日本サイワールド株式会社CEO Lee Dong Hyeung氏インタビュー
CREATING COMMUNICATION FORUMS
Cyworld's SNS looks to conquer Japan's Net-savvy young women
By SHINICHI TERADA
Staff writer
Korean soap-opera actor Bae Yong Joon, or "Yon-sama," has captured the hearts of thousands of middle-aged Japanese women. BoA, a Korean pop star, is captivating young Japanese music lovers. Now, Lee Dong Hyeung, CEO of Cyworld Japan Co., is set to sweep Net-savvy young Japanese women off their feet.
South Korea's biggest membership Social Networking Service (SNS) was launched in Japan in December. The company aims to have 5 million members here in three years.
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Lee Dong Hyeung, CEO of Cyworld Japan Co., poses at his office in Shibuya, Tokyo.
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On the Cyworld Web site (www.cyworld.jp), users get their own home pages: a virtual room dubbed a "minihompy," where they create their profiles, post diaries, hang unlimited pictures of themselves, their families or their friends, and host legal background music visitors can listen to when they drop by.
"If you don't have a minihompy, people tend to suspect that you have something to hide (in South Korea)," Lee said with a laugh. The mushrooming numbers of networking Web sites are even helping to increase the transparency of politics, he added.
Political leaders and celebrities have created minihompies to communicate directly with ordinary people and fans by revealing their diaries and personal pictures.
The ultimate goal of Cyworld is to create a worldwide environment where friendly relationships are established and maintained, Lee said. "Cy" means "relationship" in Korean.
Members try to personalize their minihompies and make them as attractive as possible by using unique screen wallpapers and avatars or background music of their choice. They can download music and buy the ornaments from the operator of the Web site.
Also, Cyworld offers a place where members can display pictures they have taken on mobile-phone cameras and digital cameras so that they can share experiences or information.
The minihompy also allows users to post friends' birthdays. It reminds users of the birthdays as the big day approaches. Members can send cards or music. Yet, it costs users nothing to open a minihompy. The biggest community portal site generated revenue of $54 million (6.3 billion yen) in 2004, selling virtual decoration items for minihompies and gift cards.
Cyworld might have benefited from South Korea's social mores that emphasize group harmony, unity and people-to-people connections, and from the fact that the number of savvy Internet users is soaring, Lee said.
However, it is obvious that the South Korean domestic market is becoming saturated, and the company needs to explore new avenues overseas, such as China, Taiwan, the United States and Japan.
Last year, Cyworld began to make inroads overseas.
In China, Cyworld acquired 1.3 million subscribers in only eight months.
Asked about business prospects in Japan, the 40-year-old Lee said the company needs to customize its services for domestic users. For example, it offers more virtual decorative items for minihompies because Japanese users are said to be among the most sophisticated and discerning customers in the world, he acknowledged.
Another feature of the Japanese operation is that the portal site has a search service so that members can look for people who have the same hobbies or tastes.
According to Cyworld Japan, its operation here targets young Japanese women in their 20s. Therefore, it does not introduce, at least for the time being, avatar figures -- a virtual figure or another "you" on the Web site to host visitors to the minihompy. The figures might create a childish impression of Japanese women, Lee explained.
Not surprisingly, the company targets young women since they often become trendsetters in the field of fashion, in particular. Lee said that the younger generation and older women and men are the next targets.
It may be tough to break into the Japanese market, but Lee seemed confident that Cyworld would appeal to the inner desire of the Japanese to allow other people to really get to know them.
Meanwhile, Lee admitted that it may take time for the Japanese to get hooked on the Web site, since generally speaking, they feel comfortable communicating on their cell phones -- talking, e-mailing, downloading music, playing online games and doing all kinds of daily activities -- while Koreans and Americans are more comfortable surfing the Internet for those activities.
Moreover, Cyworld Japan is facing another challenge: privacy.
Lee said that Japanese people are very conscious of privacy, which may prevent them from using its unique services.
Initially, many Cyworld members in South Korea were worried about their privacy, but he claimed he has not heard of any privacy-related problems. In addition, the Japanese version of the portal site has introduced a system that allows members to set a level of disclosure for their personal information.
Looking forward, Lee said Cyworld Japan might find a Japanese business partner, which he said could "share our mission -- providing a forum for people to communicate with each other."
Cyworld began to grow markedly after SK Telecom Co., South Korea' biggest cellphone operator, bought it in 2003, when the membership of the Web site stood at just 3 million. SK Communications, a subsidiary of SK Telecom Co., operates Cyworld.
"I want to connect people across borders in Asia and other parts of the world. It will probably take at least 20 years (to introduce a translation system)," he said.
