WEBTOON's 'High School Championship' Selects Eight Works; Three Receive a Chance at Official Serialization

[Financial News] Park Su-yeon's 'I'll Deliver It for You!' won the Grand Prize at the youth webtoon contest '2026 WEBTOON High School Championship.' The top three winning works, from the Grand Prize winner through the Excellence Award winner, will receive the opportunity to be officially serialized on WEBTOON.
According to the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency on the 22nd, a total of eight works won awards in this year's competition. Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and jointly organized by the agency and WEBTOON, the contest is open to high school students and out-of-school youths of the same age.
The Best Excellence Award went to Ji Su-hyeon's 'Pickpocket Gallery,' while Seo Jeong-min's 'Memento Mori' received the Excellence Award.
Five works received Encouragement Awards: 'Rotrider' by Kim So-hyeon, 'The Spirit of the Embers' by Kim Na-hee, 'Dangerous Collaboration' by Kim Seo-yeon, 'Ghost Life Guidance' by Lee Song-hyeon, and 'I Came to Drive Mom Crazy' by Ryoo Hyeon Ah.
A total of 233 works were submitted nationwide this year. The 40 contestants who passed the preliminary round took part in a creative workshop with guidance from experts before competing in the final practical round. During the final, their planning, storytelling and drawing skills were evaluated within a limited time.
Under the contest guidelines, entries had to be medium- or long-form webtoons intended for extended serialization. In the final round, contestants were required to produce at least 20 panels for Episode 2 in addition to the Episode 1 manuscript submitted in advance.
The total prize money is 15 million won: 5 million won for the Grand Prize, 3 million won for the Best Excellence Award, 2 million won for the Excellence Award, and 1 million won for each Encouragement Award.
The schedule for the official serialization of the top three works will be determined through separate consultations. The contest guidelines recommend that serialization begin within three years of the announcement selecting the winning works.
The awards ceremony will be held on Nov. 3 during the Comics Day commemorative ceremony. Baek Jong-hun, president of the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, said, "I congratulate all the participants who fully demonstrated their creative abilities," and added, "In cooperation with MCST and WEBTOON, we will spare no effort to provide continued support."
[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter