One thing you have to take into account is that mangas are published in different magazines that have different schedules for releases. For example, shounen jump is a weekly magazine, while a lot of shoujo magazines are monthly magazines. So, skip beat literally gets one chapter out per month. That’s just how magazines work.
Also, there’s large studios involved in the webcomic industry, as well as unhealthy work conditions.(remember the one artist that had a miscarriage because of the work, and she was still expected to work?). Most mangakas have a few assistants to help them of course, but it’s nothing compared to the whole studios that produce some of our beloved manhwas.
I love manhwas a lot, probably more than manga, but I just wanted to inform about some stuff. The frequency of releases for manhwas should honestly not be a “standard” to judge by, as it’s a result of the unhealthy work environment in that industry.
You’re comparing Japanese manga with Korean webtoons which doesn’t make sense. Korea also has traditional mangas, aka manhwas, so it’s like apples to oranges. You can’t really compare the two. What you’re actually comparing is traditional art versus digital art
"I understand how long it takes to create mangas, store boarding, drawing by hand, etc."
“… But it can’t compete with Korea.”
My point still stands. You compared traditional manga with a country… What you should've said was Korean webtoons. However, it still makes zero sense to compare the two. Now, what would make sense is if you were to compare traditional manga with traditional manhwa. Not all manhwas are webtoons.
"This is honestly just my opinion.I could be 100% wrong, and I admit that."
There are several good webtoons out there, but actually compared to good old manga, don''t they kind of feel "flat"? Or is it only me? It's not only about the art style or the more detailed backgrounds... I don't know, I feel like even the jokes make me laugh harder. I totally feel the difference in workload flowing into good old manga. And it's so sad that it is getting harder to find new stories nowadays (at least as a westerner).
Regarding traditional korrean manwha, I also feel like there is not much difference to japanese manga; there is more than one manwha among my all time favorites.
What I have noticed is the backgrounds.
Some mangas do as little as possible here while some have better art and detail than the characters. Even when stock images are used as models, they match the style of the artist in the end. Or if it clashes, it is meant to illustrate how the MC feels. You feel the characters living there and that you can breathe in their air for a brief moment.
But in manwha, due to it's digital nature, they can use open source materials and reuse backgrounds of the same location the characters are in without losing time like it would take for hand drawn. It leads it to feel more artificial, as if you're supposed to ignore it unless a plot point is directing your attention to something. It puts the full focus on the characters and what they are doing without making you feel like you're missing something.
Honestly, outside of popular shounen mangas like Naruto, hunter x Hunter, AOT, the Japanese mangas are just not the thing anymore.
I understand how long it takes to create mangas, store boarding, drawing by hand, etc. But it can't compete with Korea.
Manhwas have faster uploads, are colourful, and are more widely available since they are digital.
This manga, for example, was first published in 2002... and is only at 333 chapters
Lookism came out in 2015 and it at over 550 chapters at this point with a much large character base, a longer timeline and more character background and progress than in the little pinky of skip beat.
This is honestly just my opinion. I could be 100% wrong, and I admit that. I also haven't really found a shoujo manga i loved in year because of pauses, delays and cancellations but i've found so many romance manhwas that I love.