SOOP (AfreecaTV)
Platform · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
SOOP (숲, "sup" — Korean for "forest") is a Korean streaming platform that operated under the name AfreecaTV (아프리카TV) until 2024. The owning company kept its former legal name: the user agreement is still concluded with 「㈜아프리카티비」 — Afreeca TV Co., Ltd.. Broadcasters here are called 스트리머 (seuteurimeo, the Korean rendering of "streamer"); the historical term BJ (from broadcasting jockey) survives in the names of the platform's internal statuses.
What sets SOOP apart from Western platforms is the way money works. The main revenue channel is the 별풍선 gift (byeolpungseon, "star balloon"): a viewer buys one with real money and gives it on air, and the broadcaster later exchanges it for won. Streamer statuses, missions, rankings and the platform's whole economy are built around this gift.
Another distinctive feature is how closely it is tied to Korean law: registration is done under your real name, and the platform derives its operating rules from the Korea Communications Standards Commission's Information Review Regulations.
Who's here
There are no public audience statistics — viewer, country or language counts — on SOOP's open pages. Corporate reporting gives an indirect sense of scale: the company reports revenue of 466,570,266,082 won and operating profit of 124,840,445,238 won for 2025 (the 30th financial year, consolidated figures). This is an issuer's statement in an investor section, not an independent audit of the audience.
The platform's language is Korean: the home page is served with the language tag ko-KR. An English version exists only for the help centre, which also lists the company's US address — Torrance, California. Settlement, however, stays Korean: a payout request is accepted only to a bank account held in the same name as the account.
Note the domain change: sooplive.co.kr redirects to sooplive.com, and the help centre reports a change of the service domain on 24 March without naming the year.
Getting started
Registration follows the Korean real-name law. The agreement requires that the application be filed under your own real name and that the user complete the identity verification procedure the company provides; the same document states that all IDs registered with someone else's details are deleted, and that people under 14 apply with the consent of a legal guardian. For paid services the bar is higher: minors under 19 need the consent of a legal guardian before paying.
The stream itself is started from the platform's own application. SOOP describes the path like this: the camera icon (FreecShot) in the top right corner of the site → "Scene management" → "+ Add" → pick a source (external device for a webcam, game capture for a gaming stream) → title, category, start. There is no moderation of an application for a first stream — statuses come later.
What you can publish
The formats are live broadcast (LIVE), recordings (VOD), short Catch clips, posts and chat. One limit worth knowing in advance: running several broadcasts at once from a single account is forbidden; only one LIVE and one VOD broadcast are allowed in parallel.
The prohibitions are collected in the operating rules and split into eight groups: pornography and nudity; gambling and illegal exchange of in-game currency; unlawful acts (prostitution, drugs, weapons, traffic violations on air, distributing other people's personal data); copyright infringement; content harmful to minors; offences against public morals, including self-harm and cruelty; defamation and discrimination; breaches of the service's internal rules. The same rules extend to content created by artificial intelligence and to streams by virtual streamers.
A separate point for anyone arriving from another platform: the rules forbid promoting third-party streaming services and urging viewers to register there, as well as acting in the interests of a company or association working on a competing platform without SOOP's agreement. Also banned are relaying someone else's stream without permission ("dobang") and having another person run a broadcast in place of the channel's owner.
Advertising disclosure is enforced: at the Fair Trade Commission's demand the platform added a "Paid Promotion" toggle. The label is switched on in the stream settings and in the VOD upload form, and is shown to the viewer for three seconds on entry.
How to grow
SOOP does not describe its ranking mechanics publicly. The official growth path is the set of statuses the platform calls "star streamers". There are several: partner, "best", mobile, mobile gaming, VOD, sports, professional player, "muse" (musician), "mukbang" (food) and travel.
The only status with published criteria is "best streamer" (베스트 스트리머). Applications are filed from the 1st to the 14th of the month, selection runs once a month, and results are announced on the last working day. The minimum requirements: at least 500 hours on air, at least 500 subscribers, at least 60 broadcast days over the past 3 months (at least 30 of them live; the rest can be covered by published VODs at 1 recording = 1 day), no blocks over 3 months and at least 5 completed platform training courses. After that comes a points assessment: those scoring 75 points or more pass, but no fewer than 40 and no more than 100 people are selected; in case of overflow they are compared by average concurrent viewers, then by subscribers, then by hours on air. The status has to be maintained: a minimum of 5 days and 15 hours on air per month, not counting password-protected streams and streams hidden from the listing.
Partner status has no published criteria: the platform writes that a partner agreement is concluded by mutual consent and negotiated individually.
Path to monetization
Star balloons: how the gift works
Viewers buy 별풍선 in packs. The platform sells packs of 10, 30, 50, 100, 300 and 500 balloons; the price table in the page's script sets 1,000 won for 10 balloons before tax and 1,100 won with tax, that is 100 won per balloon (a 500-balloon pack is 50,000 won, 55,000 to pay).
The platform publishes the purchase rules on the same page: bought balloons are valid for 5 years from the date of purchase; the daily payment limit is 10,000 balloons; balloons that have not been given away can be refunded within 7 days; repeated unjustified refunds may lead to refunds being restricted. The giver also gets something intangible: membership of the streamer's fan club, a special nickname colour in chat and queue-free entry to the stream.
What the streamer gets
This is where the platform's cut sits. The one figure the platform publishes: for a holder of "best streamer" status the bonus is described as a "preferential star balloon exchange rate (70 won)". That is, with a balloon costing the viewer 100 won, a "best streamer" receives 70 won and the platform keeps 30 won, before taxes and payment system fees.
Missions
Built on top of gifts is the "Challenge Mission": a viewer orders a task and backs it with balloons. The platform publishes the parameters: the minimum order threshold is 1,000 balloons by default, and the streamer can set it anywhere from 100 to 30,000. There is protection against abuse: a mission that has not been started is cancelled after an hour with a full refund of the balloons; after a cancellation the viewer cannot order missions for 5 minutes, and after 5 cancellations in a day, nobody can for a day.
Subscriptions
A subscription is charged once every 30 days and comes in two tiers. The basic one gives the subscriber branded emoji, a badge for length of support, ad-free viewing of streams and recordings, their own nickname in the channel and access to subscriber-only recordings. The Plus tier adds a choice of levels 1–5, private streams and recordings, a free month on your first auto-renewing subscription, up to 5 free gift voice-overs a day and rewind inside the stream; the streamer sets the Plus price themselves.
The payment currency is "cash": the paid services agreement equates 1 won in cash to 1 unit of cash and writes off any unused balance 5 years after the last day the service was used.
Tools and automation
There is an official interface, but it is closed. The developer portal states plainly: "API use by individual developers is currently being prepared. To work with the Open API, use partner registration". So as of the check date there is no public, self-service access to the API — only through a partner agreement.
Another branch is open — extensions. The platform describes the Extension Program as separate add-on applications for streams; anyone can build and publish one under the developer portal's rules, they are written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript and published after review. The streamer switches an extension on, and it can be used by the streamer, the viewer or both, depending on its type.
The platform's own broadcasting software is FreecShot (the platform's instructions). No known scheduling or analytics service claims SOOP support.
Limits and rules
- Simultaneous streams. One account — one LIVE and one VOD broadcast, no more.
- Sanctions. Two measures — a warning and a block. Block durations: 3, 7, 15, 30, 90, 180 days and permanent; the base term is 3 days; terms do not add up, except for violations involving the sale of cheats, copyright and serious offences against public morals.
- Chat. A moderator's penalties escalate in steps: 1st deletion — an hour's chat ban, 2nd — 3 hours, 3rd — 6, 4th — 12, 5th — 24 hours, 6th — a 3-day block, from the 7th — 7 days.
- Moderation and appeals. Round-the-clock monitoring, measures within 3 days of a violation being found, one appeal against the length of a block with an answer no later than 3 days.
- Law. The contract is concluded under Korean law; changes to the terms are published no later than 7 days in advance, and unfavourable or material ones 30 days in advance.
- Refunds. You can withdraw from a paid service within 7 days of purchase; money is refunded by the same payment method within 3 working days; 10 % is withheld when gift certificates are refunded.
Who it's for
It suits you if your audience speaks Korean and is in Korea: the interface, payouts and rules are built for this market specifically, and withdrawing money is tied to a Korean bank account in the same name. It suits those ready to work in a direct-gift model: the entry threshold for income is low — 500 accumulated balloons.
It suits extension developers: extensions are open to everyone. It does not suit service developers: the API is not issued to individuals.
It does not suit you if you plan to stream on another platform in parallel and invite viewers there: that is explicitly forbidden by the rules. Nor does it suit anyone unwilling to register under their real name with identity verification.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the user agreement is concluded with ㈜아프리카티비 (Afreeca TV Co., Ltd.) — the company's former legal name before the rebranding to SOOP
source, checked 2026-07-28
the help centre reports a change of the service domain on 24 March; sooplive.co.kr redirects to sooplive.com
The year is not stated in the heading of the notice
source, checked 2026-07-28
Getting started
a stream is started from a PC through FreecShot: the camera icon in the top right corner of the site, "Scene management" → "+ Add", pick a source, then title, category and start
source, checked 2026-07-28
Account and access
One restriction tied specifically to the freshness of an account is named: for some time after registration you cannot delete the account immediately. Verbatim, article 18 clause 1 of the terms: «단, 신규가입 후 일정시간 이내에는 "서비스" 부정이용 방지 등의 사유로 즉시 탈퇴가 제한될 수 있습니다» (our translation: however, within a certain time after a new registration, immediate withdrawal may be restricted for reasons such as preventing improper use of the «Service»). Separately, article 6 clause 5 makes identity verification a condition of using the service at all
The SOOP terms of use (㈜아프리카티비) were read in full — the static text of the agreement on sooplive.com. The agreement names no limits on the number of broadcasts or posts for a newcomer; the streamer guide bjguide.sooplive.com and the help centre help.sooplive.co.kr return an empty shell with no text (all the content is drawn by scripts), so nothing was taken from them.
source, checked 2026-08-07
The condition is identity verification by a method the platform itself provides. Verbatim, article 6 clause 5: «회원 또는 회원으로 가입하고자 하는 "이용신청고객"은 반드시 회사가 제공하는 본인확인 방법을 통하여 서비스를 이용할 수 있으며, 본인명의로 등록하지 않은 사용자는 일체의 권리를 주장할 수 없습니다» (our translation: the service may be used only after passing the identity verification procedure provided by the company, and a user who has not registered in their own name cannot assert any rights)
This is SOOP's own statement in its terms of use. The agreement names no thresholds in subscribers or viewers for lifting restrictions.
source, checked 2026-08-07
the application is filed under your own real name with identity verification; IDs registered with someone else's details are deleted; people under 14 apply with the consent of a legal guardian
source, checked 2026-07-28
minors under 19 need the consent of a legal guardian before paying for paid services
source, checked 2026-07-28
The period is named but not measured: the terms say «신규가입 후 일정시간 이내» — «within a certain time after a new registration», without disclosing how long that is. There is no figure in days or hours in the text
source, checked 2026-08-07
Business terms
the company reports revenue of 466,570,266,082 won and operating profit of 124,840,445,238 won for 2025 (the 30th financial year, consolidated figures)
Issuer reporting, not an audit of the audience
source, checked 2026-07-28
What you can publish
There are numbers only in the old guide for streamers, and they are called recommended. The setting for high-quality broadcasting from a television board (an article of 14 January 2009): "비디오 인코더: 640*480" — the encoder 640x480; "화질: 1000K" — the quality 1000 K, and moreover with the best hosts at 2000 K "화질이 더 열화되는 경우가 발생합니다" (the quality gets worse if the network or the computer cannot cope), while "보통 1500K까지는 네트워크 트래픽과 PC에 그다지 부하를 주지 않습니다" — up to 1500 K the load is usually not great; "고급설정: 고품질 + 30 frames" — high quality and 30 frames. An article of 18 April 2017 adds: by default the x264 encoder is used, on some NVIDIA GeForce video cards CUDA is available; the frame rate is advised to be kept "24FPS에서 30FPS로" (from 24 to 30 frames per second), because below 24 the picture tears; when the load on the processor is above 70% the indicator turns yellow, above 90% it turns red, and if 90% holds for longer than 10 seconds, a warning is displayed. These articles name neither a protocol nor requirements for audio
our translation, the original is in Korean; the numbers are given for broadcasting from a television board and in the source are marked as recommendations, not as a limit; the second article — http://afwbbs1.sooplive.com/app/index.php?board=afbroad_manual&b_no=22&control=view ; the modern guide bjguide.sooplive.com is assembled in the browser and does not return text, therefore it was not possible to obtain fresh numbers
source, checked 2026-08-04
Content
running several broadcasts at once from a single account is forbidden; only one LIVE and one VOD broadcast are allowed in parallel
source, checked 2026-07-28
eight groups of prohibitions: pornography and nudity; gambling and illegal exchange of in-game currency; unlawful acts; copyright infringement; content harmful to minors; offences against public morals, including self-harm; defamation and discrimination; breaches of the service's internal rules
The same rules apply to content created by AI and to streams by virtual streamers
source, checked 2026-07-28
Promotion
"best streamer": applications from the 1st to the 14th of the month, selection once a month, results on the last working day; a minimum of 500 hours on air, 500 subscribers, 60 broadcast days over 3 months (at least 30 of them live, the rest can be covered by VODs at 1 recording = 1 day), no blocks over 3 months and 5 completed platform courses
source, checked 2026-07-28
those scoring 75 points or more pass, but no fewer than 40 and no more than 100 people are selected; in case of overflow they are compared by average concurrent viewers, then by subscribers, then by hours on air
source, checked 2026-07-28
keeping the status: a minimum of 5 days and 15 hours on air per month, not counting password-protected streams and streams hidden from the listing
source, checked 2026-07-28
a partner agreement is concluded by mutual consent and negotiated individually; there are no public criteria
source, checked 2026-07-28
Advertising
a mandatory "Paid Promotion" label for endorsement and advertising content, required by Korea's Fair Trade Commission (since September 2020); it is switched on in the stream settings and in the VOD upload form, and is shown to the viewer for 3 seconds on entry
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
the price of a star balloon (별풍선): 1,000 won for 10 balloons before tax and 1,100 won with tax, that is 100 won per balloon; a pack of 500 balloons is 50,000 won, 55,000 to pay
The price table comes from the script of the purchase page: on the page itself the prices are substituted by the script
source, checked 2026-07-28
star balloons are sold in packs of 10, 30, 50, 100, 300 and 500
source, checked 2026-07-28
bought balloons are valid for 5 years from the date of purchase; the daily payment limit is 10,000 balloons; balloons that have not been given away can be refunded within 7 days; repeated unjustified refunds may lead to refunds being restricted
source, checked 2026-07-28
a holder of "best streamer" status exchanges a star balloon at a preferential rate of 70 won while the viewer pays 100 won — that is, the platform keeps 30 won
The only officially published exchange rate; the rates for ordinary and partner status are not published on SOOP's open pages
