Google launch new Korean search engine service
Google has announced a new search engine service specifically tailored towards Korean users.
According to Korea Times, the new look service will abandon Google’s celebrated simplistic design in favour of a more graphic-rich, categorized format that meets Korean tastes.
The company has also said that the new multi-column look, which it has not yet implemented, could even be employed in other markets, as Google seek to consolidate their global market share.
“This is not a Korea-only project,” stated International Project Manager Jung Ki-hyun “All of Google has been involved in this project, and we are thinking of adopting the same system to other language versions,”
The South Korean market is currently dominated by local search engines Naver (72%) and Daum (11%), with Google holding a share of less than 5%.
I want to be like you
In a bizarre twist, as Google plan to imitate the local competition to gain market share, Korea’s runaway leader Naver, whose visual style is more akin to Yahoo, this week launched their own alternative take on Google’s standard spartan format with single column results.
“There are demands for such a simplified, light Web search system, so we are watching how users like it,” said Nam Ji-woong of Naver.
If Google’s market share is anything to go by, the level of demand in Korea for a simplified format doesn’t seem particularly high, though Naver probably feel they have nothing to lose in offering their users the choice.
As part of Google’s attempts to increase market share in the country the company has also launched a Korean version of its popular YouTube video-sharing service, which is also set to face strong competition from local rivals.
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