Here’s How Webtoon OSTs Elevate the Stories

The growth of snack culture, such as webtoons – digital comics created for smartphone reading – and quick reads that can be completed in 10 to 15 minutes, is largely due to how little time we have for personal leisure in today’s time-constrained society. Webtoons are much appreciated and easily consumed in a matter of minutes because of their ease of accessibility, range of themes and genres that cater to readers’ varying tastes and preferences, and nuanced nature. But the key point here is that mere minutes of consumption can produce immense satisfaction.

It can be rather tough to resist the addiction because of how captivating the visuals in these comic strips are. But hang on, that is not the point I want to make in this article. I’ll focus more on OSTs, which use the vocals of renowned singers to augment the immersive experience of the narratives; it’s another way that makers of webtoons have started to include music into the storylines, which I suppose has helped make them even more engaging.

Webtoon soundtracks have been created by artists in the Korean music industry, including K-pop idols, soloists, and rap stars. Thus, according to The Korea Herald, when “Slightly Tipsy” – a song by K-pop boy band B1A4’s Sandeul from the soundtrack of She is My Type, a webtoon from the stables of Daum Comics (now owned by Kakao) – reached number two on the streaming platform, right below BTS’ “Dynamite,” webtoon makers and musicians began to collaborate actively.

Sound effects and background music are more like supplements to webtoons, according to RIDI Corporation (South Korea’s top content platform focusing on webcomics, web fiction, and e-books). But webtoon OSTs are establishing themselves as independent musical works. Contrary to background music, which is often provided by orchestral music, singers sing in webtoons to portray the story with lyrics and music videos to amplify the effects. A webtoon OST is also a contemporary marketing method. It is enough to foster a connection between singers and their fans, given that the majority of readers are in their 20s and 30s.

Popular idol-actor Cha Eun-woo (Astro) lent his voice to the hit RIDI webtoon series Under the Oak Tree’s theme song, “Don’t Cry My Love.” In it, Riftan expresses his intense love and longing for Maximillian Calypse, his beloved. Cha debuted on the global iTunes chart at number 15 with the 2021 romantic ballad.

 Suga (BTS) produced the soundtrack for 7 Fates: Chakho, starring the BTS boys, and Jungkook provided the vocals. The narrative is based on a piece of Korean mythology from the Joseon Dynasty, known as Chakhogapsa. Seven young males make up the chakho, a beom/tiger hunting group. The song’s lyrics, according to HYBE, “refer to the people in the story as they strive to survive in a harsh world,” a world that reflects the conflicts between humans and the beoms.

Upon release, the video reportedly received over 400,000 views. In Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, the song peaked at number one on the charts, while it also reached the top 10 in Hungary, India, Japan and New Zealand. It resulted in Jungkook’s first solo entrance on the Billboard Hot 100 at position 95 and position 13 on the Global 200. The track set a record as the first Korean soundtrack to ever make its debut on the UK’s Official Singles Chart, giving much impetus to the webtoon’s readership.

“Night Flower,” part of the OST from the third season of the popular BL webtoon Painter of the Night, was performed by Ahn Ye-eun. It perfectly encapsulates the poignant storyline dwelling on Na-kyum, a talented young artist who excels at creating sensual images of men. Despite having published a few collections under a pseudonym, he has chosen to stop painting. Then Seung-ho, a young aristocrat, enters his life and forces Na-kyum to work as his personal painter. The OST garnered as much interest as the webtoon, along with the accompanying video.

“This song sounds like a dejected plea for help tinged with regrets and a strong desire for love. The protagonists’ chances of finding love together are minimal given the circumstances. I’m hooked, though, and I’m not giving up,” a reader told me. This is the fundamental justification for why webtoons, which have the characteristic of introducing themselves to readers through the course of a season, may also be recurrent series and sustain a long-lasting relationship with the public through interesting plot twists and even more interesting OSTs.

I must also draw attention to another outstanding OST, “만개화” (“Full Bloom” in English), by Ahn Ye-eun, which enhances the entire reading experience of the webtoon Return of the Blossoming Blade. Cheongmyeong of the Mount Hua Sect awakens 100 years later with his final memories of a bloody battle against the evil Cheonma, leader of the Demonic Cult. He lost the conflict, dying in the process. But everything is not lost because he awakens to a new shot at life. Cheongmyeong sets out on a mission to restore Mount Hua to its former glory after seeing it reduced to nothing more than a mere shadow of itself in the modern day.

The music video is a result of the amazing story. In terms of his utter despair and the remorse he is experiencing, Cheongmyeong’s plight is terrible, and the OST is so excellent that it completely sucks you into the narrative. This demonstrates how even those who are unfamiliar with the work’s contents will unavoidably feel the story’s emotions when listening to the music. That is the primary reason for using soundtracks in webtoons. It’s one of the best marketing strategies for perpetual traction, as mentioned earlier.

In essence, a webtoon OST aids the narration by creating the mood and evoking emotions while we are reading, whether it be a tragedy, comedy, melodrama, noir, horror scene, romantic moment, or action sequence. And if you enjoy webtoons and their music, you are likely to love Spotify’s fantastic mix of the best webtoon OSTs enclosed below.