PR Newswire - NAVER VENTURES INVESTS IN BAOBAB STUDIOS, BRIDGING EAST-WEST TRANSMEDIA

First Project in Asia-North America Slate is SHINE from Oscar Nominee Erick Oh and Award-Winning Manga Creator Madeleine Rosca, Published as a Graphic Novel by Macmillan's First Second Books and as a Webcomic on WEBTOON

BURLINGAME, Calif., Sept. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Naver Ventures, the U.S.-based venture investment arm of NAVER Corporation, South Korea's premier tech platform and the parent company of WEBTOON Entertainment Inc., and Baobab Studios, the 10-time Emmy-winning transmedia animation studio, today announced Naver's strategic investment in Baobab.

Said Yong Jung Park, General Partner at Naver Ventures, "What attracted us to Baobab is the rare combination of exceptional creative talent and a truly multi-platform approach to building IP. The most enduring entertainment franchises create value well beyond a single format, building audiences across animation, gaming, publishing, and interactive experiences. Baobab's depth of experience across these disciplines gives the company a distinctive foundation to build global franchises at scale. We're excited to partner with Maureen Fan and the team."

Said Maureen Fan, CEO of Baobab Studios, "At Baobab, we are driven by stories that build imaginative, expansive worlds which resonate deeply with audiences across multiple mediums. Collaborating with a powerhouse like Naver fuels our biggest ambitions, and this partnership represents a true convergence of East and West by fusing Naver's deep technology, content and distribution footprint across Asia with our Hollywood animation storytelling. Korean narrative culture has captured a passionate international fanbase, and by bridging these worlds, Baobab is able to build a magical, multi-platform universe crafted specifically for the next generation of Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences on the page, the screen, and beyond."

The flagship project launching the slate is SHINE (working title), an original fantasy adventure co-created by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Erick Oh (Opera, Namoo) and acclaimed webtoon author Madeleine Rosca (Rise From Ashes). Baobab is developing the IP alongside WEBTOON as a digital webcomic series, leveraging their massive global footprint, where 75% of its monthly active readers belong to Gen Z. The digital launch will be paired with an expansive print graphic novel published by award-winning First Second Books, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers.  Baobab retains film, television, streaming, and gaming rights to the property as it continues to expand an international investor base that includes Horizons, Shanghai Media Group, and HTC, driving the U.S.-based company's global expansion across animation, gaming, and publishing.

SHINE logline: When the balance between the human and spirit worlds is shattered, a half-human girl must bridge the divide to save a futuristic Korea.

"'Shine' represents everything we strive for as artists, including unbridled creativity, deep character storytelling, and world-building without limits," said co-creators Erick Oh and Madeleine Rosca. "Combining our backgrounds in animation and comics with the global power of Baobab, WEBTOON, and First Second gives us a rare opportunity to share our stories and connect directly with literally tens of  millions of readers around the world."

SHINE joins Baobab Studios' growing slate of global multi-platform storytelling. As the studio's second graphic novel with Macmillan's First Second Books, alongside Intercats, the new project reinforces Baobab's cross-media reach. On screen, Baobab is in development with Disney+ on the animated Witchverse series and is developing Intercats and The Magic Paintbrush, also a multi-book series with Penguin Random House, as feature films. From publishing and screen adaptations to gaming, the studio's universe actively spans film and television, most recently creating Roblox experiences for its own IP Momoguro, and acquiring exclusive rights for Natural Disaster Survival, Barry's Prison Run, and Deepwoken to develop into animated film and TV projects, among other verticals.

"We exist to publish artists of Erick and Madeleine's caliber," said Mark Siegel, Editorial and Creative Director of First Second. "We've always believed in the creative conversation between comics and animation, without ever sacrificing the heart, craft, and storytelling that make a great graphic novel. And SHINE is just a joy: a gorgeous, wildly imaginative vision of a future Korea, full of nature spirits, mystery, romance, and characters you can't help falling in love with."