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.

So, just to jump into the wild frenzy after WWDC 2010 and the introduction of iPhone 4, I checked out the official iPhone 4 introduction video here. Again, what an amazing phone! Gotta love Apple.

Except for one thing that caught my attention: the FaceTime feature. Basically, it's a video calling feature, using Wi-Fi connections (I'm sure telcos won't allow it on 3G networks) The video allows quite a bit of time to introducing the feature, almost making me think "is this the biggest leap this year?" Check out the background music; it sounds like Apple now wants to be a family commodity, giving me quite a bit of the Microsoft-ish chill.

Anyhow, the reason I'm talking about Facetime on TechnoKimchi is simple. We've been doing that for a very long time in Korea and it has not turned out what everyone had expected. Conclusion: not too many people use it; and when used, it's mostly for different purposes--that is a tool for honesty probing. Like when housewives want to make sure their husbands aren't actually cheating on them, when they tell them "I'm staying late at work today, honey" and the wives go, "yeah, let's have a video talk. Honey, I wanna see your face", which actually means "You're guilty until you're proven to be innocent with no girls around you through this very real-time video call!"

As much as family is supposed to be built around love and trust, we're living in a world where trust often fails. Parents call upon their children to make sure they're studying right. Husbands and wives. Oh, this one will hurt: bosses and employees. Ouch.

Here's the transcript of Scott Forstall talking about what kind of family value Facetime will bring about:

I'm not sure. Maybe video calling used for honesty probing might pertain only to the Korean market. I hope so. But, not only it feels strange to see Apple trying to project itself as such a Microsoft-ish family-friendly brand, but also it was quite interesting how it gave even more meaning to FaceTime than retina display.

All in all, it's Apple and everyone loves it. Can't wait to see iPhone come out next month in Korea. Yes, South Korea was on the list!

(Oh, by the way, the satire above was for a good joke. I was just having fun with it =)

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.

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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.

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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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(follow me on twitter @twdanny)

It was KT, the no.2 mobile carrier in Korea, that launched iPhone 2 months ago. Obviously, SKT needed counterpart smartphones of its own and decided to launch 15 Android phones in 2010 alone. The Asia-adapted model of Motorola's Droid, named MOTOROI, was the first Android phone introduced in Korea. Today, Samsung finally made an announcement about Korea's second Android phone.

Samsung had already launched 2 Android phones in the U.S last year: Galaxy and Behold 2. In the new model, Samsung completely localized the product for Korean consumers. What message do I get out of this? Samsung IS indeed very serious about the smartphone market. Samsung wants the smartphone phenomenon to happen in Korea.

Samsung's Omnia sold more than iPhone in January. Hey, does that mean Samsung easily beat Apple? Not so quick. According to an article published by Donga Daily, iPhone is far more popular than Omnia among smartphone users (link in Korean), but Samsung exerted more "local player" power on the retail side. The article even goes on to say Samsung knows such a move is nothing more than a bandaid. Samsung very much needs to start producing better smartphones.

Either way, I'm happy. As I keep saying, the Korean digital market has been dark, if not dead, for years. Now the wind of change is blowing strong and more competitions and even "confusion" are being spotted across the field. All the better for us consumers :)

Korea's two heavyweight mobile champions, Samsung and LG, will (have to) learn a lot this year, competing against Apple. It ain't just about technology no longer. It's about design, culture, ecosystem, and most importantly people.

The magical, but most obvious formula: Technology empowers and enables. Culture gives comfort. Design moves the hearts.

image from:http://pictures.deadlycomputer.com/d/30819-2/pic_3564.jpg

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.

2009 was a dark age for both the digital Korea and my blogging career. Fortunately, it was only dark on the surface. Some significant progresses were made and we're seeing the fruits in 2010.

As for Korea, there's probably no bigger milestone than iPhone's invasion into the Korean market. It's been out only for 2 months now and it's literally changing everything in the digital landscape. How fundamental do I think the change is? The iPad news last week was reported by more than 500 Korean news entities, probably making the biggest IT/digital headline ever in Korea. SKTelecom says it has nearly 15 Android phones lined up for this year. How exciting! (For me, I am carrying around a 8G iPod Touch with Wibro Egg for now, which I'll cover more later)

As for myself, I learned a lot, especially about being a serious blogger and a businessman. As a blogger, I used to whine about  myself "not being in the field"; I always thought unless you've actually done some "real" stuff, being a blogger/journalist/analyst/consultant/critique/spectator always will have limitations. 2009 was all about execution, which took away the privilege of sleep from my life. Now I'm finally back, hopefully ready to roll again.

