Korean agency sparks backlash after promising to help streamers stay on Twitch
Unsplash.com: ilymyzin, TwitchNeo Paradigm Entertainment is sparking speculation from netizens after promising to help South Korean streamers stay on Twitch after the company exited from the country.
In December 2023, Twitch revealed that it would be halting operations in South Korea in February 2024 due to “prohibitively expensive” costs of operating in the country.
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy explained the company’s reasoning for pulling out of South Korea in a detailed blog post, where he admitted that although Twitch “spent significant effort working to reduce these costs,” it ultimately became too pricey to continue.
“Our network fees in Korea are still 10 times more expensive than in most other countries,” he wrote. “Twitch has been operating in Korea at a significant loss, and unfortunately there is no pathway forward for our business to run more sustainably in that country.”
Twitch is leaving South Korea, but new company promises workaround for streamers
The news hit Korean streamers like a ton of bricks, leaving quite a few high-profile broadcasters worried for their futures. Names like HaChubby broke down in tears during a live stream, wondering how many of her fans would follow her to another platform like YouTube.
However, it looks like a new company is hoping to alleviate these fears by finding a workaround to allow Korean streamers to continue to stream on the platform.
In January 2024, a new organization called Neo Paradigm Entertainment started making waves on social media, revealing its first members ‘NiniBAE’ and ‘Berry0314’ in a January 13 post on Twitter/X.
Neo Paradigm’s website claims that the company hopes to “connect South & Southeast Asian talent with opportunities in the West,” offering services like talent representation, career development, immigration services, and even marketing and branding.
A message from the org’s CEO is also posted on the website, which addresses the uncertainty surrounding Twitch’s sudden exodus from South Korea and what it aims to achieve in helping South Korean streamers.
In particular, the statement claims the company met with “proper IRS attorneys, Immigration Lawyers, and CPAs to put together a plan of action for talent seeking the ability to still work on the platform they helped cultivate and create.”
However, this new company is drawing quite a bit of speculation online as netizens are collectively raising their eyebrows wondering how NPE hopes to pull off this plan.
“So, basically they are going to lie and create American accounts for them,” one user wrote on Reddit.
“They will be Koreans with a ‘US work Visa’ working for a US-based company streaming on Twitch,” another posited.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if in the future, this org gets busted for stealing money or something,” another commented. “At least these internet idols aren’t signing slave contracts like the K-Pop ones, right?”
However, NPE employees beg to differ. NPE’s COO, Sanga Yonini, shared an article about the company on Twitter/X, writing, “NPE is LEGIT, yep.”
The company continues to tease new streamers that will be added to its ranks in the future — but for now, it looks like many Twitch viewers and broadcasters are watching the situation unfold with a wary eye.