...
(I actually wrote a lot here but it was embarassingly long analysis of things like how tappytoon is the kiss of death for a series and won't do too well because of differences in market. We like an online library then we buy physical copies or we buy the books as whole versus chapter by chapter, but we also like to have the books for ourselves.)
(It's true that translators buying chapters and translating for free do allow people to read for free, but some of those people will buy the books regardless of language. That's how it was before anime got big, but who knows if it's the same for Korean web novels. It's not as if Japan and China haven't made ventures in bringing their entertainment to the west. Anime was like this before it got big and Mo Dao Zu Shi's fan translations and the smart way it's been handled have helped the fanbase explode abroad. Korea wouldn't be going in completely blind.)
(Without these fan translates, the situation stays the same because we don't know the series exists exists. With these fan translators, you get purchases from the translators who get it legally, foreign fans wanting to read the ending after stopping where the translations left off or loving the books enough to buy actual copies in Korean on ridibooks, and there's now a possible future opportunity to sell overseas. That would not exist without the translators who buy the original then give quality translations for free. Some translators buy the rights or try to negotiate for it. Others will stop sharing if there's an official copy or the official copy is caught up or better quality (that's how anime pirating lessened - the legal places provided way way better quality for low price). But the point is that it's not as simple as people think. We aren't squatters squatting at your house. We're people in the neighboring street asking if we can buy the vegetables from your vegetable patch.)
(You're seeing the losses you have from not having official english versions to sell, but you're not realizing those opportunity to sell would not exist were it not for these translators in the first place. Writers and artists have rights over their books and nobody is insulting them or saying they should be grateful or anything, but translators aren't the devil, ok? They help too. Now you know it may sell well abroad. If you want to slap a dmca and not sell then ok, but that's how it is.)
(But copyright issues would stop if Korean publishing could connect with traditional publishing companies over here and sell an official version that's reasonable, got quality translations, and is sold by a seller who recognize and trust. These traditional publishing companies have the resources, connections, and good repute to do that. But Korean companies can also continue as they are as they're not obligated to sell to us and we will eventually have to rely on China or google translate instead.)
(The xenophobic comment seems to be gone from Twitter when I checked just now, but I really did see it before. The thread has changed to people communicating that they think an official english version would be best or something about a Spanish translation. Originally the thread was unhappy since they felt we were stealing from them, but now it's changed a bit?
One person was upset because they paid what we get to read for free, which is logical. I guess that's how Japanese fans of Act Age (rip) might have felt after Korean fans posted korean translated scans for free on their forum a while after it posted instead of going on official sites. I know this because I wanted spoilers while waiting for the official english. The truth is that the internet cannot be controlled; it is a raging river that can only be redirected.)
