Naver

South Korean web portal

This article is about the South Korean search portal. For the company, see Naver Corporation.

Naver Co., Ltd.

Logo used from 2018

Trade name

| NAVER

Native name

| 네이버 주식회사

Romanized name

| Neibeo Jusikhoesa
Company type| Subsidiary
Industry|

* Internet
* Artificial intelligence
* Cloud computing

Founded| 2 June 1999; 26 years ago (1999-06-02)[1]
Founder| Lee Hae-jin
Headquarters|

Seongnam-si

Korea

Area served

| Worldwide
Products|

* NAVER Mail
* NAVER Map
* NAVER News

Parent| Naver Corporation
Website| naver.com
Korean name

Hangul|

네이버 주식회사

Revised Romanization| Neibeo Jusikhoesa
McCune–Reischauer| Neibŏ Chusikhoesa

Naver (Korean: 네이버; stylized as NAVER) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. The company's products include a search engine, email hosting, blogs, maps, and mobile payment.[1]

## History

[edit]

Naver was the first Korean web provider to develop its own search engine. The company was founded on June 2, 1999, and is headquartered in Seongnam, South Korea. Naver is a combination of 'navigate', which means to navigate the Internet, and the suffix '-er', which means person, which means a person who navigates the vast ocean of information on the Internet.[2] The Naver provides community services including blogs and cafes, other convenient services such as knowledge, shopping, maps, books, e-mail and naver tool bar.[1]

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.[citation needed]

Naver became an early pioneer in user-generated content through the creation of the 'Knowledge iN' (네이버 지식인)' service in 2002.[citation needed] 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[peacock prose] Yahoo! introduced its similar 'Yahoo! Answers' service[3] and now possesses a database of over 200 million answers. 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[peacock prose] Naver introduced the original service.[4]

Over the years, Naver has continued to expand its services. Naver Blog started with the name 'paper' in June 2003 and evolved to 'blog' in October 2003.[5] 'Webtoon' is a South Korean webtoon publisher launched in 2004 by Naver.[6]

In May 2005, Naver started the Real-time Search service. The rising search terms was a chart in Naver that highlighted trending topics in real-time.[citation needed] The top searches would appear on the portal main page reaching a large number of users.[7]

From 2005 to 2007, Naver expanded its multimedia search services, including music and video search, as well as mobile search.[citation needed] Naver had launched a messaging app called Line for the South Korean market in February 2011.[8]

In 2019, Naver reorganized its mobile version of the main screen, excluding search windows and some menus.[citation needed] In response, more than 3,000 comments opposing the change were posted.[9]

In October 2023, Naver announced the beta release of its AI chatbot service, 'CLOVA X' (클로바X).[10]

Naver mobile map application has begun providing real-time service on natural disaster information starting this September 15, 2024.[11]

## Services

[edit]

### Naver Dictionary

[edit]

Main article: Naver Dictionary

Naver Dictionary was launched in 1999, alongside Naver. It initially supported only Korean and English.[12] As of 2024[update], 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).[14]

### Junior Naver

[edit]

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]

### Knowledge iN

[edit]

Knowledge iN (지식iN), formerly Knowledge Search (지식검색), is an online Q&A platform launched in October 2002.[17] The tool allows users to ask any question and receive answers from other users. Naver became an early pioneer in user-generated content through the creation of the 'Knowledge iN' (네이버 지식인)' service in 2002. 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[peacock prose] Naver introduced the original service.[4]

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 be minimally only 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. Teens and people in their twenties accounted for 70% of the questioners and 50% of the respondents. In April 2024, the service was reorganized so that answers could be continuously registered without closing questions, and new answers could be registered even if there were adopted answers. In addition, the limit on the number of additional questions and additional answers has disappeared. Even if someone is not a questioner or an answerer, he can express your support for the answers that he likes.[18]

### Naver Webtoon

[edit]

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.[6]

### Naver Cafe

[edit]

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] From January to August 2024, Naver Cafe's MAU averaged 30 million, up about 10% from the previous year.[20]

### Naver Blog

[edit]

