The dramas "Judge Lee Han-young" and "Spring Fever" are hits on the small screen, and views of the webtoon and web novel of the same titles have also increased.
Naver Webtoon said on the 23rd that in the two weeks after the first broadcast of "Judge Lee Han-young" (Jan. 2–15), downloads of the original web novel jumped 147 times compared with the two weeks before the drama teaser was released (Nov. 20–Dec. 3, 2025). Views of the webtoon of the same title also increased more than 20 times during the same period.
Premiering on the 2nd, "Judge Lee Han-young" posted a nationwide rating of 11% by its sixth episode (Nielsen Korea). The work is based on a web novel by writer Lee Haenal serialized on Naver Series in 2018 and is a representative case of intellectual property (IP) expansion that progressed to a webtoon on Naver Webtoon. The webtoon began serialization in 2020 and concluded in July last year.
The drama "Spring Fever" has also drawn attention to the webtoon of the same title since it began airing. In the two weeks after the drama's release date, Jan. 5 (Jan. 5–18), views of the Naver Webtoon of the same title increased tenfold compared with the period before the teaser was released (Nov. 17–30, 2025). "Spring Fever" also surpassed a 5.4% rating by its third episode.
A webtoon industry official said, "As dramas based on webtoons and web novels gain popularity, a virtuous cycle of content consumption is emerging in which more people move to the original works."
In line with this trend, cases are emerging where webtoons are unveiled in step with drama broadcasts. In the case of Naver Webtoon "Dear Thief," the company adopted a strategy of pre-releasing the webtoon one week before the drama of the same title was released. Naver Webtoon explained that as the drama's fifth episode recorded a 7% rating and entered the upper ranks of Netflix drama charts, inflow to the webtoon is also increasing.
According to the "2025 Content IP Transaction Status Survey" published by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), analysis showed that the strong inflow of the original fandom influences the success of content using IP.
The survey found that users chose original-based content primarily due to "curiosity about differences from the original (38.4%)" and "affection for the original (34.6%)," ranking first and second, respectively. The report noted, "The recognition of the original appears to play a decisive role in securing initial viewers."