Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- Two Kakao subsidiaries will be combined to become a total entertainment company targeting the global market. The merge would create synergy by joining intellectual properties to create new content aimed at attracting global Hallyu (Korean cultural wave) fans.

Kakao Page, the digital content-making wing of Kakao, services webtoons, also known as webcomics, and web-based novels worldwide. Kakao webtoons are especially popular in Asia. Kakao M is an entertainment company with music labels that have popular artists such as female singer-actress IU and boy band MOXSTA X.

The integration of Kakao Page and Kakao M would require approval at a shareholders' meetings on January 26. "The strategic decision was made to take the upper hand by gaining competitiveness in the global entertainment industry where information technology and retail giants are competing fiercely," Kakao said in a statement. The merged entity will be named Kakao Entertainment.

"We will lead the new entertainment industry by merging the business know-how, capabilities, and value chains of the two companies," said Kakao Page which is armed with some 8,500 original content. 

In 2019, Kakao M and Kakao Page have collaborated to create a drama series "Touch Your Heart," based on a webtoon of the same title. The drama starred actress Yoo In-na and actor Lee Dong-wook who garnered global attention for their roles in the 2016 K-drama series "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God," also known as "Goblin."