Where to Read Webtoons in Korean: Naver, KakaoPage and More

The main places to read webtoons in Korean are Naver Webtoon and KakaoPage, which together carry most of the famous Korean originals, plus smaller stores like RIDI, Lezhin and Bomtoon. Both big platforms let you read a lot for free. Their paid systems work differently, though, and the global WEBTOON app you may already use doesn't carry Korean text at all.

Everything below was checked on October 21, 2026, from outside Korea. Platforms change their pricing and regional rules, so check your region before paying for anything.

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Korean webtoon platforms compared

The "abroad" column reflects searches of Apple's App Store in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Japan. On the web, both comic.naver.com and webtoon.kakao.com loaded normally from the US.

Naver Webtoon: how free episodes and cookies work

Naver Webtoon (네이버 웹툰) is the largest Korean platform and the easiest one to start with. The website works in any browser, and the Korean app is listed as "WEBTOON KR - 네이버 웹툰" in the US and UK App Stores, separate from the global WEBTOON app.

How the free tiers work, from what we saw on October 21, 2026:

• Ongoing series (연재 중) are free except for the newest few episodes. Lookism had 622 of its 629 episodes free; the rest were paid previews (미리보기) you can read early with cookies, or for free once they catch up.
• Completed series (완결) usually keep only the first few episodes free: 7 of 205 for Independent Diary, 34 of 512 for Yumi's Cells. The rest unlock with a free pass that recharges every 24 hours, so you can still read one episode a day without paying.
• Fully free completed series have their own shelf, 완결무료. It listed 545 series when we checked, from three-panel gag strips to 200-episode diary comics.
• Amateur sections, 도전만화 (Challenge) and 베스트 도전 (Best Challenge), are free. Quality varies, but short amateur comics can be good beginner practice.

Cookies are Naver's paid currency, shared between Naver Webtoon and Naver Series. You need a Naver ID to buy them, and Naver's help center says purchases go through the Series site or the app stores. A 2024 CBS Nocut News report put a cookie at roughly 100–120 won and noted that paid episodes of one long series cost three cookies each. The same report described Naver's binge pass (몰아보기): unlimited reading of one completed series for an hour, launched at 10 cookies. Prices may have changed since, so check the app.

Series rated 18+ (성인) require age verification through Naver (실명 인증), which may not be possible without Korean identity credentials. All of Us Are Dead, for example, is listed as an adult webtoon on Naver. Most series are rated all ages, 12+ or 15+.

KakaoPage and Kakao Webtoon: wait for free

Kakao Entertainment runs two services, and they are becoming one. On September 22, 2026, the company announced it would merge Kakao Webtoon into a single platform centered on KakaoPage, with user notices from September 29 and the merger finished within the year. Kakao Webtoon's home page now carries a banner saying it is being merged into KakaoPage (카카오웹툰이 카카오페이지로 통합됩니다). If you're starting now, start on KakaoPage. Its app description already says it carries Kakao Webtoon's popular originals.

Kakao's signature model is wait for free (기다리면 무료, often shortened to 기다무). Titles marked with a clock icon give you a free ticket; after you use it, a new one recharges a set time after you read. Some titles recharge faster: Kakao Webtoon's app description advertises series that are free every three hours. You can also pay with Kakao's cash (캐시) to skip the wait, and the daily gift box (오늘의 선물함) hands out tickets for selected titles.

In practice: Itaewon Class on Kakao Webtoon had 10 free episodes and 74 on wait-for-free when we checked, and Misaeng had 24 free and 351 on wait-for-free. That's a lot of reading for nothing but patience. For a learner, one episode a day is a perfectly good pace.

Other Korean platforms: RIDI, Lezhin and Bomtoon

• RIDI (리디) is a Korean e-book store with a large webtoon and web novel section, strong in romance fantasy. Who Made Me a Princess originally ran there. Its Korean app is available in the US App Store.
• Lezhin Comics (레진코믹스) is a paid-first platform with Korean, English and Japanese editions in one app.
• Bomtoon (봄툰) is a Korean-only paid platform whose app promises "heart-fluttering" (설레이는) webtoons, comics and novels.
• Naver Series (네이버 시리즈) is Naver's store for web novels and paid comics. If a webtoon you like is based on a web novel, the novel is often here.

Printed collected editions (단행본) of popular webtoons are sold by Korean bookstores and e-book stores, which is useful if you'd rather read on paper or need text you can select for a dictionary.

Can you read Korean webtoons on the global WEBTOON app?

Not in Korean. The global WEBTOON app (webtoons.com) is run by the same company as Naver Webtoon, but it publishes translations: its site offers English, Spanish, French, German, Indonesian, Thai and Traditional Chinese, and no Korean. The same goes for Tapas (English and Spanish) and Manta (RIDI's English app). They're useful for checking your understanding after you've read an episode in Korean, not as a source of Korean text.

Which app should a Korean learner use?

• Start with Naver Webtoon. It has the most free reading, the 545-series fully free shelf, and the easiest beginner titles. Our easy webtoons for beginners are all on Naver.
• Add KakaoPage when you want a specific Kakao title such as Solo Leveling or Navillera, and use wait-for-free as a built-in daily habit.
• Use the web on a laptop for study sessions. A bigger screen makes screenshots for image translation and flashcards easier.
• Stay legal. Unofficial "raw" sites don't pay creators and often carry aggressive ads. With this much free legal reading, there's no reason to use them.

Korean words for using webtoon apps

Once you have a platform, follow our step-by-step method for learning Korean from webtoons. If you'd like text you can copy into a dictionary, Korean web novels are the next format to try.

Track your reading time

Wait-for-free and daily passes push you toward one episode a day, which is a good habit to make visible. Log each session in LangTrack as reading, and your daily episodes turn into a running total of Korean hours. More Korean guides are on our Korean hub.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I read webtoons in Korean?

The two main platforms are Naver Webtoon (comic.naver.com) and KakaoPage (page.kakao.com). RIDI, Lezhin, Bomtoon and Naver Series also sell Korean webtoons and comics.

Is Naver Webtoon free?

Mostly. Ongoing series are free except for the newest episodes, and hundreds of completed series are fully free. Other completed series keep the first episodes free and unlock more with a pass that recharges every 24 hours.

How does wait for free work on KakaoPage?

Titles marked with a clock icon give you a free ticket for the next episode. After you use it, a new ticket recharges after a set time, so you can keep reading for free if you are patient.

Can I read Korean webtoons outside Korea?

Yes. Naver Webtoon and Kakao's websites load abroad, and the Naver Webtoon KR and KakaoPage apps are in the US App Store. Paying and age verification can be harder without Korean accounts.

Does the WEBTOON app have Korean?

No. The global WEBTOON app publishes translations in English, Spanish, French, German, Indonesian, Thai and Traditional Chinese. For the Korean originals, use the Naver Webtoon KR app or comic.naver.com.