Reading the Visual Narrative: Webtoons as a Pathway for Literacy Development and Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract

This article examines the impact of webtoons on readers, with a specific focus on their potential to enhance reading comprehension and emotional engagement. Webtoons are a form of digital comics that originated in South Korea and have become increasingly popular worldwide. They are characterized by their vertical scrolling format, multimedia elements, and interactive features. Prior studies have shown that webtoons can be practical tools for promoting literacy development. They can help readers improve their comprehension skills by providing visual cues and engaging narratives. Webtoons can also help readers connect emotionally with the characters and stories, enhancing their engagement. The popular webtoon ‘Lookism’ is examined as a case study to demonstrate how webtoons can be used to teach while entertaining. This analysis highlights the defining features of webtoons, their multimodal scaffolding advantages, and their capacity to teach cultural understandings, the way webtoons can create an enabling environment for social entrepreneurship among youth. Overall, the findings of this review suggest that webtoons are a valuable educational resource that can make reading more appealing and meaningful for modern digital audiences and carry the potential to inculcate conducive environment for social change. This review also identifies critical areas for further research, such as the optimal instructional applications of webtoons and their effectiveness in different cultural contexts.