Reaper Scans, the popular web novel and webtoon scanlation website, announced its shutdown on May 9 following a Cease and Desist from Kakao Entertainment. The site confirmed its fate in a recent statement on its website. You can read Reaper Scans’ shutdown message below.
Announcement
Hello everyone,
After receiving a Cease and Desist from Kakao Entertainment, we have decided to permanently shut down Reaper Scans and stop any and all distribution of unauthorized fan translations.
Six years ago, when we first started Reaper Scans, our goal was straightforward: We wanted to bring amazing stories from East Asian comics and novels to fans who otherwise wouldn’t have access to them. When we first began, many series we translated simply were not available to English readers. It was entirely up in the air if a series would even get an official English release, and when it did, it took months if not years for the official version to catch up.
Throughout these years, we have seen tremendous changes in the industry. Webtoons and webnovels have exploded in popularity worldwide, which means fans now often have immediate or near-immediate access to official English translations. What once felt nearly impossible to obtain is now easily available, making the purpose of our original mission largely fulfilled. Looking back, we’re incredibly proud and humbled by the amazing community that has formed around Reaper Scans. We’ve shared so many wonderful moments together. Your enthusiasm, comments, and continuous support meant the world to us, and it’s something we will forever cherish.
We genuinely want to thank each and every one of you who have supported us, cheered us on, and shared your love of stories with us. We are deeply sorry for any sadness or inconvenience that this news might bring, and we truly wish we could have continued sharing more stories with you.
Our final, heartfelt request is for you to continue supporting the creators you love by reading official translations on platforms like Tapas, Webtoon, Wuxiaworld, Manta, Toomics, Lezhin, and Wattpad. If there is a series you adore that isn’t yet available in English, we encourage you to reach out directly to publishers.
While it’s difficult to say goodbye, we sincerely hope our translations brought joy, laughter, excitement, and comfort to your daily lives over the past six years. You have made this journey unforgettable, and we hope you carry forward the same passion for storytelling that connected us in the first place. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for being an irreplaceable part of our story and a significant portion of each of our lives. We’ll miss you dearly and wish each of you happiness, success, and many more amazing adventures ahead.
With deepest gratitude,
Team Reaper Scans
According to Similarweb data, Reaper Scans had 12.8 million monthly visits in April, 13.1 million in March, and 10.7 million in February. It hosted popular titles from several publishers but included notable Kakao Entertainment licenses like Solo Leveling: Ragnarok. Reaper Scans controversially profiteered off content by locking some behind paywalls. The statement directs users to official reading platforms.
Reaper Scans’ fate follows Tachiyomi’s shutdown after Kakao Entertainment’s Cease and Desist notice last year. Tachiyomi linked to third-party sources, some of which included pirated copies of Kakao titles. The head of Kakao Entertainment’s IP legal team recently shared the company’s tactics in cracking down on online pirates and the current ineffectiveness of Korea’s laws in dealing with infringers. This followed the sentencing of an operator of Ajitun, which the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) called the “top domestic web novel illegal sharing site.”
His 2-year prison sentence and $50k fine were upheld by the Daejeon District Court Criminal Appellate Division last month, which was seen as too low given his prior conviction for similar crimes. Kakao Entertainment was among several companies that petitioned for his tough sentencing.
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Korea’s businesses and politicians see K-Content, which includes K-pop, K-dramas, webtoons, web novels, and more, as essential to the country’s global expansion. Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT (MiST) hosted a meeting last December with major technology stakeholders, including Samsung, LG, and CJ ENM, outlining its aims to support technologies that leverage AI to detect and confirm illegal content sites (via Money Today).
Pending legal issues, South Korea’s current frontrunner for the presidency, Lee Jae-myung, is also running on a platform that includes cracking down on illegal websites. Here’s an excerpt of his statement from April 18 (via his Facebook):
“We will create an environment where artists and cultural figures can focus solely on their creations and expand the system for nurturing and supporting cultural and artistic talents. We will also promote the establishment of a specialized organization to support this. We will resolutely block illegal distribution of content. We will respond to illegal overseas sites through international cooperation to firmly protect intellectual property rights.“
He added that his party would “foster the webtoon industry as a core axis of K-culture. We are expanding the tax benefits applicable to video content to the webtoon sector, translation, distribution, and overseas marketing.” Other parts included significantly increasing the cultural budget, a 300 trillion won target for K-Content’s market size, and opening “an era of 50 trillion won in cultural exports.“
Source: Reaper Scans
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