Naver Webtoon is on the hunt for the next big webtoon star.

Naver Webtoon is on the hunt for the next big webtoon star.

Starting Wednesday, Naver Webtoon, the web-based cartoon platform of South Korean internet giant Naver, will accept applications for “The Greatest Webtoon Contest 2022.”

According to Naver Webtoon, the contest will be held twice this year with the purpose of encouraging the creative content business and local webtoons, as well as selecting webtoon creators to manage the firm.

Applicants must submit a maximum of three episodes and may also submit supporting documentation such as a synopsis and character sheet.

The submitted works will be evaluated in three different categories — creativity, popularity and level of completion.

A total of 20 webtoon series will be selected and among them, two grand prize winners will each be awarded 50 million won ($40,300).

The company will choose three series for the best excellence and five excellence awards, for which each of the creators will receive a prize money of 30 million won and 10 million won, respectively. Ten webtoon series will be selected for the encouragement prize, awarded with 5 million won each.

The 20 winners will also get an opportunity to officially serialize their webtoons on the Naver Webtoon platform as well.

Applications will be accepted Wednesday through June 6. Only Korean-language webtoon series will be accepted.

The second edition of the contest is scheduled to start Sept. 5.

By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)