Korean top actress in Naver.com adIn the last posting, I described Korean internet industry as very unique. One aspect different from other internet markets is the portal. Although Google and Yahoo are big two in the world, they have just less than 15% market share in Korea. Then, who is leading the market? It is Naver.com, which has around 70% of market share.
It is not coincidence that Naver.com has become number one portal in Korea. Naver.com kept making efforts to satisfy Korean internet users. Then, Yahoo Korea, which once had more than 50% of portal users, didn’t try to keep their customers? Of course, they did, but its strategies were different from Naver’s. Yahoo tried to answer their customer’s request in a most efficient way, but Naver.com tried to entertain their customers.
A study says that internet users from western countries use internet mainly for improving their work efficiency or social network while Koreans use it for entertainment. In the sense, it is no wonder that internet traffic for online games is exceptionally high in Korea. Please note that the largest online game site in Korea is Hangame.com, which is an affiliate of Naver.com.
Another unique feature of Naver.com is ‘webtoon’, cartoons posted online regularly. One of the most popular webtoon, ‘The Voice of Mind’ by Jo Seok, is gathering more than 2 million visitors each episode. Jo’s webtoon appears twice a week on the Webtoon section of Naver.com and its reception has been hotter than a major TV series. Yahoo must have admitted that this kind of effort to entertain people has been effective. Yahoo Korea just launched its webtoon section last May.
It is not coincidence that Naver.com has become number one portal in Korea. Naver.com kept making efforts to satisfy Korean internet users. Then, Yahoo Korea, which once had more than 50% of portal users, didn’t try to keep their customers? Of course, they did, but its strategies were different from Naver’s. Yahoo tried to answer their customer’s request in a most efficient way, but Naver.com tried to entertain their customers.
A study says that internet users from western countries use internet mainly for improving their work efficiency or social network while Koreans use it for entertainment. In the sense, it is no wonder that internet traffic for online games is exceptionally high in Korea. Please note that the largest online game site in Korea is Hangame.com, which is an affiliate of Naver.com.
Another unique feature of Naver.com is ‘webtoon’, cartoons posted online regularly. One of the most popular webtoon, ‘The Voice of Mind’ by Jo Seok, is gathering more than 2 million visitors each episode. Jo’s webtoon appears twice a week on the Webtoon section of Naver.com and its reception has been hotter than a major TV series. Yahoo must have admitted that this kind of effort to entertain people has been effective. Yahoo Korea just launched its webtoon section last May.
