TechnoKimchi

So again, one of the biggest reasons I might want to buy iPhone 4 is, obviously, it's sleek design. Apple has done it again. Now, the iPhone 4 vs Galaxy S is a hot topic in Korea and there's been many chatters online.

Now, to my surprise, there's been speculation that iPhone 4's design actually came from Korea. It probably makes you go "what?" But I must say "Haha, brilliant." to the claim. It's just funny; it's funny not because it's stupid, but because it's creative. Oh, how I love the creativity of the Korean Internet netizens.

Here's the evidence for the claim: a picture taken from the Korean subway station's entry gate:

DeathMatch: iPhone 4 vs Galaxy S!!!!

... or.. at least that's the title around which Samsung tried to create a buzz. Samsung's Galaxy S was officially introduced to public only 10 HRS after iPhone 4 was.

What a coincidence!

You search for "Galaxy S" on Naver news/blogs, pretty much every single article was written with the title "iPhone 4 vs Galaxy S." Now, somewhat sadly, iPhone creates a distinctly bigger buzz in Korea; so either you search for 'iPhone 4' or 'Galaxy S', you'll end up learning something about Galaxy S. I had a brief Twitter discussion with some other Korean twitterers, but many think the same. It seems like Samsung "used" iPhone for its own publicity. Especially, given the fact Samsung has a huge influence over any major media outlets in Korea and that Samsung probably sent out tons of press releases yesterday, it's quite apparent piggybacking was Samsung's strategy for Galaxy S debut.

Or Google's. Google's Andy Rubin, the father of Android, was also at the conference, calling Galaxy S "the best of the best."

One thing to notice: the iPhone 4 vs Galaxy S battle, in my opinion, doesn't count as a legit one because one is more about culture and content while the other is more about hardware. It's kind of like comparing a Korean bear against an American ferret. Yes, they'll be competing against each other in the market like a bear and a ferret would inside a zoo (for attention), but most of the articles miss the point. It's pointless to compare the two side by side because they don't give the same experience at all.

 I personally hope both do well; more "good" options, all the better for us. As for me, I'm probably sticking with Nexus One, set to come out in about 2 weeks. It's expected the phone is nearly zero-priced with 2-yr plan and will be priceless with its Mifi Hotspot feature, as I already own an iPod touch and in the midst of saving money up for an iPad.

Or should I wait and get iPhone 4 and a Samsung Galaxy Tab?

Too many choices; too much happiness; too much headache.

I predicted back in February that Apple will soar in Korea while Google will not in 2010. If you read various reports, I was pretty right on the nail. Literally, Apple is still soaring while Google is not. Now a question: then, which global brands do well in Korea and which ones don't?

Louis Vuitton. BMW. Apple. Chanel. Starbucks. Nike. In Korea, they are wanted.

Google. Walmart. Colgate. Sorry, no room for you, Mr. global giants.

What's the difference? Why do some global brands do so well while others simply miserably fail? I just came across an article last week that Google barely claimed 2.5% search market share in Korea, happily surpassing Yahoo! Korea for the first time (Yahoo! Korea marked 2.4% market share) Walmart went out of business. The majority of people in Korea don't even know what brand "Colgate" is.

While this might be completely oversimplified, here's my answer to the question: the ones in the first group make you look g-o-o-d. When you wear them or consume their products/services, you feel g-o-o-d. You feel even upgraded. Especially, to other people.

In Korean culture, which gives lots of weight and value to interdependence as well as harmony with others, your relationships matter more than anything. Most of the time, people just wanna look good to others. It's not just outer appearance I'm talking about, but also your "social status." You want to look good only if you can actually look "BETTER" than others. It's rather difficult to find Korean native brands in this industry sector where Korean brands do tremendously well. Korean brands, somehow, can't exert as much "class" power to Korean consumers. Many Korean brands in these industries even try to hide that they're Korean companies.

What about Google, Walmart and Colgate? Replace them with Naver, Emart, and Perio. What's the difference? These are brands for your everyday life and actually living it. Now, Korean people have our our own ways of living life; food, apartments, cars, streets, grocery shopping experience, etc. After all, this is a country with 5000 years of history. It's pretty darn difficult for global brands to penetrate into the more "real" lifestyles of Korean people because their global edges can't be precisely customized just to fit Korean consumers' tastes. When it's about living life, people want something that's "just about right."

