Kakao Pulls the Plug on Tapas, Leaving Thousands of Webtoon Creators in Limbo

Kakao Entertainment is shutting down Tapas, the North American webtoon platform it bought in 2021 for a reported $800 million, according to ICv2, Anime News Network, and The Beat. Advance termination notices reportedly went out to publishers and rights holders on September 22, with Kakao expected to share more on timelines and platform integration by September 29.

The closure folds Tapas into Kakao's existing Kakao Page operations and follows the company's 2025 shutdown of its webnovel platform Radish. It's part of a broader restructuring as Kakao splits into two new entities, Kakao AI and Kakao X, while narrowing its North American ambitions to focus on its more successful Piccoma platform in Japan. Tapas reportedly hosted more than 75,000 creators and upward of 100,000 titles, including hits like Solo Leveling, Overgeared, and Villains Are Destined to Die.

Kakao hasn't laid out next steps for creators or subscribers, and reports indicate a Korean labor union has already criticized the company for leaving employees and creators in the dark. That leaves thousands of independent webtoon artists wondering what happens to their contracts, their archives, and their income - a gap other digital comics platforms will likely be watching closely as it plays out.

Source: ICv2