The News, Explained
Kakao announced on October 14, 2026 that it has added Gift Curator to KakaoTalk Gift. The feature itself opened one day earlier, on October 13. It is a performance-based recommendation system: a person introduces a Gift product through an external channel and can receive a commission when a purchase through that link qualifies. Source
Any KakaoTalk Gift member can become a curator. The announcement does not say that every product is automatically eligible; a curator chooses from participating products. They generate a dedicated link and share it through a channel they operate, such as a blog, YouTube or Instagram. Source
Kakao pays a commission when a purchase through the shared link meets its revenue-recognition conditions. A dedicated curator screen shows activity performance and earnings. Generating a link or receiving a click therefore does not by itself confirm income: the resulting purchase must pass Kakao’s stated qualification step. Source
For the launch, Kakao says it will offer a total commission rate of 9% through December 2026. The company calls that an industry-leading level, but the announcement does not identify the comparison group or calculation basis. The promotion also has a limited budget, and Kakao says the rate can change when that budget is exhausted. The 9% figure should not be read as a fixed rate guaranteed throughout the whole period. Source
The announcement does not specify the detailed qualification rules, payout schedule, the effect of cancellations or returns, tax handling, or a minimum payout. It also does not explain how curators should disclose compensation in blog, video or social posts. Before sharing links, a participant needs to check the current operating terms shown in the curator interface and the advertising or affiliate-disclosure rules of each external channel. This marks the boundary of the announcement rather than filling missing terms with assumptions. Source
Kakao says it plans to expand tools for discovering products to recommend and sharing them across channels. It does not name the added search, recommendation or analytics tools or give a release schedule. The confirmed scope is member participation, dedicated links for eligible products, external sharing, commissions on qualifying purchases, and a performance dashboard. Source
OYOPICK’s Take
Connecting product recommendations that people already make in blogs and videos to KakaoTalk Gift purchases could create a new income path for individual creators. They can explain products in an area they know without taking on inventory or delivery and then view performance. That opportunity becomes practical only if the range of eligible products, qualification rules and real conversion results are transparent enough to assess.
When recommendation and advertising blur together, audience trust becomes a cost. Clear disclosure of the commercial relationship in each post, plus a dashboard that separates clicks, purchases, cancellations and confirmed earnings, would support a healthier system over time. Predictable settlement and a usable dispute process may matter more to sustained participation than a high launch rate.
A standard table covering the post-promotion base rate, product-level differences, return timing and data retention would let participants compare production costs with expected earnings. If recommendation technology is to turn personal taste and experience into opportunity, understandable terms and visible advertising disclosure need to be designed alongside it.