Kakao Entertainment Plans to Close Tapas in North America
The company also plans to combine Kakao Page and Kakao Webtoon in South Korea by the end of the year.
Kakao Entertainment announced plans to close Tapas, effectively ending its direct operation of North American webtoon and webnovel platforms. Details on user refunds, content handling and user data remain unannounced.
Kakao Entertainment said Tuesday that it plans to close Tapas, its North American webtoon platform. The closure would effectively end its direct operation of webtoon and webnovel platforms in the region.
According to Korean news outlet Money Today, Kakao Entertainment plans to notify publishers and rights holders on Tuesday. The notices will cover the service’s closing date, content management and settlements.
The company has yet to announce how it will handle user refunds, content or user data.
The shutdown would end a major part of Kakao Entertainment’s direct platform strategy in North America. It comes five years after the company invested roughly 1.1 trillion won (about US$780 million) to acquire Tapas and webnovel platform Radish.
Kakao Entertainment acquired both companies in 2021, when Tapas was valued at around US$510 million and Radish at US$440 million. They merged into Tapas Entertainment in 2022.
The company closed Radish in 2025, saying it would concentrate its North American story business on Tapas.
In South Korea, Kakao Entertainment plans to merge Kakao Page and Kakao Webtoon into one platform centered on Kakao Page by year’s end. The consolidation will combine their content, user data and approximately 16,000 original IPs.
Sources: Kakao Entertainment via ANN
