From a smartphone screen to life-size character displays, Korean webtoons are finding a unique way to connect with their audience beyond their original digital format. At the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, an exhibition brings these popular digital comics to life through interactive activities, artwork, and adaptations while connecting with their growing younger audience.
From Sept. 11 to Oct. 17, the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, in partnership with the Korea Creative Content Agency, is hosting the “2026 K-Comics Origin Los Angeles: Korean Webtoon Experience Exhibition.” The free exhibition highlights three popular Korean webtoons: “All of Us are Dead,” “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint” and “Solo Leveling.”
The names of the Korean webtoons cover the walls of the winding staircase leading into the exhibition. Before visitors reach a featured series, a display takes them through the history of Korean comics. It provides a history from traditional print comics to digital webtoons designed for online and mobile reading.
Today, webtoons have grown beyond their original digital format. From television shows, anime, films, and games, popular webtoons have dominated almost every aspect of entertainment. Audiences can now discover these stories without reading the original comic first, giving the younger generation who are already familiar with anime, streaming services and other forms of digital entertainment an entry point.
The first series introduced in the exhibition was “All of Us Are Dead.” This webtoon entails high school students trying to survive a zombie outbreak at their school. The exhibition introduces the story with character profiles, webtoon panels and displays that explain the original series.
A wall titled “IP Expansion” shows how webtoons have expanded into different forms of media, from a visual novel game to a Netflix live-action drama that topped the streamer’s global charts within a week of release. This display highlights how a story that began with a digital comic can reach audiences through multiple forms of entertainment.
The exhibit also referenced the global drama by displaying school uniforms covered in bloody handprints near overturned chairs and desks arranged into a makeshift barricade.
Visitors can also take part in the exhibit through interactive activities. An “If I Were a Character” station allows visitors to create their own character profiles, and webtoon panels with blank speech bubbles allow them to create their own dialogue. Many of the completed character profiles and panels used internet humor, such as chibi doodles or other iconic fictional characters and “Gotta put me first,” a viral TikTok audio.
The exhibition continues with “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint,” welcoming visitors with entrances themed after Korean subway stations, a callback to a major starting plot point for the series. Awaiting the guests upon entry are life-size character cutouts of Kim Dok Ja and Yoo Junghyeok, the two protagonists of the series. Behind the backdrop is a table full of merchandise, such as character plushies, acrylic stands, character cards and other collectibles.
The dedicated section for “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint” has an interactive station where fans can use the space to make their own jokes and references, including jokes about relationships between the characters, which is complete with themed banners hanging from the ceiling. Full of color and vibrant designs, each banner represented a highlight moment from the series.
The final featured series is “Solo Leveling.” The entrance to the section introduces the story alongside a large image of its main character, Sung Jinwoo. Similar to the previous sections, large character cutouts, physical books and merchandise decorate the area. It also highlights the anime adaptation, with clips playing on a television screen.
The section had a reserved space for visitors to play a “Solo Leveling” video game on a laptop. Additionally, behind the large character cutouts of Sung Jinwoo and the monsters, there is a small stage with a microphone. Visitors can stand on the stage and say, “Arise,” in Korean, prompting the TV in front of the stage to play video clips of a shadow army being summoned.
The use of games, anime, television, merchandise, and interactive activities throughout the exhibition shows the different ways audiences can now be introduced to webtoons. Rather than only discovering a story through its original comic, potential readers can encounter its characters through forms of entertainment they may already enjoy.
The merchandise, adaptations, and interactive activities throughout the exhibition showcased different ways readers engage with webtoon stories beyond the original comics. With the customized dialogues, it allowed visitors to interact with the characters themselves, while anime and television adaptations can introduce the same story to the audience through different media.
This exhibition does not require prior knowledge of webtoons or the featured stories. For visitors unfamiliar with webtoons, the exhibition provided character introductions, in-depth premises, merchandise, displays, and different interactions visitors can relate and gain interest from.
The “2026 K-Comic Origin Los Angeles: Korean Webtoon Experience Exhibition” runs through Oct. 17 at the Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles. Admission is free, and reservations are not required.
Edited by Justin Ha