SEOUL, Korea, May 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Kakao Entertainment Corp., which effectively pioneered the webtoon and web novel industry through its groundbreaking "Wait or Pay" model, solidifies its leadership once again with the release of KAKAO WEBTOON. The launch of KAKAO WEBTOON is meaningful to Kakao Entertainment because it combines the company’s extensive collection of Super IPs with the industry leading UX and UI technologies. With KAKAO WEBTOON, the company aims to set a new standard for the global market.
KAKAO WEBTOON Symbol
With stories from Korea drawing more global attention than ever, KAKAO WEBTOON will fortify Kakao Entertainment’s leadership in the mobile storytelling space. The company has been building the platform for several years, envisioning a strong release that showcases the incredible quality it has achieved. Timed with Kakao Entertainment’s global expansion plan, the KAKAO WEBTOON platform will launch first in Thailand and Taiwan next month and in South Korea later this year. Subsequent versions of the platform will be released in English, Spanish, French, and German to reach a wider audience.
KAKAO WEBTOON is distinguished by unparalleled UX and UI technologies that enable IP to be delivered to users in a next-level experience. A prime example is the unique thumbnail experience. Rather than simply showing thumbnails, KAKAO WEBTOON uses characters from each webtoon and recreates them in a dynamic three-dimensional way that immerses users into the world of their favorite characters from the moment they enter the platform.
KAKAO WEBTOON brings together outstanding IP libraries from Kakao Page and Daum Webtoon, two founding pillars of the Korean webtoon industry. Notably, Daum Webtoon is the world’s first webtoon platform, having created over 1,300 original webtoon IPs with 1,000 authors in the past 20 years. Top titles from both platforms include Solo Leveling, Itaewon Class, Navillera, and Space Sweepers, all of which have achieved huge success in Korea, and around the world via Piccoma in Japan and Tapas in the United States.
"The release of KAKAO WEBTOON will set a new benchmark for the global webtoon marketplace. It is a culmination of our long-term effort to define how webtoons get delivered to users around the world," said Jinsoo Lee, CEO of Kakao Entertainment. "We have invested KRW 1.5 trillion over the past several years to collect over 8,500 original IPs and also built KAKAO WEBTOON into a platform formula that can lead the global market. It checks all the key boxes for this mission: from the world’s largest original IP collection to a world-class platform with a network that spans the globe."
Kakao Entertainment already has a dominant market position in Japan through Piccoma, its affiliate that is also the world’s highest grossing comic app, and in North America with the recent acquisition of Tapas and Radish. The company aims to continue making inroads into global markets by launching KAKAO WEBTOON across Greater China, ASEAN, India and Europe within this year.
About Kakao Entertainment Corp.
Kakao Entertainment Corp. is innovating the full spectrum of the entertainment industry value chain. With a mission to ‘Entertain Different’ through its original content, talent and music portfolio, Kakao Entertainment operates Korea’s most popular mobile content platforms, providing users access to over 80,000 IPs, including the most extensive library of original content in the country. Examples include Solo Leveling, Itaewon Class, The Uncanny Counter, Dr. Brain, and Lovestruck in the City. Talent under management includes over 150 globally beloved Korean celebrities and it also owns six highly sought-after Korean film and TV production studios. The company also leads the Korean music industry with a library of songs that exceeds 60,000, with 1,200 new tracks being released each year. Kakao Entertainment Corp.’s global footprint comprises of Japan, North America, Greater China, Southeast Asia and India, and is expanding rapidly.