Kakao Entertainment Corp. is a South Korean entertainment, mass media, and publishing company founded in 2021. A subsidiary of the Internet company Kakao, it was established subsequent to the merger of the latter's two subsidiaries KakaoPage and Kakao M.[2][3][4]
History
KakaoPage Corp.
Podotree Co, Ltd. was founded on July 20, 2010, as a subsidiary of Kakao, and launched KakaoPage three years later. On August 1, 2018, the company changed its corporate name to KakaoPage Corp.
Kakao M
Seoul Records, Inc. was established in October 1978 by, the founder of South Korea's leading educational company (formerly Sisa English). In 2005, the company was acquired by SK Telecom and relaunched as LOEN Entertainment, Inc. three years later, before being sold to Star Invest Holdings (a subsidiary of Affinity Equity Partners).
In January 2016, it was taken over by Kakao and renamed again as Kakao M Corp. in December 2017.
In October 2020, the company expanded in Asia by launching a Thailand-based subsidiary called Kakao M Asia (Private) Co., Ltd. (currently Kakao Entertainment Asia Co., Ltd.).[5]
Merger as Kakao Entertainment (2021–present)
In December 2020, KakaoPage Corp. proposed a merger with Kakao M Corp. as a unified company.[6] It was seen as an action by their parent company against US-based Google’s new policy for its app market place users, which would've affected Kakao M, which KakaoTV platform was starting to become popular in South Korea.
Both companies announced the plans and timeline for their merger, as well as the proposed name for the unified company Kakao Entertainment Corp on January 25, 2021.[7] Under the plans, KakaoPage Corp. is the surviving entity.
The merger was completed on March 1, and Kakao Entertainment was formally founded a day later.
Kakao Entertainment acquired Radish Fiction, a serialized fiction app cofounded by Lee Seung-yoon, for $440 million in May 2021.[8] On July 15, it was announced that Kakao Entertainment and Melon Company
Divisions
Page Company
Headed by co-CEO Joy Lee, the Kakao Entertainment's Page Company is in charge of the company's web fiction publishing and web development business. It is situated in Pangyo, Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province.
M Company
Headed by co-CEO, the Kakao Entertainment's M Company is in charge of the company's entertainment and mass media business. Its headquarters is in Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu in Seoul.
Subsidiaries
Under the Page Company
- AdPage
- Daon Creative
- KW Books
- Kiwi Vine
- RS Media
- Radish Media
- Samyang C&C
- Soundist Entertainment
- Tapas Media
- Yeondam
Under the M Company
Entertainment companies
Assets
Buildings
- Jungsuck Building (Seoul) - headquarters of the Kakao Entertainment M Company
- The Kakao Entertainment M Company also owns a building at Samseong-dong in Seoul, where the headquarters of IST Entertainment and Flex M are located.
Internet properties
Works
Discography
Filmography
TV and web series
Baram Pictures
Logos Film
Mega Monster
Moonlight Film
Sanai Pictures
Story & Pictures Media
Zip Cinema
Baram Pictures
Locations
Extra info
- Tachiyomi, A free and open-source Manga, Manhwa etc. reader app, was forced to stop development after Kakao Entertainment issued a cease-and-desist letter to the developers.[43]
- ReaperScan, A free and fan translated Manhwa and Web Novel site, was forced to shutdown after Kakao Entertainment issued a cease-and-desist letter to the site admin.[44]
External links
References
- Kakao Entertainment Kakao Entertainment Corp, retrieved May 1, 2021^
- Kyoung-son Song. Kakao M and Kakao Page merged into Kakao Entertainment Korea JoongAng Daily, March 4, 2021, retrieved May 1, 2021^
- Sae-jin Park. Kakao units merged into entertainment company targeting global market