Now, the dichotomy on global brands brings up an interesting question to the tech world: How will Android phones fare in Korea? We all know how Apple has swept through the Korean smartphone market and has generated some wild wakeup calls across in the entire industry. Now, with Google mightily struggling, does Android have any chance at all?

Possibly yes because Samsung and SKT are behind. It was KT that launched iPhone in Korea; ever since then, SKT has formed a strategic alliance with Samsung (both no.1 in Korea) to start an Android-based smartphone war in Korea. Samsung has already come out with Galaxy A and is coming out wit Galaxy S soon.

A new chapter in history? We'll see. Samsung is one of the best localized brands in Korea while Google is not. How would the hybrid work? I don't know.

Actually, I'm open to discussion here. What do you guys think?

It's June 1st and this marks the 4th year of TechnoKimchi. While I haven't been the most consistent blogger in the world, I have learned a great deal from running this blog and have been able to meet a great deal of great people through TechnoKimchi. What a blessing! (Especially events like Geeks On A Plane and Startup Weekend Seoul, which I'll cover later here)

Anyhow, back to the point. TechnoKimchi runs on a Korean-native blogging service named Tistory (a service by Daum), which is based on Textcube, formerly known as Tattertools, a Korean native blogging platform; my goal, initially, was to use the best of the tool and let the world know about the superiority of Korean blogging technology :)

Unfortunately, two things happened: first, Tistory has evolved into a completely Korean (-optimized) service, meaning Tistory isn't the best, or the best customized, tool for a blog like TechnoKimchi, which needs to get lots of exposure to the "English" blogosphere, including SEO, Twitter plugins and etc.

Second, I've been quietly waiting to migrate to the Textcube.com service when it goes global full-throttle. Textcube.com to Textcube (the tool) is what Wordpress.com is to the Wordpress tool. The service was acquired by Google about 2 years ago as a bright shining star to improve Google's presence in the Asian blog market. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago, the service officially stopped accepting new account registration and now is a part of Google's Blogger service. (More on this on KoreaCrunch) For acknowledgement, mad props and kudos to my friend Chang, who has been fantastic working on Textcube.com and now is a product manager of Blogger.com at Google and who I'm sure will be continuing his tremendous work!

Again, in summary, I want out of Tistory and move into a good English blogging platform. I've been running my Korean blog on Wordpress for about 7 years now and am pretty familiar with the tool, esp. as I upgraded it to v. 2.9.2 just few days ago. But then I'm thinking, should I try Blogger and get the taste of it?

I'll be playing with and testing various blogging platforms for next few days (if not weeks) An advanced apology for the blog looking weird, ugly, funky, or whatever, or even occasionally going down during that timespan.

Pali pali is the governing culture in Korea. A friend of mine told me that it's probably good for me to stay in that mold this time. I'll give my best shot.

Follow me on:

I had originally written this post in Korean on my Korean blog; realized this might be helpful for others as well; so I'm basically translating my own blog post. I'm sure I can do a better job than Google Translation at least on this =D

Anyhow, many devices, many platforms, many OSs, many companies, many versions, many countries, etc. Should I say we're cursed or blessed by the Tyranny of Choice?

It's always good to put things in perspective; so I just picked out some cores from the big 3: Apple, Google, and Microsoft. All have been there and done that. With the ever-growing convergence of technology, platforms, cultures, countries, languages, on/off life, mobile/desktop, and content suppliers, what we're witnessing is a perfect-stormed-war in 2010. We're seriously living in an interesting time!

Just to add a twist to the picture, here is the list of countries represented on the chart: U.S., S. Korea, Taiwan, and China. The list was subjectively taken by me as an avid reader of Engadget, Gizmodo, GSM Arena, and TechCrunch, and sadly enough, I had to leave out some Asia-based companies like Sony and LG, simply because they don't seem to be as popular in this field as much as the ones aforementioned. At least, this list surely adds a reason for Japanese tech industry to go through some major revolution.

Any ideas to the chart above? I'll be diligent updating the list above for the next couple of days; so any input will be graciously taken.

Follow me on:

The screen capture above was taken from the main Google search page. I typed in the word "초", a common word analogous to anything in English like "a", "be", "sum", etc. AND Google returned totally unacceptable search results for the general public. Here's the list of top keyword suggestions you see up there:

"elementary school kids nude"
"elementary school kids know the taste" (a very good chance for sexual connotation)
"elementary school girl with very glamorous/sexy body"
"elementary school kids sexy/porn pictures"
"elementary school kid fxxxing another elementary school kid"
("초딩" is a derogatory jargon for an elementary school student)

Now, I'm sure Google somehow optimizes its keyword suggestion mechanism based on its users' previous search keywords; and if that's the case, shame to my country for being full of pedophiles!!

