The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Korea falls to Italy in FIFA U-20 World Cup semifinals

  • 3

    Actor Yoo Ah-in suspected of taking 2 more types of drugs

  • 5

    OpenAI explores investment opportunities in Korean startups: Sam Altman

  • 7

    IPO market regains vigor on bullish KOSPI

  • 9

    China's hallyu restrictions likely to continue unless Seoul-Beijing ties improve

  • 11

    China reaches out to Korean Assembly to counterweigh Yoon's bet on US

  • 13

    INTERVIEWCIX talks about team chemistry, youth theme

  • 15

    SPC bolsters PR activities in US

  • 17

    Hyundai Motor partners with Spider-Man animation to envision future mobility

  • 19

    NCT to hold Korea-Japan stadium tour

  • 2

    Rising minimum wage burdens small biz owners: survey

  • 4

    Jihyo to become 2nd TWICE member to make solo debut

  • 6

    'The Childe': blood-soaked crime thriller with chilling chase scenes

  • 8

    Philippines Day celebrated in Gwangju

  • 10

    Gang Dong-won, Park Jeong-min team up for Joseon-era thriller 'War and Revolt'

  • 12

    S. Korea may see rise in NK defectors as Pyongyang mulls reopening borders

  • 14

    Resurging household loans pose challenge for BOK's rate policy

  • 16

    OpenAI CEO visits Korea as country seeks to encourage AI development

  • 18

    4 Children lost for 40 days in Colombian Amazon found alive

  • 20

    Japanese business leaders pledge to support Busan's Expo bid

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Sun, June 11, 2023 | 08:40
Business
Social Networking Sites Losing Energy
Posted : 2008-05-02 18:12
Updated : 2008-05-02 18:12
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter

Finding old friends and peeking at ex-boyfriend's photo albums are what Cyworld could do for Internet users. But the popularity of such social networking sites is beginning to wane in South Korea, as people have become fully connected with each other on the Internet and do not expect more networking in the virtual world.

Both local and foreign-made online community sites are losing growth momentum here this year, unlike their growing popularity in the United States, Europe and the rest of the world.

SK Communications, the operator of Cyworld, said Friday that its revenue from the service decreased by 6 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period last year. Its sales were 19.3 billion won in the first three months of the year, down from 19.8 billion won in the previous quarter.

The lackluster performance from the social networking service cost the firm dearly. It reported 4.3 billion won in operating losses and 5.6 billion won in net losses. The company sells music and other items to users with a virtual currency called the ``dotori,'' so they can decorate their homepages to show them to visitors.

``We will soon have a renewal of the sites and we also have new services coming up, so we will have a better performance in the second half of the year,'' said chief finance officer Song Jae-kil in a statement.

Cyworld boasts more than 22 million users in South Korea, a country with nearly 50 million people. It has pioneered the social-networking field since 1999, years before the better-known Facebook and MySpace appeared in the United States.

Its strong presence has ensured both Facebook and MySpace have limited influence in South Korea. Last month, MySpace opened its Korean subsidiary and a Korean-language page. But a fancy celebration party in Hongdae couldn't impress Korean users.

In the first week of service, the number of visitors to the site was 29,000, about one 20th that of Cyworld's, according to Web research firm KoreanClick. Another research firm Rankey.com ranked MySpace as the 981st most visited Web site in Korea, Friday, with a 0.08 percent of the share in the social-networking market _ a pitiful figure for a company of global caliber.

``It has been only two weeks since the launch of MySpace Korea, so we think it will take some time for Korean users to get accustomed to it,'' said Lee Ji-eun, manager of MySpace Korea.

SK Communication's Cyworld hopes that it can break the deadlock situation in June when it upgrades its service to a three-dimensional virtual world, where users can control their virtual selves as if they are playing an online game. But the plan has been greeted with skepticism in the Internet industry, which has witnessed the failure of similar 3-D services in the past, including the Korean version of Second Life.

indizio@koreatimes.co.kr
 
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1Rising minimum wage burdens small biz owners: survey Rising minimum wage burdens small biz owners: survey
2OpenAI explores investment opportunities in Korean startups: Sam Altman OpenAI explores investment opportunities in Korean startups: Sam Altman
3IPO market regains vigor on bullish KOSPI IPO market regains vigor on bullish KOSPI
4China reaches out to Korean Assembly to counterweigh Yoon's bet on US China reaches out to Korean Assembly to counterweigh Yoon's bet on US
5S. Korea may see rise in NK defectors as Pyongyang mulls reopening borders S. Korea may see rise in NK defectors as Pyongyang mulls reopening borders
6Resurging household loans pose challenge for BOK's rate policy Resurging household loans pose challenge for BOK's rate policy
7SPC bolsters PR activities in US SPC bolsters PR activities in US
8Hyundai Motor partners with Spider-Man animation to envision future mobility Hyundai Motor partners with Spider-Man animation to envision future mobility
9Japanese business leaders pledge to support Busan's Expo bid Japanese business leaders pledge to support Busan's Expo bid
10More foreign language tours will be offered for Cheong Wa Dae More foreign language tours will be offered for Cheong Wa Dae
Top 5 Entertainment News
1China's hallyu restrictions likely to continue unless Seoul-Beijing ties improve China's hallyu restrictions likely to continue unless Seoul-Beijing ties improve
2Gang Dong-won, Park Jeong-min team up for Joseon-era thriller 'War and Revolt' Gang Dong-won, Park Jeong-min team up for Joseon-era thriller 'War and Revolt'
3[INTERVIEW] CIX talks about team chemistry, youth theme INTERVIEWCIX talks about team chemistry, youth theme
4Netflix's new original 'Bloodhounds' to deliver cathartic actionNetflix's new original 'Bloodhounds' to deliver cathartic action
5'Leaving Las Vegas' director Mike Figgis puts Korea in spotlight in new film 'Leaving Las Vegas' director Mike Figgis puts Korea in spotlight in new film
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group