source, checked 2026-07-28
a payout request can be filed once at least 500 star balloons have been accumulated; requests from Monday to Sunday are processed and credited around 20:00 on the Thursday of the following week; the account must be held in the same name; "overseas" balloons are withdrawn through a separate request
source, checked 2026-07-28
"Challenge Mission": the minimum order threshold is 1,000 balloons by default, and the streamer sets it anywhere from 100 to 30,000; a mission that has not been started is cancelled automatically after an hour with a full refund; after a cancellation the viewer cannot order missions for 5 minutes, and after 5 cancellations in a day nobody can for a day
If a mission fails, the balloons are returned to the viewers
source, checked 2026-07-28
a subscription is charged once every 30 days; the basic tier gives branded emoji, a badge for length of support, ad-free viewing, your own nickname in the channel and subscriber-only recordings
The former names "Tier 1" and "Tier 2" have been renamed Basic and Plus
source, checked 2026-07-28
"Byeolpungseon" — star balloons (별풍선): a paid gift that viewers give to a streamer; the official page says that the streamer exchanges the accumulated balloons for cash and gets real income back (선물받은 스트리머는 모인 별풍선을 현금으로 환전하여 실제 수익으로 돌려 받게 됩니다)
our translation, the original is in Korean; the names of other programmes are not described on the pages available
source, checked 2026-08-04
How they pay. It says only that the streamer exchanges the accumulated star balloons for cash (현금으로 환전); there are no specific transfer methods on the official page
our translation, the original is in Korean
source, checked 2026-08-04
Paid subscriptions
the Plus tier adds a choice of levels 1–5, private streams and recordings, a free month on the first auto-renewing subscription, stickers for the badge, up to 5 free gift voice-overs a day and rewind inside the stream; the streamer sets the Plus price themselves
The price of the basic tier is not named on the open pages
source, checked 2026-07-28
Pricing
1 won in cash corresponds to 1 unit of "cash"; unused cash and paid services expire 5 years after the last day the service was used
source, checked 2026-07-28
withdrawal from a paid service — within 7 days of purchase; a refund by the same payment method within 3 working days; 10 % is withheld when gift certificates are refunded
source, checked 2026-07-28
Restrictions
it is forbidden to promote third-party streaming services and to urge viewers to register there, as well as to act in the interests of a company or association working on a competing platform without SOOP's agreement
Relaying someone else's stream without permission and having another person run the broadcast are also forbidden
source, checked 2026-07-28
two measures — a warning and a block; block durations of 3, 7, 15, 30, 90, 180 days and permanent; the base term is 3 days; terms do not add up, except for the sale of cheats, copyright infringement and serious offences against public morals
source, checked 2026-07-28
the ladder of chat penalties: 1st deletion — an hour's chat ban, 2nd — 3 hours, 3rd — 6, 4th — 12, 5th — 24 hours, 6th — a 3-day block, from the 7th — 7 days
source, checked 2026-07-28
the platform states that it monitors round the clock in real time and is obliged to take measures within 3 days of a violation being found; one appeal against the length of a block with an answer no later than 3 days
source, checked 2026-07-28
Moderation
Verbatim: «정지기간 중 1회에 한하여 아래 절차에 따라 이의 신청을 할 수 있으며» (our translation: an objection may be filed only once, following the procedure below, and only during the suspension period); it is submitted through the objections page reachable from the window giving the reason for the sanction at sign-in
source, checked 2026-08-07
Verbatim: «최대 3일 이내 결과 안내» (our translation: the result of an objection is communicated within a maximum of 3 days)
source, checked 2026-08-07
Legal
changes to the user agreement are published no later than 7 days in advance, and ones unfavourable to the user or material ones 30 days in advance
source, checked 2026-07-28
API access
the developer portal states that API use by individual developers is "currently being prepared"; partner registration is needed to work with the Open API
There is no public self-service access to the API as of the check date
source, checked 2026-07-28
Extension Program: add-ons for streams that anyone can build and publish under the developer portal's rules; they are written in HTML, CSS and JavaScript and published after review
Available in the mobile app from version 7.4.2 and on PC
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: ko-KR
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
an English version exists for the help centre; the company's address is given there as 21250 Hawthorne Blvd Suite 500, Torrance, California, USA
Payouts nevertheless stay Korean: the account must be held in the same name
source, checked 2026-07-28
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