Toluu

Web 2.0 Asia

Tracking the next generation web innovations from Korea and Asia. Now, that IS me in the picture.

For some, financial crisis can be a boonNovember 20

Digital Daily reports that internet telephony (voice over IP, or VoIP) service is rapidly gaining popularity in the Korean market, apparently helped by the ongoing slow economy. During the last 10 days, over 50,000 users have switched over to internet phone services, showing about 56% month-to-month increase (In September, about 32,000 people subscribed to the internet phone services.) 

In Korea, LG Dacom is the biggest market player - obviously it's part of the LG conglomerate. Other big conglomerates, such as Samsung, SK, KT (Korea Telecom) are all in this market, making the still nascent market very crowded. 

Internet phone service providers now provide what they call "number portability", meaning users can use existing phone numbers even if they switch to VoIP service, or switch among different VoIP service providers. If you can continue using the same phone number while just savi

KTF working on the "Korean-droid"?November 19

According to some Korean news articles (which quote from Japan's Nippon Business Newspaper), Korean wireless carrier KTF is working on a new Android-based smartphone, in partnership with Japan's NTT Docomo. 

KTF and NTT Docomo have set up a joint effort called Business & Technology Cooperation Committee, and the two companies together launched a phone model called FOMA L706ie in Japan. 

As the smartphone market becomes too significant for carriers to simply look past (which had been pretty much their practice until the iPhone came around), apparently Docomo and KTF have chosen to tackle the challenges together. This somehow reminds me of late-comer auto companies joining forces on some R&D efforts like hybrid engines. 

What is not certain at this point

Real Name Verification? Real Pain, Very muchNovember 13

Korean user generated content (UGC) service providers with a certain traffic volume will have to comply with the Real Name Verification requirement, starting from 2009.

Real Name Verification asks all users to verify their real-world identity before making any user content on the web - blogs, wikis, photos, videos, or even comments. Users won't be required to use their real names as their IDs, but still they have to verify their particular online ID is mapped onto their real name. 

So it's like this: If you are lonelygirl15, and if you want to upload your videos on Youtube, you can still appear as lonelygirl15 but you gotta tell Youtube that you are actually Jane Doe (or whatever is your real world name) and your actual social security number is 123-45-678. "Hi lonelygirl15, would you mind if we check your real name and social security number before you proceed with the video clip upload?"

Guess what will happen if that mapping info gets hacked (guessing who in the world fake Steve Jobs might be will be the thing of the past); or if someone steals your real name and social security number, and acts online as if he was you - this time, with more (false) credibility. 

This requirement applies to anonymous comments as well - if you want to leave an anonymous comment to someone's blog, you should still have to go through real name verifi

Roiworld Screen ShotsNovember 11

As Venturebeat reported, the Korean "dress-up game" startup Roiworld has been acquired by Lifetime Networks for an undisclosed amount. 

Roiworld is a flash game/community that lets users (mostly young girls) dress avatars with a given set of fashion items. Once the "donning" is done, users can participate in contest ("whose avatar is most chic") or share the looks with others who can then comment on them. 

Roiworld's English website says it will launch in the US in January 2009, but there is no sneak previews available. But I assume the US service won't be too different from the current Korean service, and for those who can't check out the Korean service due to language barrier, here are some screen grabs for you. 

The main service of Roiworld is "dress-up game". Users can first choose different fashion genres (casual looks, sporty looks, etc) by choosing a category. Under each category, there are hundreds of different "dress-up games" available.  

Korea's leading games company... turning into a family business?November 5

Songyee Yoon is little known outside of Korea, but she's quite a figure in the nation. She became the youngest VP at SK Telecom, a huge telco, at a mere age of 28. This was after getting her PhD from MIT at 24 and working at McKinsey. (Hey, what the heck was I doing at 24?)

Think of her as Korea's Marissa Mayer - the two share many traits such as being smart, good looking, and being on the fast lane at a successful tech company. 

Now, add to that "having dated with a founder of a $1bn+ company" - Marissa with Larry, Songyee with NC Soft founder/CEO TJ Kim. (NC Soft is Korea's leading online games company, famous for its Lineage online MMORPG games.) Perhaps a difference there is that Songyee eventually got the ring, while Marissa didn't yet. (Songyee and TJ Kim got married in fall last year.)

With the inks on their nuptual agreements barely dry, Yoon is coming on board at