South Korea’s web contents producer Whynot Media said on July 8 it has raised 10.5 billion won ($8.9 million) in series B round funding to consolidate its growth.

A screen grab of "Secret Crushes"
Courtesy of Whynot Media

The funding was led by KB Investment, an existing investor. Other existing investors in the previous round Huayi Investment, ID Ventures, as well as new investors KTB Network and SL Investment also joined the round.

The latest funding will be used to strengthen content production capacity, build up a business model and seek global expansion, according to Whynot Media CEO Lee Min-seok.

Founded in 2016, the startup has produced short-form online contents in the form of web dramas, web entertainment and brand collaboration. Its works include “Secret Crushes,” “Always a Boy Friend, Never a Boyfriend” and “Office Watch.” The company has also created its content distribution channel on overseas online media platforms such as China’s Tencent, Japan’s SmartNews and Indonesia’s Telkomsel.

“Whynot Media has infinite potential, given the changing landscape in content production with the advent of digital and mobile transformation,” Lim Won-jin, managing director of KB Investment, said in a statement.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)