Mirae’s Antique Shop Wins 2025 World Webtoon Grand Prize

The World Webtoon Awards returned for its second year on October 22, with a ceremony at Lotte Cinema World Tower in Seoul. The event celebrates standout webtoons from around the world and reinforces Korea’s role as the home of the format. Around 1,400 titles were in the running this year, with 26 reaching the September nominations.

The Grand Prize went to Mirae’s Antique Shop by Ajin Koo. The occult series has been running since 2020 and follows a young shaman named Mirae as she tries to stop the demon Baekmyeon from destroying the world. It was praised for its richly Korean storytelling and supernatural mood. Accepting the honor, Koo said she was moved to tears and that the award gives her the strength to finish the story well.

The Jury President’s Award went to Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint, based on the web novel of the same name. With around 2.5 billion cumulative views, a feature film, and an anime on the way, it follows a man who becomes the only person who knows how a story ends once that story turns real.

A new Readers’ Choice Award, decided entirely by fan votes, went to Debut or Die!, which SOHEUN draws from a web novel by DS.Back. The main awards also recognized eight more titles, among them The Uncanny Counter, Like Mother Like Daughter, Maru Is a Puppy, Get Schooled, and Father, Unrivaled.

For readers outside Korea, Mirae’s Antique Shop does not yet have an official English release. Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint can be found on WEBTOON digitally and through Ize Press in print, while Debut or Die! is available digitally on Tapas.

My take: It is wonderful to see a deeply local, shaman driven story take the top prize. I really hope Mirae’s Antique Shop gets an English release so more of us can finally read it.