The representative work of French bestselling author Bernard Werber, 'Ants (Les Fourmis),' is being reborn as a Korean webtoon. This novel, which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide, juxtaposes human and ant societies, delivering philosophical messages. This time, it aims for the global market by combining K-webtoon production capabilities. Webtoon production company Kenaz will begin simultaneous serialization in South Korea and France in November.
Webtoon production company Kenaz held a press conference on the 3rd at the Crescendo Hotel in Seoul, revealing the process of adapting 'Ants' into a webtoon. Attending the event were the original author Werber, illustrator Kim Yong-hwa, and Kenaz CEO Lee Woo-jae.
Werber noted, "In France, it's not easy for the younger generation to start reading books, so smartphone-based webtoons can serve as a gateway to reading. Webtoons are a new medium with a different format compared to books or movies, providing a way to communicate with the younger generation." He particularly mentioned, "The vertical scroll format has the advantage of delivering a sense of immersion, unlike traditional comics."
He also mentioned the challenges of adapting the webtoon. He stated, "Everything new stimulates me," but added, "Since ants all look similar, it was not easy to distinguish them as characters. Therefore, attributing expressions or symbolic features was an important task." He compared this to his experience when he first came to Korea, where all Koreans seemed similar. He pointed out that, just as he was able to recognize individual differences over time, the ants also need to be closely observed to express their differences.
The task of visualizing the original work was assigned to illustrator Kim Yong-hwa. Kim explained, "The key was how to visually unfold the extensive narrative of the original work," and added, "For soldier ants, I differentiated their character by giving them wounds, while for female ants, I gave them a large and confident body shape." He further noted, "It wasn't easy to even capture close-up angles since ants do not walk upright."
Regarding concerns about damaging the original work, Kim stated, "Since 'Ants' is already a work that has proven its philosophical and popular value, there are no worries about damage. Instead, I am considering a pace of development and dramatic scene composition that suits modern readers," and added, "I also utilized a method of adapting the ants to reveal their personalities through dialogue like humans."
Kenaz will handle the serialization and distribution. Established in 2018, Kenaz is a domestic original intellectual property (IP) webtoon production company that encompasses all processes of planning, production, editing, localization, and distribution based on a network of over 250 types of IP and 450 writers. It supplies works not only to domestic platforms such as Naver, KakaoPage, and Piccoma but also to global channels like Line Manga, Apple Books, and Amazon Kindle, expanding its overseas business.
Lee Woo-jae, the CEO of Kenaz, stated, "We have been preparing 'Ants' for two years, and we have completed a script totaling 20 episodes, set to begin simultaneous serialization in South Korea and France in November," and noted that, "We are planning a long-term serialization of 150 episodes over 4 to 5 years." He added, "We are negotiating with major platforms domestically and pushing for distribution in 30 countries worldwide," and mentioned, "In France, it will be serviced on the local platform 'Ono.'"
Lee further remarked, "The webtoon industry has been predominantly focused on romance and fantasy genres. Our goal is to secure genre diversity through global bestseller IPs like 'Ants,'" and introduced, "For our second global project, we are collaborating with writer David Franzoni of the movie 'Gladiator.'" Regarding funding, he explained, "It is difficult to disclose specific figures due to the complex intertwining of investment structure and equity distribution, similar to film production, but we have been selected for the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)'s global IP production support program, which provides partial funding."
Webtoons have already grown into a key pillar of the global content market beyond Korea. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), domestic webtoon industry revenue surpassed 2 trillion won last year from approximately 1.7 trillion won in 2023, and the share of overseas exports is steadily expanding. Kenaz's strategy is to combine K-webtoon production capabilities with world-class bestseller IPs to widen the global readership.
Werber stated, "I hope the message of 'Ants' can be shared with more generations through the webtoon. I expect it to be a new starting point for young readers," and expressed, "Korea feels like a second hometown to me. I am happy to present my work as a webtoon in a country with a high level of education and diligence. I would like to continue seeking opportunities to communicate with readers in various ways."