웹툰 텍스트 특성에 관한 연구

A Study on the Characteristics of Webtoon

With the increasing global recognition of Korean cultural content, the demand for webtoon translation has been rising significantly. In this context, this study aims to analyze the characteristics of webtoon texts and propose effective translation strategies. By comparing the discourse features of Korean and English and examining the theoretical traits of comic texts similar to webtoons, the study identifies the unique structure of webtoon texts. Webtoon texts are composed of linguistic texts (narration, dialogue, sound effects, etc.) and visual texts (backgrounds, graphic symbols, font designs, etc.), which interact synergistically to convey information to the audience. Korean, as a verb-centered language with flexible word order, relies on discourse for information processing. In contrast, English, as a noun-centered language, distinguishes given and new information using articles and has a more fixed word order. Effective webtoon translation should address these linguistic differences while maintaining the harmony between textual and visual elements. For this reason, it enhances comprehension and satisfaction for both source and target language audiences. This study provides foundational insights for webtoon translation strategies and highlights new approaches to translating global cultural content.