Naver Blog (네이버 블로그) started with the name 'paper' in June 2003 and evolved to 'blog' in October 2003.[21] It had 23 million users as of April 2016.[citation needed] In 2023, there were 1.26 million new users.[22]

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.[23]

> Naver announced on its official blog that it would resume its "Today's Diary Challenge (#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.[24]

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.[25]

### Naver NOW

[edit]

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]

### Naver Pay

[edit]

Main article: Naver Pay

In June 2015, Naver launched its own payment service, Naver Pay, which allows mobile payment service and online checkout. It is Naver's second mobile payment service after Line Pay. Naver Pay is the most widely used mobile payment service in South Korea.[26]

### Naver Mail

[edit]

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

### Naver News

[edit]

Naver News (네이버 뉴스) is a news aggregator operated by Naver since 2000. The website co-founded a committee with Daum News to evaluate news presses for the service in 2015, but it was indefinitely shut down in 2023 after allegations of biased audit.[27] It also runs Naver Enter, a subdivision focusing on entertainment news.

### Naver Shopping Live

[edit]

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. As of 2023, 73.6% of mobile shoppers in South Korea use Naver Shopping Live as their primary platform.[28]

### PRISM Live Studio

[edit]

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.[29]

### Naver Papago

[edit]

Main article: Naver Papago

In July 2017, Naver launched Papago, which is an AI-based mobile translator that uses a large neural network technology named N2MT (Naver Neural Machine Translation). It can translate text and phrases in 15 different languages by analyzing context instead of statistical analysis. Papago app has so far garnered over 16 million downloads.[30]

## Search engine features and restrictions

[edit]

Naver has been criticized for abusing Real-time Search Terms (급상승 검색어) to manipulate public opinion.[clarification needed]. As a result, Naver abolished Real-time Search Terms on February 25, 2021.[31]

## See also

[edit]

Portals:

* South Korea
* Companies
* Internet

* List of search engines
* Search engine
* Comparison of search engines
* Naver Corporation
* Band
* Line

## Notes

[edit]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "NAVER Company". navercorp.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2023-07-19.
2. ^ "Brand Resources". navercorp.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-10-23.
3. ^ "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.
4. ^ a b Pastreich, Emanuel (18 July 2011). "Take Naver Global Today!". Korea IT Times. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
5. ^ ""네이버 블로그 21주년, 1030 비중 64%까지 확대"". 다음 - 머니투데이. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
6. ^ a b "Naver's Webtoon Entertainment shares close nearly 10% higher on Nasdaq debut". koreatimes. 2024-06-28. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
7. ^ "네이버, 검색분야 점유율 70% 육박". 다음 - 아이뉴스24. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
8. ^ "LINE｜라인은 언제나 사용자와 함께 합니다". line.me (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-11-02.
9. ^ Park, Ji-hye. "Naver Mobile's old version ends in August...'User Complaints' Continuous". 프라임경제 (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-06-06.
10. ^ ""투자제안서 대신 써줄래"…네이버, 대화형AI '클로바X' 베타 출시". 다음 - 디지털타임스. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
11. ^ Na-Young, Kim (2024). "Naver Map starts providing natural disaster information". Yonhap News.
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. ^ a b 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.+[ko]&rft.atitle=네이버+국어·영어+사전+서비스+강화&rft.date=2010-06-29&rft_id=https://www.jjan.kr/article/20100629359998&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Naver" class="Z3988">
17. ^ "네이버 지식iN". kin.naver.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-20. Retrieved 2017-05-31.
18. ^ "네이버, '지식인' 서비스 개편…"지식 커뮤니티로 성장"". 다음 - 연합뉴스. Retrieved 2024-11-29.
19. ^ "make up to". Archived from the original on 2024-04-08. Retrieved 2024-04-08.
20. ^ "네이버, 카페 서비스 '오류'... "긴급 점검 중"". 다음 - 파이낸셜뉴스. Retrieved 2024-11-29.
21. ^ Naver service history in Naver public website
22. ^ New user in 202 Archived 2024-04-08 at the Wayback Machine3
23. ^ 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.
24. ^ 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.
25. ^ 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.
26. ^ Service Introduction, Official webpage of Naver Pay
27. ^ Choi, Hyeonseok (30 October 2024). "네이버뉴스, 언론사 입점·퇴출 심사에 '수백명 풀단' 활용 논의". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 24 January 2025.
28. ^ "Naver Shopping Live: Live Commerce and Marketing in Korea". Growth Marketing Agency. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
29. ^ "PRISM Live Studio. Official". Medium. Archived from the original on 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
30. ^ 홍지인 (2020-11-04). "네이버 파파고, 이미지 '바로번역' 기능 출시". 연합뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-10-29.
31. ^ "네이버, 16년 만에 '급상승 검색어' 폐지". 다음 - 국민일보. Retrieved 2024-11-15.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Naver Webtoon
* Naver Cafe
* Naver Blog
* Naver TV
* Knowledge iN

