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Naver

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This article is about the South Korean search portal. For the company, see Naver Corporation.
Naver Co., Ltd.
NAVER
Native name
네이버주식회사
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryInternet
Founded1999; 25 years ago (1999)[1]
Headquarters
Seongnam-si
ParentNaver Corporation
SubsidiariesNAVER Mail

NAVER Map

NAVER News
Websitenaver.com
Korean name
Hangul
네이버주식회사
Hanja
네이버株式會社
Revised RomanizationNeibeo Jusikhwoesa
McCune–ReischauerNeibŏ Chusikhwoesa

Naver (Korean: 네이버; stylized as NAVER) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. Launched in 1999, it was the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to introduce the comprehensive search feature, which compiles search results from various categories and presents them on a single page. Since then, Naver has added a multitude of new services, ranging from basic features such as email and news to the world's first online Q&A platform, Knowledge iN.[citation needed]

As of September 2017, the search engine handled 74.7% of all web searches in South Korea and had 42 million registered users. More than 25 million Koreans have Naver as the start page on their default browser, and the mobile application has 28 million daily visitors.[citation needed] Naver has also been referred to as 'the Google of South Korea'.[2]

History

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Naver was founded in June 1999[1] as the first South Korean portal website with a self-developed search engine. In August 2000, Naver launched its 'comprehensive search' service, which allows users to get a variety of results from a single search query on one page, organized by type, including blogs, websites, images, and web communities. The company's name is a play on "navigate" and the suffix "-er," meant to describe one who helps others navigate.[3]

In the early days of Naver's operation, there was a relative dearth of web pages available in the Korean language. To fill this void, Naver became an early pioneer in user-generated content through the creation of the 'Knowledge iN' (네이버 지식인)' service in 2002. In Knowledge iN, users can pose questions on any subject and select from answers provided by other users, awarding points to those who give the best answers. Knowledge iN was launched three years before Yahoo! introduced its similar 'Yahoo! Answers' service[4] and now possesses a database of over 200 million answers.[citation needed]

Over the years, Naver has continued to expand its services. It launched its web comic service, 'Webtoon', in 2004 and its personal blog service in 2005. From 2005 to 2007, Naver expanded its multimedia search services, including music and video search, as well as mobile search.[citation needed]

In 2011, Line is an IM application developed by the Korean organization, Naver.[citation needed]

In 2019, Naver reorganized its mobile version of the main screen, excluding search windows and some menus. In response, more than 3,000 comments opposing the change were posted.[5]

Naver introduced new restrictions on comments to protect celebrities from malicious comments by anonymous online audiences in March 2020. This followed a 2019 incident where the famous singer-actress Sulli committed suicide due to depression after facing a large amount of malicious comments.[6] Naver also replaced the comment box with facial emojis following criticisms regarding the mental health implications for celebrities.

As of January 19, 2020, Naver now owns Wattpad, an online book service.[citation needed]

In October 2020, Naver was fined 26.7 billion won ($22.9 million) by South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) for manipulating its algorithm between 2012 and 2015 in favor of its services such as Smart Store and Naver TV over services provided by rivals.[7][8] Naver's share in the open market sector increased from 4.97% in 2015 to 21.08% in 2018, while competitors' market shares declined.[9][10]

Owing to its rising popularity in Japan, Naver is currently competing with Kakao to claim the number one position in the Japanese market for web novels and webcomics.[11]

Services

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Main article: Naver Dictionary

Naver Dictionary was launched in 1999, alongside Naver. It initially only supported Korean and English.[12] As of 2024, it supports 67 languages.[13] The dictionary aggregates results from a number of other dictionaries, including Urimalsaem, which is operated by the National Institute of Korean Language.[14] It also aggregates results from English-language dictionaries such as Oxford Dictionary of English[15] and the Collins English Dictionary.[16] It also operates an open-source dictionary called Open Dictionary PRO (ODP).[17]

Junior Naver

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Junior Naver (쥬니어 네이버), also known as Juniver (쥬니버), is a portal website for children, similar to Yahooligans. Junior Naver offers services such as avatars, educational content, quizzes, videos, Q&A, and a homework helper. It uses a panel of experts and educators to filter out harmful content, ensuring a safe internet environment for children. With its competitors Daum Kids and Yahoo Kids having closed down, Junior Naver is now the only children's portal site operating in Korea.[citation needed]

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Main article: WEBTOON

Naver Webtoon (네이버 웹툰), later simply WEBTOON, is a webcomic platform where users have free access to a variety of webtoons created by professional artists. Users can also pay publishers to view comic books and genre fiction content online. Naver has incorporated a 'Challenge' section that allows amateurs to post and promote their works. Several k-dramas have been adapted from these webtoons.[18][failed verification]

