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Manga romances to be available on four popular Korean portal sites Toronto, ON (September 16, 2009)—Harlequin Enterprises Limited (www.eHarlequin.ca), a global leader in series romance and one of the world's leading publishers of women's fiction, announced today the digital distribution of Harlequin comics in Korea. The publisher's Japanese operation, Harlequin K.K., and SoftBank Creative Corporation of SoftBank Group (www.softbankcr.co.jp), one of the largest providers of cell phone services in Japan, are making digital adaptations of Harlequin manga available at four popular Korean portal sites—Daum, Mr. Blue, NATE and Paran—with the cooperation of Teruten Incorporated (www.teruten.com). Existing Japanese Harlequin comics are translated into Korean and digitally distributed in that country. These digital manga capture the essence of the Harlequin experience. SoftBank currently distributes digital versions of Harlequin K.K.'s successful comics on cell phones and Internet distribution sites in Japan and China. The cell phone provider is able to choose from more than 10,000 of the romance publisher's novels. Harlequin also publishes paper versions of their manga novels in Japan in addition to their traditional text-based romance novels. Harlequin is currently a leader in selling digital versions of its text-based books in the U.S. and Japan. The company—which releases more than 110 titles per month—was the first major publisher to make its complete frontlist catalog available in the eBook format. Harlequin has pursued a goal of meeting the needs of its current audience and reaching a new and diverse base of readers. It is Harlequin's ambition to offer stories to readers in all formats, for consumption at all times. Harlequin has considerable experience with the manga format. The publisher has released digital manga versions of its novels in Japan since 2007 and had traditional manga adaptations of its novels successfully published in the country since 1998. Dark Horse Comics has also distributed Harlequin manga in North America. An ideal blend of "East meets West," the manga are renowned for their perfect marriage of Japanese-style comics and Harlequin's world-renowned romances. About Harlequin Enterprises
Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a global leader in series romance and one of the world's leading publishers of books for women, with titles issued worldwide in 28 languages and sold in 114 international markets. The company produces more than 110 titles monthly and publishes more than 1,100 authors from around the world. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, a broadly based media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.B). Harlequin's Web site is located at www.eHarlequin.com. Harlequin has offices in 19 countries, including offices in Toronto, New York and London. For more information please visit www.eHarlequin.com or press.eHarlequin.com. - 30 - For more information, please contact:
Don Lucey
Senior Writer, Public Relations
416-445-5860
don_lucey@harlequin.ca
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