South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) alongside the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) have officially announced the 20 finalists competing in the 2026 World Webtoon Awards. Now entering its third edition, the initiative celebrates global digital comics across various narrative genres and digital distribution platforms.
Global Voting and Cash Prizes
Reader voting opened worldwide on September 17 and will conclude on October 19. Final winners will be calculated by combining judges' evaluations and public votes equally, each representing 50% of the aggregate score. The pool of contenders emerged from an initial selection of 941 eligible works, gathered after receiving 7,318 nominations submitted by 4,038 international readers.
For the first time in the competition's history, winners will receive official cash grants. The Grand Prize recipient will be awarded 15 million won (roughly $10,700 USD), the Judges' Award honoree will earn 13 million won (approximately $9,400 USD), and additional category laureates will take home 10 million won (around $7,200 USD) each.
Official Selection: The 20 Finalists
- Omniscient Reader
- Lookism
- Return of the Blossoming Blade
- The Greatest Estate Developer
- Like Mother, Like Daughter
- Cry, or Better Yet, Beg
- My S-Class Hunters
- Killer Peter
- Debut or Die!
- I Shall Master This Family
- Jakdu: Shaman's Blade
- On the Way to Meet Mom
- A Man's Man
- Our Guild's Idol
- The Dawn to Come
- The Broken Ring: This Marriage Will Fail Anyway
- Trauma Center: Dr. Baek
- Liberal Arts x Natural Sciences
- A.I. Doctor
- Get Schooled
The formal presentation will occur on December 3 inside the Starfield Library at COEX Mall in Seoul. The ceremony anchors the broader World Webtoon Festival program scheduled from December 2 through December 6.