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Naver Cafe (네이버 카페) is a service that allows Naver users to create their own internet communities. As of May 2017, 10.5 million cafes were active. Each person can create up to 300 cafes.[19]

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Naver Blog (네이버 블로그) started with the name 'paper' in June 2003 and evolved to 'blog' in October 2003.[20] It had 23 million users as of April 2016.[citation needed] In 2023, there were 1.26 million new users.[21]

For two weeks from May 1, 2021, Naver held an event to pay up to 16,000 won to people who posted on Naver's blog every day. However, this event ended early due to several incidents involving people with multiple IDs. Many participants in the event criticized Naver's response.[22]

Naver announced on its official blog that it would resume its "Today's Diary Challenge (Korean: #오늘일기챌린지)" event, which ended early in three days, from May 24. However, only those who participated in the previously discontinued event (who completed the three-day record) can participate in the event.[23]

On May 13, 2021, Naver announced that it would display profile pictures along with comments posted on Naver news articles. Previously, only the first four digits of the author's ID were disclosed, making it difficult to identify users. Naver implemented this change expecting it to facilitate user recognition and address issues with malicious comments. Critics, however, criticized the company for censoring comments.[24]

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Main article: Naver TV

Naver NOW (formerly Naver TV) is a video streaming and sharing platform that primarily offers web dramas distributed by Naver. Naver NOW replaced the Naver TV mobile app, while Naver TV continues to serve as a web portal.[citation needed]

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Naver Pay (네이버페이) is a payment service by Naver Financial, a subsidiary company of Naver, launched on June 25, 2021. It initially started as a payment service for Naver Shopping but now offers payments in over 97,000 stores both online and offline. On December 20, it began supporting Zero Pay in-app, a government-funded payment service. In May 2019, Naver started supporting overseas payments in Japan via Line Pay, allowing users to make payments in stores in Japan without exchanging currencies.[citation needed] The service ended on August 31, 2023.[25]

Knowledge iN

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Knowledge iN (지식iN), formerly Knowledge Search (Korean: 지식검색), is an online Q&A platform launched in October 2002.[26] The tool allows users to ask any question and receive answers from other users. Knowledge iN was an early example of harnessing user-generated content to expand the amount of information available on the web, particularly in the Korean language. Bradley Horowitz, former Vice President of Product Strategy at Yahoo!, has cited Knowledge iN as the inspiration for Yahoo! Answers, which was launched three years after Naver introduced the original service.[27][28]

Naver encourages unauthorized publishing to attract users to its Knowledge iN service. This contributes to poor-quality content on Knowledge iN, as previous answers to questions remain unchanged and old questions can only be minimally modified by other users. Criticism is also growing due to Naver's unilateral control over comments and its editing of information that may contradict its political positions.[29]

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Naver Encyclopedia (네이버 사전) consists of a professional database with over 3 million entries sourced from various encyclopedias.[30][dubious – discuss] It involves more than 1,000 experts across fields like physics, food, and film, producing 45 types of specialized content. The Naver Knowledge Encyclopedia has accumulated 50,000 headwords[30] and deals with over 100 public institutions, incorporating over 900 databases.[30]

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Naver Mail (네이버 메일) is an email service available to all Naver users. Each user is provided with up to 5GB of storage.

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Naver Shopping Live (네이버 쇼핑 라이브) is a live commerce platform operated by Naver. Broadcasts can be transmitted via mobile phones or camcorders, with a resolution of 1080*1920 and a vertical format similar to YouTube shorts. It is currently the platform with the highest number of consumers in Korea.[citation needed]

PRISM Live Studio

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PRISM Live Studio (프리즘 라이브 스튜디오) is a live streaming application available for both mobile and PC users. Streamers can simultaneously broadcast to multiple platforms, a practice known as simulcasting, with support for up to 1080p HD resolution without increasing network usage. Supported platforms include YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, Periscope, V Live, Naver TV, afreecaTV, KakaoTV, and RTMP channels. The application can also be utilized for video editing purposes.[31]

Search engine features and restrictions

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Naver's closed platform is often highlighted. Other search engines are not permitted to index their knowledge base and blogs, allowing Naver to maintain monopolistic control over its properties. In April 2011, the second and third largest portal sites in Korea, Daum and Nate, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to open their search for services like cafes and blogs. However, Naver chose not to participate in this MoU.[32]

Naver has been criticized for abusing Real-time Search Terms (Korean: 급상승 검색어) to manipulate public opinion.[clarification needed]. As a result, Naver abolished Real-time Search Terms on February 25, 2021.[33]

Person-related Search Terms (Korean: 인물 연관 검색어) on Naver had been criticized for including defamatory searches. As a response, Naver abolished Person-related Search Terms in March 2021.[34]

