Korean Search Giant Naver goes Japanese with Ads, Messaging and Games

We recently posted an article from the Korea Times on the Advanced Technology and Design Korea Facebook page about how Naver is the number one portal site in Korea, beating out search engine giants like Google.

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Naver, which officially launched in 1999, was the first Korean portal site to develop its own search engine and has been leading the Korean Internet industry with its innovative services ever since. Naver goes beyond search functions, as it also offers services like blogs, online communities, advertising and more.

Its holding company, NHN, is strengthening its services in Japan through several new partnerships and investments.

NHN will provide its search engine and solution for building and managing advertising platforms for major Japanese retailer AEON's online website, AEON Square. Within Japan, AEON has 14,000 shops. Outside of Japan, the company has has 180 affiliates that do business in eleven countries.

NHN is also growing its mobile messenger service, Line, which now has over 50 million subscribers, of whom 23 million are Japanese.

Photo Credit: Twylah

In addition, NHN plans to release more games and an advertisement platform for mobile phones.

As Japan is the second largest consumer market in the world after the U.S.; it looks as though NHN has got quite a big target in sights. As more Korean companies are expanding overseas, it's not surprising to see more growth next door.

About the author by Donna Choi

Born and raised in the States, I came to Seoul in 2009 and have loved living and working in such a high-tech and connected city ever since. I enjoy collecting unique, cute gadgets/items (I have a bread-scented smartphone case!) and traveling around Korea. My personal mission while living in Korea: Try every type of Korean food known to exist

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