Naver Webtoon and Munpia Name 37 Winners of 2026 Web Novel Contest
The contest's surge in submissions and the new martial arts category show the web novel market is expanding rapidly, with Naver and Munpia positioning themselves to capture a younger, first-time author base and feed their webtoon and multimedia pipelines.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
Naver WEBTOON and Munpia announced the 37 winners of the 2026 World's Largest Web Novel Contest on July 22. The contest received over 10,000 submissions, a 35% increase from last year. Grand prize winner Pitkong's "At the Ending of a Makjang Drama" will receive a webtoon adaptation, as will three Excellence Award winners. A new Martial Arts Special Award category was introduced this year.
The 2026 edition of the World's Largest Web Novel Contest drew more than 10,000 submissions, up roughly 35% from the previous year, according to organizers Naver WEBTOON and Munpia. Of the 7,400 writers who entered, about 6,600 were first-time authors with no paid serialization experience, and more than 80% of all entrants were in their teens, 20s, or 30s. The grand prize went to Pitkong for At the Ending of a Makjang Drama, a modern fantasy about a protagonist reincarnated into a melodrama who becomes a contender for the imperial succession after a terrorist attack. Three works received the Excellence Award: The NIS' Indestructible Black Agent by Sotamja, The Trade King in This Life by Youngwan, and I Obtained the Omnipotent Angel by MammothXM. A new Martial Arts Special Award category recognized three titles, with organizers noting more than 1,400 martial arts entries-more than double last year's count. Winning works will debut on Munpia before expanding to Naver Series, and the grand prize and Excellence Award winners will get webtoon adaptations on Naver WEBTOON. All winning entries are eligible for further multimedia adaptations, including film and television.
- At the Ending of a Makjang Drama: Grand Prize, by Pitkong; modern fantasy/alternate-history about reincarnation into a melodrama
- The NIS' Indestructible Black Agent: Excellence Award, by Sotamja
- The Trade King in This Life: Excellence Award, by Youngwan
- I Obtained the Omnipotent Angel: Excellence Award, by MammothXM
- How a Ronin Survives the World of Martial Artists: Martial Arts Special Award, by Teruchi
- Cultivating Through Gacha in a Xianxia World: Martial Arts Special Award, by Seogong
- A Fishing Village Boy Raised as a Martial Artist: Martial Arts Special Award, by Apyeong-a
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network News Naver Webtoon, Munpia Announce Winners of 2026 Web Novel Contest