Kakao Withdraws from European Webtoon Business After 3 Years... Focuses on Japanese Market

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Kakao's content subsidiary Kakao Piccoma is winding down its business in Europe after about three years of expansion.

According to industry sources on the 12th, Kakao Piccoma has decided to withdraw its local European corporation and is currently undergoing related procedures. The European comic and webtoon platform Piccoma is scheduled to terminate its service in September.

This decision comes as the growth of the European webtoon market has been slower than expected. Kakao Piccoma is reportedly planning to strengthen its focus on its main market, Japan. A Kakao Piccoma representative explained, "Unlike at the time of the expansion decision, due to the slower market growth, after reviewing various aspects, we decided to withdraw to focus and concentrate our efforts," adding, "We will preserve the experience gained from business development and continue efforts for Piccoma's next expansion."

Previously, in September 2021, Kakao Piccoma established its European corporation in Paris, France. In March 2022, it launched local services in Europe and released Korean webtoons, which are also available on Kakao Page and Kakao Webtoon, to the European market. Piccoma's European user base was reported to be around one million.

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