Safety and Health at Work

Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (산업안전보건연구원)
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Work Environment and Depressive Symptoms of Webtoon Writers

  • Jinwoo Lee (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine, Graduate School of the Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Jeehee Min (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Hanyang University Hospital) ;
  • Yu Min Lee (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine) ;
  • Min Young Park (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Hyoung-Ryoul Kim (Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea)
  • Received : 2023.10.09
  • Accepted : 2024.03.30
  • Published : 2024.06.30
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Abstract

Background: Webtoon, a digital form of comics created in the Republic of Korea, has spread widely with advantages that anyone can become a cartoonist and that autonomy of creation is guaranteed. The purpose of this study is to identify the working conditions of webtoon writers and analyze the relationship between these conditions and depressive symptoms. Methods: A survey was carried out on webtoon writers and a survey data of 312 webtoon writers were analyzed. The questionnaire included basic socio-demographic characteristics, webtoon writers' contractual type, fields of activity (webtoon creator, story writer, illustrator), and working environment (labor discretion etc.). We investigated depressive symptoms and analyzed its relation to the work environment of webtoon writers. Results: Webtoon writers were exposed to long working hours, high labor intensity, limited labor discretion, negative comments from readers, and had a high prevalence of depressive symptoms. Compared to story writers who contracted directly with platforms, story writers and the illustrators who contracted with content providers (CPs) were 9.51 times (OR = 9.51, 95% CI = 1.47 - 61.33) and 6.47 times (OR = 6.47, 95% CI = 1.08 - 38.75) more likely to have depressive symptoms, respectively. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the urgent necessity to improve the overall working environment in the webtoon industry and implement measures to tackle the escalating mental health challenges faced by illustrators and story writers contracted with CPs, especially given the increasing popularity of novel comics.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank the Korea Institute of Labor Safety and Health for supporting this research. I would also like to thank the webtoon writers who responded to the study. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude to the researchers, including Jeehee MIN, the principal investigator, and Yu Min LEE, Min Young PARK, and Hyoung-Ryoul Kim.

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