Kakao Piccoma to pull webtoon business in Europe

The webtoon platform subsidiary of Kakao is shutting down its operation in Paris after failing to secure a foothold in the European market.

Logo of Kakao Piccoma [KAKAO PICCOMA]

Kakao Piccoma, Kakao’s webtoon subsidiary, has decided to dissolve its European subsidiary in Paris and redirect its focus toward its primary market in Japan.

The webtoon platform will terminate its service in Europe in September, according to a company spokesperson who confirmed the matter on Monday.

“Contrary to initial expectations at the time of the entry, due to subdued market growth, we are currently undergoing the process of withdrawing from operations in France after thorough deliberation, aiming to focus and consolidate,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We intend to maintain the experience gained from our operations in France and continue our efforts in Piccoma’s next expansion.”

The decision comes three years after the company established its European branch in September 2021. The service began in March 2022 through the platform Piccoma, releasing webtoon works that were then published in Kakao Page and Kakao Webtoon. It aimed to expand to other European regions once it secured a sufficient userbase in France.

While initially perceived as a promising region given the high consumption of comics in France, traditional paper publications still remain the preferred medium for readers.

In Japan, Kakao Piccoma hit a record-high annual transaction volume of 100 billion yen ($642 million) in 2023.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]