‘Kakao Webtoon’, a global standard platform introduced by Kakao Entertainment (CEOs Jinsu Lee and Seongsoo Kim), ranked first in the industry as soon as it was launched in the Thai and Taiwanese markets. Thailand, which launched on the 7th, ranked first in the ‘Cartoon’ category in the Google Play Store and second in the ‘Entertainment’ category in the Apple App Store. Taiwan, which launched on the 9th, also ranked 1st in the ‘Cartoons’ category and 6th in the ‘Entertainment’ category, next to Netflix, signaling the ‘global success’ of Kakao Webtoon.
In particular, Thailand, which was the first country in the world to introduce Kakao Webtoon, achieved remarkable results by exceeding 300 million won in cumulative daily transaction volume within 4 days of launch.
The successful launch in Thailand and Taiwan was due to Kakao Webtoon’s ‘IPX (IP Experience)’, which Kakao Entertainment ambitiously prepared over several years. IPX, presented by Kakao Webtoon as a new concept, is Kakao Webtoon’s UX/UI that shows IP as the most valuable, providing an attractive experience with IP that has never been experienced before. In addition, ‘excellent original IP’ verified in Korea, Japan, and the United States also drove sales. From the first day of launch, many paid subscribers flocked to original IPs such as ‘Only I Level Up’, ‘I Became the Count’s Bastard’, ‘Charlotte Has Five Disciples’, ‘Coffin of Recording’, and ‘Tempal’.
Local evaluations of the UX and UI of ‘Kakao Webtoon’, which was introduced globally before domestically, are also noteworthy. Kakao Webtoon received a high rating in the Google Play Store, with 4.6 points and 4.85 points in Thailand and Taiwan, respectively. The CEO of Thailand’s web novel platform fictionlog responded enthusiastically, saying, “We have established a new standard for the content app industry in Thailand,” and netizens from around the world praised it, saying, “The design is truly at the level of art.” In addition, the strategy of attracting customers who were familiar with the local situation also played a role.
Hyeon Yang-won, head of Kakao Entertainment Thailand, said, “As soon as we opened our Bangkok branch in June of last year, we opened an official SNS channel, communicated with customers every day, and steadily gathered a loyal webtoon user and fan base for a year. In addition, we have been carrying out a campaign to eradicate illegal distribution of webtoons since last month, and it seems to have been effective to raise awareness of the protection of the rights and interests of local writers and webtoon industry workers.” He continued, “We plan to carry out full-scale marketing starting in July. We plan to further widen the gap in the industry through this. “We will work harder to promote Korean webtoons through Kakao Webtoon,” he said.
Oh Myung-soo, head of Kakao Entertainment Taiwan, said, “Kakao Webtoon’s future-oriented perspective and ability to select and operate IP that can be used globally were competitive compared to other companies.” He added, “We will be able to grow together with Taiwan’s content ecosystem while meeting the needs of Taiwanese users in the future.” I will try my best to make it happen. “It will become a new growth engine that can leave a mark in Taiwan’s content market,” he said.
Kakao Webtoon plans to use the momentum of its launch in Thailand to further expand the number of Kakao Entertainment’s works. Currently, about 70 works are released, and the number will increase to about 200 by the second half of the year. Furthermore, full-fledged local marketing activities in Thailand will begin in July, and Kakao Webtoon is expected to further solidify its position as the industry leader. Starting July 1, a large-scale marketing campaign for Kakao Webtoon centered on ‘Only I Level Up’ will be carried out in the Bangkok Central Business District (CBD). Kakao Webtoon advertisements will be placed in famous shopping malls such as Central World and in areas near stations such as overground and subway stations. We plan to present it.
Taiwan is also presenting about 60 works centered on video IPs that are well-known locally, such as ‘What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim’, ‘Navillera’, and ‘The Amazing Rumor’, and is gradually expanding to works optimized for Taiwanese users’ tastes, with 100 works within the year. I plan to upload more works. We plan to target the Taiwanese market by actively utilizing immersive marketing materials that will stimulate the emotions of Taiwanese people.
Lee Jin-soo, CEO of Kakao Entertainment, said, “I believe the successful launch of Kakao Webtoon in Thailand and Taiwan is an amazing achievement achieved by three factors: a super IP portfolio that has been previously proven in Korea, Japan, and the United States, differentiated IPX, and thorough localization. Seeing the response in Thailand and Taiwan, I gained confidence in the global launch of Kakao Webtoon, which will be launched worldwide this year. “We expect Kakao Webtoon to become a new reference point for webtoons in the global market and create a big stir.”
Meanwhile, Kakao Entertainment plans to continue to expand its global platform network to Korea, Greater China, North America, India, and Europe through its own platform ‘Kakao Webtoon’ or its subsidiary platforms. In the second half of the year, we plan to actively target the global market by providing services in English, French, Spanish, and German through the Kakao Webtoon global platform. Kakao Entertainment has invested 1.5 trillion won in IP development over the years and owns 8,500 original IPs, the largest number in Korea. We plan to further accelerate this year so that these IPs can spread across the world and across all languages, thereby expanding Kakao Entertainment’s global influence.
Source: Pangyo Techno Valley Official Newsroom
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