28.7% of Webtoon Artists have Depression

A survey was conducted with webtoon artists about their health and conditions, conducted by the Korean Occupational Health and Safety Agency, the results of this survey show worrying data about the overwork that these people suffer.

The best-known case, even because of the work’s status, is that of Seongrak Jang, better known as Dubu, the Solo Leveling artist who died last year from a cerebral hemorrhage linked to a chronic illness.

Some people in the industry say that Dubu’s death was due to poor working conditions in the industry. Another case is that of the artist of “Roxana”, Juniljus, who had a miscarriage due to the excessive work her editor forced her to go through.

Let’s go to the results of the survey, which interviewed 320 people.

28.7% of webtoon artists have depression. The national average is 7.7%.

17.3% had suicidal thoughts (national average 10.7%), of these:
– 8.5% had planned suicide (national average 2.5%)
– 4% tried (national average 1.7%)

Depression, anxiety and sleep disorders were more likely to be diagnosed if the artist received negative comments.

The average amount of cuts per chapter is between 60 and 70, this only includes sketches, not detailed art or coloring, so the actual number is about 3 times higher.

According to survey respondents, they usually work 9.9 hours a day on average, and the day before the deadline is usually 11.8 hours of work. They usually work between 5 and 7 days a week and the average hours worked in the week was 51 hours.. 64.4% of the people who answered the survey said that the working hours were not appropriate.

Muscle disorders and other bodily ailments were elevated due to long periods of sitting. Web platforms are growing, but so is the anxiety to impress readers, so authors are including more cuts.

51% said their monthly income was between 2 and 4 million won (USD 1,615.92 to USD 3,231.84).

via: Khan