And kudos to Google for standing up for "freedom of expression".

Hm.. HELLO??? Am I missing something here???

Apart from my disappointment and anger, here's the thing: if you're a global company and if you're serious about a certain local market, you're left only with two choices: become one of them or become what they aspire. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the previous post, Google is NOT, and will never become, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, BMW, or even Apple, in that matter. We don't "aspire" to google. It's not Google's fault; Google is just simply built to be a brand for everyday life like Walmart, Nabisco, or Mr. Clean. It's to be "consumed."

With this kind of low search quality and possibly ads-matching quality, (there are many other more "normal" and "valuable" Korean keywords that begin with "초"), yes, it isn't too difficult to see why Google is mightily struggling in Korea.

I desperately hope global companies realize this. Sometimes you just got to let go of your dogma. As much as the world is turning much more globally interwoven, global platforms don't work in many places, esp. when carrying local, cultural and contextual subtleties.

Alright. My rant ends here. Sorry to the readers about the tone of the post ; but at the same time, I'm hoping that my emotional response was also profoundly rooted in my strong passion and liking for Google.

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Yes, I did say it. In Korea, I believe Apple will soar and Google will not.

It isn't about how awesome their products and services are; it isn't about how smart their strategists are; it isn't even about how much cash they can pour into the Korean market. It's about us; the Korean people.

As I mentioned before, as much as the Internet is being used for "informational" purposes in Korea, it isn't really about efficiency and productivity here, which Google has mastered. Rather, when we say information and productivity, we mean more of "how socially compatible are you when you work with others" or even "how keen are you to what everyone else is talking about?" which is where Google might miserably fail, at least in Korea.

To be more precise, I think Google needs to be more "social" even when giving out information, which is what Naver is doing best. This is also why Google finally gave in here by portalizing itself. Information matters--only when it matters to everyone else at the same time. Google is not particularly good at this--at least not yet. The importance of social belonging and interdependence in the meaning of information is one of the major topics I'll be covering throughout 2010, so keep your eyes closely.

Now, why do I think Apple will soar? I think Apple touches upon the emotional side of the Korean consumers. As much as the tech industry is becoming more like the fashion industry, Apple represents the new "social upper class" among the Korean people. Apple is the new Louis Vuitton and the new Chanel. Asian people love luxury brands and Apple is becoming one of them.

Looking at Korea through the angles of companies--Samsung, LG, Google, Apple-- will be a fun way to learn about Korea. I've started developing a strategic framework on how to attack the Korean tech/digital industry and deeply move our minds and hearts.

I want Google to soar here as well; but that might require too much for Google's pride, at least for those in Mountain View.

Just to clarify for the TechnoKimchi readers, I just wanted to tell you that I live in SOUTH Korea, not NORTH, and the news article above indeed is happening in South Korea.

It's going to take a long time to explain the whole situation, but here's the gist of it:
Google told the Korean government "I'm sorry, but I'm bigger than you."

Yeah, the decision by Google came at a crazy cost: Google basically had to shut down its core Youtube services and say goodbye to all the government support it's been enjoying. (Korean government supported Google with over $1 million when Google Korean R&D center was founded and is also bringing quite a bit of cash to Google Korea by using YouTube as one of the government's main marketing channels.) This is a pretty big gamble for Google itself, obviously even more so for Google Korea. I'm sure the Korean government is feeling quite a lot of steam right now.

But you don't mess with Google. You do it, next day it's gonna be all over New York Times, CNN, BBC, or what not. Oh, did I forget to mention the Google Search? :) Heck, tons of people in the world won't even be able to tell the country that launched a rocket few days ago is not the same country making its citizens do this.

Not to bash my own government or anything, but there is a tectonic shift I see here. The Internet is so border-less now that it's going to be increasingly difficult for local governments to lay hands on it. For example, Google actually made a way for users to get by just by selecting "another country" on Youtube, even without having to physically be there. So as a government, ultimately you only have two options on the Internet: be completely closed (China and North Korea) or be completely open (many other places).

You can go even further and ask "what does it mean to be 'local'"? Being physically local isn't the only option of being "local" any longer. Are you interested in Canon digital cameras and want to meet the 5D lovers from all over the world on flickr? That's your new local. Interested in NBA? That's your new local. Should I call TechnoKimchi a new local? I'm not sure because there's too much physicality here.

