[Anchor]
Korea's webtoon industry has expanded overseas, establishing itself as a key pillar of K-content. A research team at KAIST has now implemented technology that can bring these webtoon scenes into real-world spaces, presenting new possibilities for the future of comics.
Here is a report by Cho Hyung-jun from TJB.
[Reporter]
[Newsreel: Considering how frightening consequences such as the loss of a young child's life caused by bad comics have recently been, we can see just how destructive bad comics are.]
In the 1960s, comics were once considered a social evil alongside drugs and gangsters.
Moving past the era of printed books and meeting the internet, comics were reborn under the name "webtoons."
A KAIST research team has presented the next phase of webtoons, which used to be limited to "just viewing" on mobile phones and computers.
Putting on a special device like a hat immediately brings three-dimensional comic characters right before your eyes.
Putting on the special glasses instantly transformed this office into a scene from a comic.
I am currently walking right through the characters.
The captions on my left and right also feel extremely vivid.
It feels as if this office has turned into a futuristic city.
This is extended reality, or XR technology, which encompasses both virtual and augmented reality.
Your actual living space instantly transforms into a webtoon stage, allowing you to place 3D characters and speech bubbles however you like to enhance immersion.
[Ammar Altae / Postdoctoral Researcher, KAIST Institute for Information Technology Convergence: You can adjust the character size however you want. You can make them life-sized or shrink them. And you can freely place these characters or backgrounds anywhere in the room.]
Breaking away from the confines of flat surfaces, the technology actively utilizes the depth of real-world spaces. It is the result of 15 computer experts, webtoon creators, and readers putting their heads together.
[Ian Oakley / Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, KAIST: We see tremendous potential for a new form of comics tailored to technological changes. Readers can now experience comics in a new way that draws them in even further.]
This achievement was presented at a top-tier international conference in the field, and the research team has made it open source so that anyone can use it.
(Video Reporter: Choi Woon-ki, TJB | Footage provided by: KAIST)
Cho Hyung-jun, TJB
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