Popular Webtoon Cancelled Over Plagiarism

In December 2013, Jo Yong-seok published the first chapter of his new webtoon Wind Breaker. Not to be confused with the martial arts manga of the same name, the series centered on a rookie bicyclist competing in a prominent event.

The series ran for nearly 12 years and, in that time, became one of the most popular sports series on the Navers Webtoon site.

However, now the series has come to an abrupt end. After a post from a now-deleted Reddit account highlighted examples of tracing, Jo uploaded the rest of the parts to the site, along with a special apology panel.

Naver announced that the series will soon be removed from their website, encouraging fans to finish it before it disappears.

So what happened, and what does this mean for the format? Unfortunately, there is a great deal we do not know.

The Story So Far

Webtoons are episodic digital comics. The format originated in South Korea but has gained popularity globally. They feature a vertical format designed for mobile device reading, and the Naver Webtoon site is by far the most extensive collection of them.

In December 2013, Jo published the first episode of Wind Breaker. Since then, he has published 555 episodes, with the last 11 all going live on July 14. That’s because, on July 10, an anonymous user posted examples of Jo tracing earlier works on the WindBreakerWebtoon subreddit, which has over 25,000 members.

Jo, for his part, apologized for the plagiarism. In a post he shared to the webtoon page, he apologized for the tracing and said that he had been “chased by weekly deadlines for quite some time” and that the process “became hasty and did not uphold the standards that I should have had as a creator.”

Fans of the series have largely expressed sadness over the end of the webtoon. Many feel that, considering Jo’s lengthy history, this is an overreaction to what appears to be an isolated issue. That said, most still condemn Jo’s tracing, even if they feel the cancellation was overly harsh. Some of those fans have created a petition calling for the series to return.

However, it’s unclear if it is an isolated issue. Though Naver Webtoon didn’t indicate that they had found other instances, their official statement said that the decision to end the series came “after discussions between the artist and the responsible editor.”

It’s unclear what, if anything, else was highlighted in those conversations. In short, it’s possible that we only know some of the problem. Without a comprehensive accounting of all Jo’s work, which is impractical, we can’t determine the full extent of the copying.

Naver Webtoon made the safest decision they could. Doing otherwise could, at least theoretically, not only open them up to more allegations of plagiarism, but of copyright infringement. Canceling and removing the series is a major step, but it is likely their best move.

My Analysis

Surprisingly, my gut instinct is to be sympathetic to Jo and his position. He’s done well over 500 episodes of this series, and it is undoubtedly not easy to meet weekly deadlines at this level of quality. He is in a high-pressure situation, and the temptations to take shortcuts will be everywhere.

But was that what happened here?

Jo clearly had the next 11 episodes ready. With his previous posting schedule, that would have lasted until the end of September. While this doesn’t mean that there aren’t stressors in meeting the next deadline, it doesn’t paint the picture of an artist struggling to keep up.

What likely happened is what happened to many successful artists: complacency.

As anyone who has dealt with this kind of grind can tell you, keeping up the energy and the standards gets difficult over time. That’s only human.

However, that’s not to excuse Jo’s actions. They are still unacceptable. Other artists have found ways to deal with those issues without turning to tracing or plagiarism, but Jo didn’t. Jo deserves to face the repercussions for his actions, and I don’t think he would disagree with that.

But this puts Naver Webtoon in a difficult position. That’s because the issue doesn’t just impact Wind Breaker, Jo and his fan base. It impacts Naver Webtoon as a site and webtoon as a format. When one of the most popular entrants in a niche format is accused of taking unethical shortcuts, it can have a knock-on effect for other artists int he space.

Naver Webtoon had no choice but to respond sternly. Cancelling the series and removing it may seem a bit extreme, but it’s the move that protects their reputation and heads off potential legal or ethical issues.

While I sympathize with fans who view this as extreme, it was ultimately the right call. Since a comprehensive accounting of all Jo’s work is unlikely to be possible, this is the move that protects their interests and the interests of webtoons as a format.

Bottom Line

Should a web series and the work of an artist be completely invalidated because of a few traced panels? Many fans of the series have asked that question in various ways since the news came out.

However, that’s not the correct question. We don’t know that these are the only examples of tracing. These are simply the ones that were called out. While I don’t dispute that Jo is a talented artist, this isn’t just about him or the Wind Breaker series.

This is also about setting standards for Naver Webtoon as a site and webtoons more broadly as a format. If the response were inadequate, it would have damaged the reputation of both. That would have put the hard work of other artists at risk.

It would have also sent a message to those other artists that plagiarism is not taken seriously. This could have led to more instances of plagiarism and done further harm to artists who create original work.

Is the response harsh based on what we know now? Yes. But it’s harsh for a reason.

For whatever reason, Jo gave in to taking unethical shortcuts. We don’t know if it’s limited to these panels or not, but the amount is still non-zero. It has to be made clear that it’s unacceptable. Naver Webtoon has to protect itself.

In the end, this case should serve as a lesson. Though mistakes happen and errors are real, when you cross the line to deliberate or negligent plagiarism, as appears to be the case here, there’s no acceptable amount.

You not only taint your body work, but also that of those around you. They have every right to distance themselves from you in order to protect their own reputation.