* v
* t
* e

Naver Corporation

Products and services|

| Current|

* Naver (search engine)
* Band
* Clova
* Wave
* Friends
* CHZZK
* Naver Papago
* Naver Pay
* Naver TV
* Naver Webtoon
* Naver Whale
* Naver Vibe
* Naver Dictionary

|

Former/defunct|

* Livedoor
* V Live
* Whoscall

Subsidiaries|

| Current|

* Poshmark
* Snow
* Playlist
* Wattpad
* Webtoon
* Studio N

|

Former/defunct|

* Camp Mobile

People|

* Han Seong-sook
* Lee Hae-jin
* Lee Joon-ho

Others|

* Green Factory

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Web search engines

Active|

| Dedicated|

* AOL
* Ahmia
* Ask.com
* Baidu
* Bing
* Blackle
* Brave
* DuckDuckGo
* Ecosia
* Fireball
* Google
* Kiddle
* KidRex
* KidzSearch
* Lycos
* Mojeek
* Naver
* Parsijoo
* Perplexity AI
* Petal
* Presearch
* Seznam.cz
* Sogou
* Swisscows
* WebCrawler
* Yahoo!
* Yandex
* Youdao

|

Metasearch engines|

* Dogpile
* Excite
* Info.com
* Kagi
* MetaCrawler
* MetaGer
* Mullvad Leta
* SearXNG
* Startpage
* Qwant

Defunct

Inactive|

* 123people
* A9.com
* Aliweb
* AlltheWeb
* AltaVista
* Blekko
* Boogami
* Cuil
* Empas
* Forestle
* GenieKnows
* Gigablast
* Go.com
* HotBot
* Infoseek
* Inktomi
* JumpStation
* LeapFish
* Neeva
* Northern Light
* Pipilika
* Powerset
* Scroogle
* SearchMe
* Searx
* Soso
* Sputnik
* Teoma
* Viewzi
* Vivisimo
* Volunia
* W3Catalog
* Wikiseek
* Yebol
* Yippy
* Yooz

* Comparison
* Complete list

* v
* t
* e

S&P Asia 50 companies

Mainland China|

* Bank of China
* China Construction Bank
* China Life Insurance Company
* China Merchants Bank
* China Mobile
* China Overseas Land and Investment
* China Petroleum & Chemical
* CNOOC Limited
* Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
* Meituan-Dianping
* PetroChina
* Ping An Insurance

Hong Kong|

* AIA Group
* CK Asset Holdings
* CK Hutchison Holdings
* CLP Holdings
* Galaxy Entertainment Group
* Hang Seng Bank
* Hong Kong and China Gas
* Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing
* Link Real Estate Investment Trust
* Sands China
* Sun Hung Kai Properties

Singapore|

* DBS Group
* Oversea-Chinese Banking
* United Overseas Bank
* Singapore Telecommunications

South Korea|

* Celltrion
* Hyundai Mobis
* Hyundai Motor Company
* KB Financial Group
* KT&G
* LG Chem
* Naver
* POSCO
* Samsung Electronics
* SK Hynix

Taiwan|

* Largan Precision
* Cathay Financial Holding
* CTBC Financial Holding
* Formosa Plastics
* Hon Hai Precision Industry
* MediaTek
* TSMC

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