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Haeun "HAchubby," a well-known Twitch streamer based in Korea, found herself in tears during her recent live broadcast when Twitch revealed its decision to cease operations in South Korea. The platform cited the "prohibitively expensive" nature of maintaining its services as the reason behind the closure.
Since Haeun is one of the most recognized faces in the Korean streaming community, many have dropped her messages expressing their concerns. According to the streamers, Korean Twitch employees didn't even know that the company was shutting down in the country till after it was announced to the public.
"They had no idea" - HAchubby reveals Korean Twitch employees weren't even informed about the closure
Twitch is set to cease its operations in South Korea on February 27, 2023. The company's CEO, Dan Clancy, outlined in a blog post that the network fees in Korea are considerably higher compared to other countries. This has left the company with no choice but to shut down operations in the region.
HAchubby disclosed that the company's employees are also affected, highlighting that they were not informed in advance about the impending news of the closure. She said:
"You know what? I got emails from Korean Twitch just a few days ago that they are planning a Twitch Korea party and they (employees) had no idea. They had no idea until today that Twitch Korea is shutting down. They also didn't know that."
This development has left many Korean streamers feeling frustrated, as Twitch served as their primary source of income. This includes HAchubby, who, like numerous others, now faces the challenge of finding alternative platforms to sustain their livelihoods.
What did the community say?
The recent clip of HAchubby reacting to the situation was posted to the popular livestreaming platform r/LivestreamFail (LSF), which garnered a lot of reactions. Here are some of the notable ones:
As things stand, numerous Korean Twitch streamers will find themselves in a challenging situation once the company shuts down in a few weeks. As a potential alternative, Kick Streaming, which remains operational in the country, could serve as a possible new home for these content creators.
Additionally, the Korean company Naver is poised to launch its streaming platform called Chzzk, offering another potential avenue for streamers to continue their online activities.
