Hit WEBTOON series "Yumi's Cells" and "Hooky" will be made available for free in braille on Dot Inc.'s Dot Pad technology, expanding access to more fans around the world
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SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- WEBTOON Entertainment, a leading global entertainment company and home to some of the world's largest storytelling platforms, today announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration with social venture company Dot Inc. to create tactile digital comics. Through the partnership, popular WEBTOON series will be converted into braille on Dot Inc.'s innovative Dot Pad.
Dot Inc. provides barrier-free products and services to build inclusive public infrastructure for the visually impaired. Its tactile display, the Dot Pad, is the first smart tactile graphics display for the visually impaired, converting any input from a connected device into a tactile graphic.
Hit WEBTOON series "Yumi's Cells," by creator Donggeon Lee, and "Hooky," by Míriam Bonastre Tur, will be the first two series to launch on the Dot Pad. Tactile digital comic versions of both titles will be available globally on the Dot Pad.
"The popularity of webcomics is at an all-time high and we thought it would be great if visually impaired individuals could enjoy them too. This is my first time exploring webcomics, listening to audio descriptions, and reading dialogue. It brought the imagined scenes vividly to life in my mind, and made the content even more engaging," said Misook Go, the community manager at Dot, who is visually impaired herself. "I was especially curious about how the individual cells in 'Yumi's Cells' looked, and being able to feel their shapes brought a new level of excitement."
"Part of our mission at WEBTOON is to make webcomics more accessible for fans around the world," said David S. Lee, Head of US WEBTOON. "Dot Inc. shares WEBTOON's commitment to innovating for inclusivity. After making comics more accessible to people all over the world in a mobile digital format, we're thrilled to work with Dot Inc. to create a new content experience for the visually impaired."
"The new experience of engaging with webcomics through touch was very impressive. Even if you did not know Braille, the process of understanding through illustrations was fascinating, and I hope to help many people visiting the library experience the world through the new tactile opportunities provided by the Dot Pad," said Monique E. Mariani, Braille instructor at the Braille Institute of America.
The Dot Pad is a real-time tactile graphic and multi-line braille display for the visually impaired and the blind. The Dot Pad is compatible with mobile devices and laptops via Bluetooth. It displays charts, graphs, images and visual data with 320 refreshable braille cells. Users can run their fingers over the display and perceive the image with their fingertips.
About WEBTOON Entertainment
WEBTOON Entertainment is a leading global entertainment company and home to some of the world's largest storytelling platforms. As the global leader and pioneer of the mobile web-comic format, WEBTOON Entertainment has transformed comics and visual storytelling for fans and creators.
With its CANVAS UGC platform empowering anyone to become a creator, and a growing roster of superstar WEBTOON Originals creators and series, WEBTOON Entertainment's passionate fandoms are the new face of pop culture. WEBTOON adaptations are available on Netflix, Prime Video, Crunchyroll, and other screens around the world, and the company's content partners include Discord, HYBE and DC Comics, among many others.
With approximately 170 million monthly active users (as of the quarter ended June 30, 2024), WEBTOON Entertainment's IP & Creator Ecosystem of aligned companies include WEBTOON, Wattpad--the world's leading web-novel platform--Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, Studio N, Studio LICO, WEBTOON Unscrolled, LINE MANGA, and eBookJapan, among others.
About Dot Inc.
Dot Inc., a leader in solutions for the visually impaired, has introduced groundbreaking products like the Dot Watch, Dot Pad, and Dot Kiosk since 2015. Recognized as a CES Innovation Award honoree in 2023 and 2024, Dot is expanding partnerships across North and South America. Through collaborations with Google, Microsoft, and Apple, Dot drives global accessibility. With a strong focus on the Social aspect of ESG, Dot strives to address social challenges through technological advancements for people with disabilities.
Dot Pad demonstrates how webcomics, including Yumi's Cells, are brought to life in tactile form for visually impaired users.
Participants at the Braille Institute in LA explore the world's first tactile webcomics from WEBTOON Entertainment on the Dot Pad.