talent-matching platform and expand into global markets. Additionally, the company aims to improve work efficiency by developing AI-powered background creation tools. “Webtoons are more than just content. They’re an industry that generates limitless added value, including character products and OTT services. ”We take great pride in Korean webtoons being at the heart of all this,” said Choi. She added that Weds-AM aims to shape the future of the Korean webtoon industry and elevate the standing of Korean webtoon artists worldwide.
Going beyond simply creating webtoon backgrounds, Weds-AM is opening up new markets with its expertise and creativity. True to [the excitement and anticipation that inspired its name, the company’s efforts to drive the growth of Korean webtoons will continue.
Media Contact
Company Name: Weds-AM
Contact Person: Choi Jung-eun
Email: wedsam.official@gmail.com
Country: South Korea
Website: https://www.wedsam.com/