2010 is going to be a big year for both the digital Korea, (which is the main topic of this blog), as well as TechnoKimchi itself. After the Dark Age came Renaissance. There are many good signs that'll happen soon here as well.

Now, why didn't I start this on Jan 1st? I had followup tasks to finish for 2009 and things pretty much ended last week. Or should I say "the mental fiscal year for TechnoKimchi ends on Jan 31 of every year?" ;)

Digital Korea will soar again and TechnoKimchi will expand: those are my predictions for 2010. Thank God, I still got 334 days to prove that!

The reason I've been so quiet in 2009 was because I've started doing something and it made me work A LOT. One of such endeavors is a campaign named Streaming Seoul 2009 (currently running until Dec 31st).

http://www.streamingseoul.net

I'm not sure how much you can infer from the picture above; but yes, this is a campaign open to everyone to upload a "video" about Seoul. In short, Streaming Seoul 2009 is a video contest campaign run by Seoul Metropolitan Gov't in order to promote Seoul to the rest of the world.

As we've been planning for the campaign, our goal was to make it as natural as possible to non-Koreans. The participants can come from all the world--China, Japan, English-speaking countries, and all other. Obviously, execution is always a different story and the output so far hasn't completely satisfied us insatiable planners. (wasn't it me who mentioned something about Korean people working too much? haha)

More than anything, here in my blog, I'd like to introduce some of the "cool" or "oh that's right" points we were trying to bring into existence during the course of preparation. Below are the summary and some points about the campaign. The campaign really comes with a plethora of awards, so I'd personally recommend you all to join. For me, this is the video I made to enter the contest. Quite simple, isn't it? ;)

I'd also like to ask you guys not only to participate in the event but also to spread the word around. I've already asked some other bloggers to introduce the campaign to others, if possible. (it wasn't an easy thing to do!) Of course, don't hesitate to give me any honest feedback about the campaign.

Again, the site is http://www.streamingseoul.net

Hope to see you all there :)

Korea is notorious for being an extremely-difficult-to-survive market for many global brands due to some of its very exclusive nature, or rather some unique market characteristics. Included in this "failed" list are even the giants like Walmart and IKEA.

This trend has not been an exception in the tech industry. In the hardware sector, two Korean locals in Samsung and LG dominate the market while Naver and Daum are the kings and queens in the Internet sector. Sorry, Apple and Google.

Things might change now. Google decided to go portal and hurray, iPhone is finally out.

For all of Google's supremacy around the world, Google barely holds 5% search marketshare in Korea. Why? How Google displays information doesn't satisfy Korean Internet users' needs for information. There are many "emotional" factors related to how or why people look for information. Google is basically, well, too "American" for Korean people.

Google became a little more Korean by adding a feature named "Hot Topics", which functions as the real-time Google Zeitgeist, or the "hot search terms" on Naver. Basically the Korean market has forced Google to go portal. (of course, this portal is, just like Google News, technology-based) Remember how Asian people are more "inter-dependent" rather than "independent" and constantly look for what others are interested at the moment? Google, until now, only has provided what "you alone are interested" through search results; it now displays information completely right next to search results. The thing is Koreans will click on these links! (I'll definitely come back in a couple of weeks on the traffic on Google Korea)

Now, for Apple. Thousands, if not millions, have been waiting for iPhone to come out over a year; due to many complexities in the telco industry, we were not able to get iPhone into the Korean market. And praise the Lord! The The wall has finally collapsed and I'm just loving my life right now as I'm reading streams of iPhone reviews written in Korean! There was a report yesterday that over half a million iPhones will be sold by the first half of next year. What more would I need to say?

Things might change now. Hopefully it'll be more fun.

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Just in case you were all wondering.

I've started/joined a venture business back in spring and the amount of work I've had and the amount of growth I had to go through was simply way beyond my imagination. It's been like riding a rugged rollercoaster; but hey, I'm still alive and, I think, well.

Remember this article I wrote a long time ago about how Korean people are just about "speed" and "change" and being "workholic"? Well, that's me right there!

But, as much as I've been neglecting my blog, as I've been really "working", there are many more insights Ive learned over the course and I'm more than willing to share them with you all.

Let's see. who missed me? (no, it's not like too much work and no life have made me either insecure or lonely..... no.... maybe yes... sigh....)

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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.