Readers alone get to pick the nominees for this year's World Webtoon Awards, now with cash prizes and a new overseas category The poster for the 2026 World Webtoon Awards (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism/Korea Creative Content Agency) If you've ever rage-scrolled the comments under your favorite web comic series wishing it would get the recognition it deserves, now's your chance to have your say.The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency opened nominations for the 2026 World Webtoon Awards on Monday, and they've reworked how it all starts. There's no separate submission process this year; instead, the entire shortlist will be built from readers' picks.Anyone, anywhere can nominate up to three titles through July 24 on the official awards website, which takes submissions in Korean, English, Japanese, French and Spanish. To qualify, a webtoon needs to have been published between Jan. 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026.From there, it's a mix of fan votes and expert judging that whittles the field down, first to a long list, then to 20 finalists, and finally to the 10 main winners.This year, the main awards come with a cash prize for the first time. Each of the 10 main winners takes home 10 million won (about $6,600) and a trophy. The grand prize adds another 5 million won, and the jury prize an extra 3 million won.Organizers are also adding a new category recognizing a standout title from outside Korea on top of the existing awards.The World Webtoon Awards launched in 2024. That year's inaugural grand prize went to "Solo Leveling," the fantasy webtoon adapted from the web novel of the same name and later turned into a wildly popular anime in Japan.Last year's top honor went to "Mirae's Antique Shop," an occult mystery by Gu A-jin, while the jury president's award went to "Omniscient Reader," since adapted into a live-action film starring Ahn Hyo-seop and Lee Min-ho. Japanese creator Akio Chinami's "The Fourth Husband" became the first overseas title to land a main prize.This year's ceremony is set for Dec. 2 at Coex in southern Seoul, doubling as the opening event for the World Webtoon Festival.