In October 2023, Naver announced the beta release of its AI chatbot service, 'CLOVA X' (Korean: 클로바X).[35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "NAVER Company". navercorp.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  2. ^ Bogle, Ariel (2017-12-04). "Has the Google of South Korea Found a Way to Save Struggling News Outlets?". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2021-06-15. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  3. ^ Hyee-su, Cho (2019-05-16). "[Behind the Brand: 1] Lotte inspired by a Goethe heroine; Naver helps us navigate". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 2023-06-07. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
  4. ^ "Yahoo! Answers has app babby and calls it Answers Now". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-12-13.
  5. ^ Park, Ji-hye. "Naver Mobile's old version ends in August...'User Complaints' Continuous". 프라임경제 (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  6. ^ Jack Guy and Sophie Jeong (14 October 2019). "Sulli, 25-year-old K-pop star, found dead at home in Seongnam, South Korea". CNN. Archived from the original on 2020-08-28. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  7. ^ Mu-Hyun, Cho. "Naver fined for search manipulation". ZDNet. Archived from the original on 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  8. ^ Herald, The Korea (2020-10-06). "Naver faces 26.7b-won fine, accused of manipulating algorithms". koreaherald.com. Archived from the original on 2020-10-06. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  9. ^ "Naver fined for manipulating search algorithms". theinvestor.co.kr. Archived from the original on 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  10. ^ "Naver fined W26.7 bil. for manipulating search algorithm". koreatimes. 2020-10-06. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  11. ^ "Naver, Kakao competing for no 1 position in Japanese web comic market". ThePrint. 2022-03-31. Archived from the original on 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  12. ^ 박, 철현 (2016-10-17). "네이버, 어학사전 발전 위해 100억원 투입...'옛 사전 개정 新 사전 구축나서'". IT조선 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  13. ^ "‎네이버 사전". Apple App Store (in Korean). 2024-07-31. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  14. ^ 차, 현아 (2018-12-05). ""고대 히브리어도 찾아준다"...네이버, 소수어 5종 사전 오픈". IT조선 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  15. ^ Sohn, Ji-young (2018-03-22). "Pwag, zoobs? Naver's English dictionary contains nonsense, questionable definitions". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  16. ^ "네이버 국어·영어 사전 서비스 강화". Jeonbuk Ilbo [ko] (in Korean). 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  17. ^ 차, 현아 (2018-12-05). ""고대 히브리어도 찾아준다"...네이버, 소수어 5종 사전 오픈". IT조선 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  18. ^ "Naver, Kakao bet on open community platform to woo young users - Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea". pulsenews.co.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  19. ^ "make up to". Archived from the original on 2024-04-08. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  20. ^ Naver service history in Naver public website
  21. ^ New user in 202 Archived 2024-04-08 at the Wayback Machine3
  22. ^ 신, 진호 (4 May 2021). ""작심삼일 노노"라던 네이버, 사흘만에 '오늘일기챌린지' 조기종료". 서울신문 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  23. ^ 최, 민영 (2021-05-18). "'작심삼일 논란' 네이버 오늘일기 24일 재개…기존 참여자만 가능". 한겨레 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  24. ^ 윤, 지혜 (2021-05-04). ""댓글달면 사진뜬다"..네이버 발표에 네티즌들 시끌시끌 – 머니투데이". 머니투데이 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  25. ^ "NAVER Pay End". Archived from the original on 2024-04-08. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
  26. ^ "네이버 지식iN". kin.naver.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
  27. ^ Horowitz, Bradley (27 June 2006). "Searching for what doesn't exist…". blog.elatable.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  28. ^ Pastreich, Emanuel (18 July 2011). "Take Naver Global Today!". Korea IT Times. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  29. ^ "네티즌, '反·脫 네이버' 거세지고 있다". 아이티데일리 (in Korean). 2007-12-16. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  30. ^ a b c "[2017] Naver knowledge Encyclopedia settlement". blog.naver.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
  31. ^ "PRISM Live Studio. Official". Medium. Archived from the original on 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  32. ^ "'닫힌' 네이버, '열린' 反네이버 동맹에 흔들?". news.naver.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2019-03-15.
  33. ^ Hong, Jinsu (2021-02-04). "네이버 '실시간 검색어' 16년만에 없앤다…오는 25일 종료". 경향신문. Archived from the original on 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  34. ^ "네이버, 5일부터 '인물 연관검색어' 폐지… 연예 댓글도 잠정 중단". biz.chosun.com (in Korean). 2020-03-01. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  35. ^ "네이버, 대화형 AI 서비스 '클로바X' 베타 출시". cboard.net (in Korean). 2023-10-28. Archived from the original on 2023-10-27. Retrieved 2023-10-28.
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