Kakao Entertainment to Shut Down N. American Webtoon Platform Tapas
The move ends Kakao Entertainment’s direct North American webtoon strategy after it invested about 1.1 trillion won to buy Tapas and Radish.
- On Tuesday, Kakao Entertainment announced plans to shut down Tapas while consolidating Kakao Page and Kakao Webtoon into a single service by year-end.
- Five years after investing roughly 1.1 trillion won—about US$780 million—to establish a North American foothold in 2021, the company is ending its direct webtoon platform strategy.
- Kakao Entertainment acquired Tapas and Radish in 2021, valuing them at US$510 million and US$440 million respectively, and will integrate content, user data, and about 16,000 original IPs.
- Notices regarding the Tapas shutdown began circulating Tuesday to publishers and rights holders, though the company has not provided specific details concerning user refunds or content migration.
- The firm previously shut down Radish in 2025 to prioritize Tapas, and this consolidation across South Korea and North American markets reflects a strategic shift to streamline operations.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Kakao Page and Webtoon Unified; North American Tapas Nearing Termination. Kakao Entertainment will merge its webtoon and web novel platforms, Kakao Page and Kakao Webtoon, into a single entity within the year. Domestically, the company is consolidating scattered content and user data into one place, while in North America, it is pursuing the termination of the webtoon platform Tapas business, among other measures...
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Ko Ga-hye = ▲ Kakao Entertainment integrates platforms centered on 'KakaoPage' = Kakao Entertainment integrates webtoon and web novel platforms under the name 'KakaoPage'...
Kakao Entertainment is shutting down the North American webtoon platform Tapas. The investment in Tapas and Radish, in which the company invested approximately 1.1 trillion won in 2021 with the aim of establishing a bridgehead in the North American webtoon and web novel market, has entered the liquidation process after five years. (22nd)
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