Many have begun worshipping Google for its brave act and a nice punch. How this will all end up remains to be seen, but this was a very crucial step forward for the Korean Internet industry as all others basically gave in to the government. And this was possible because Google is both big and global.

Wrong. Who are the "labor" people to the Internet companies? It's none other than us, the users.

Especially in an environment like in Korea where the scale is relatively small and homogeneity is the word that governs the culture.

What does that mean? By instigating a small number of zealots to form an opinion, you can easily maneuver in the direction of the crowd at will. How does that happen? By making them work FOR YOU.

Now, add in the "pali pali" culture as an ingredient. Everything in Korea moves just F-A-S-T, as if holding on to something old is actually a shame. As a result, what you get is people lined up to react to changes and do something dynamically 24/7. And it's all done manually, often even without getting paid.

It's widely known that much of Naver search is operated manually by hiring people to add links for certain topics and to edit the search results (for like $4/hr. Now I call that cheap labor!) Even when it comes down to content creation, many people are still paid to do so at an extremely fast pace, going after popular keywords at the moment. What's even more interesting is we have armies of 댓글알바, a.k.a. paid comment spammers, who'll just paint the Internet plaster with commercial content while masquerading as innocent housewives, students, or prosumers. Wrong. They aren't. They're often just college students that are dying to make the same $4/hr for leaving 100 comments on a designated topic.

Again, this is possible because Korea has a relatively small Internet market; people's interests don't vary much so it can be covered through manual editing. For Google, which tries to cover the entire Web, this might not be as cost-effective. You can't hire people or even instigate people to cover every single topic on earth. It just won't cut it. At the same time, for Korean users, Naver's handpicked materials are far higher quality meat than the automated version like Google's. This partially explains why Google still holds less than 5% of search market in Korea and the siloed portals are still dominant.

Want to succeed in Korea? Hear my words: work hard. I mean, real hard.

Yesterday, I came across an interesting article about the the Internet usage stats in Korea in 2008. (As you know, it's the end-of-the-year time and we're getting tons of statstical reports summarizing 2008, so it's good time for TechnoKimchi.)

So, to make it brief, you know that the top 3 traffic sites in Korea are Naver, Daum, and Cyworld. And guess what the top 3 search keywords for 2008 are? Yup. They are Daum, Cyworld, and Naver.

Wait a minute. Am I saying that people don't type in the URLs for those sites, but search for them to get there? Apparently so. Basically what this means is that Naver is the biggest traffic generator for Daum and Cyworld. It's like saying "most of Yahoo traffic comes from Google."

Indeed. Among other top 10 search keywords are gMarket (4), Auction (5) (gMarket and Auction are the top two ebay-like sites in Korea), Kookmin Bank (6), Yahoo (7), Woori Bank (8), and Shinhan Bank (9). Take notice the keyword ranking almost exactly aligns with the the most popular sites in Korea.

I've been personally watching some young kids at my church (around elementary school age) use the Internet. They actually do search on Naver for the names of sites they want to get to and get there by clicking on the links. I asked them, "why do you search instead of typing in the URLs?" The answers typically come in two ways: "Why not?" or "URLs?"

This is the power of the search economy. The fact that the top search keywords are Daum and Cyworld, not Naver and Cyworld, means it's the No.1. search portal Naver that sends out traffic to Daum and Cyworld, making them the greatest beneficiaries of their greatest competitor in Naver. Traffic means money, but apparently that's the cost Naver will gladly take.

Display ads are dying. URL games are dying. Newspapers are dying. The only thing that seems to be certain in the midst of economic downturn and flood of information is the efficiency of search engines. No wonder Google is the king no matter what.

(After reading through comments provided by Channy and Chang, I realized this is not a trend only unique to Korea but rather a universal one. Guess who's been behind, haha. Sorry, folks :)

Many Korean web sites, ranging from internet banking sites to TV livecasting sites, mandate users to install Active X components (a small bit of extension program used by Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser) to use the service. Which means if you are a Firefox user in Korea, there are many websites that are quite integral to your life that you simply can't use.

For example, you cannot print public documents by accessing government websites on Firefox. Or, for that matter, you cannot even buy a Mac on a Mac - as the credit card transaction requires the installation of a security program that only exists as an Active X control for Internet Explorer. Want to buy a Mac from their online store? Get a PC.

-- Are you a Korean web user? You might have 100+ Active X's installed, Web 2.0 Asia