Shuka World, You Too... KwakTube Leaves Sandbox Following PaniBottle

Shuka World Ends 5-Year Exclusive Contract Last Month
Likely to Work at Company He Founded

Following YouTubers GwakTube and PpaniBottle, ShukaWorld (real name Jeon Seok-jae) has also left the Multi Channel Network (MCN) company Sandbox Network.

On the 31st of last month, ShukaWorld posted on the YouTube channel community board, "The exclusive contract with Sandbox has ended. We thank Sandbox for their hard work over the past five years since 2019," announcing the end of the contract with Sandbox. ShukaWorld is a creator mainly dealing with economics and finance, with 3.36 million subscribers.

YouTube channel 'Shuka World' operator Jeon Seok-jae [Image source=YouTube channel 'Shuka World' capture]

With this contract termination, it is expected that Jeon Seok-jae, the head of the channel, will operate under the company Shuka Friends Co., Ltd., which he established in December 2019. Sandbox is facing an emergency due to ShukaWorld's departure. Following travel YouTubers GwakTube and PpaniBottle in June, Sandbox has lost three of its flagship creators in a row. After leaving Sandbox, GwakTube signed an exclusive contract with SM C&C, while PpaniBottle is currently active without an agency.

Sandbox is a type of creator-specialized management company that supports production, copyright management, promotion, and revenue sharing for famous YouTubers and other creators. Sandbox includes creators such as Knowledge Pirates (1.08 million subscribers) and Jonathan (900,000 subscribers). Last year, Sandbox Network's revenue was 102.8 billion KRW.

The MCN industry, including Sandbox, enjoyed a boom as the domestic influencer marketing market grew by more than 30% annually from 2020 to 2023. However, recently, difficulties have arisen as individual creators often leave companies after accumulating wealth and fame. Sandbox declared an emergency management and conducted restructuring, reducing its staff from 550 to 300 employees.

Another MCN company, CJ ENM’s one-person creator support project Dia TV, once led the domestic MCN industry and grew to have about 1,400 affiliated creators in the early 2020s. However, the current number of creators affiliated with Dia TV has dropped to around 600, less than half of its peak. Recently, Gamst and Lim Young-woong have left Dia TV.