February 5, 2009 - YouTube (http://kr.youtube.com/), the leading online video community that allows people to discover, watch and share originally created videos, marked the first anniversary of its launch in Korea on January 23. According to Daum Directory, YouTube posted remarkable growth by ranking third among the top 10 Korean online video sites with a market share of 18.2%, based on page views *(see graph in attachment 1). According to a November 2008 survey conducted by TNS at the request of YouTube Korea, YouTube came first in top-of-mind awareness (TOMA) among Korean video sites, solidifying its position as Korea’s representative site for videos **(see graph in attachment 2). The past year’s performance is attributed to YouTube aggressively forging partnerships as part of its localization efforts to provide Korean users with the content they want.

During the first year of operations, YouTube Korea secured 36 Korean partners. Each of the partners has their own YouTube channel which features videos that are watched and shared by the hundreds of millions of daily YouTube users worldwide. Partner companies include nine news sites, eight providers of music and entertainment contents, five game and five cable TV companies, two online shopping sites, two network TV companies, and one educational site.

As widely known, entertainers like the Wonder Girls and BoA, managed by JYP Entertainment and SM Online respectively, benefitted from YouTube exposure while venturing into overseas markets in 2008. This led to YG Entertainment, the record label behind Big Bang, and classical music label Credia to launch their own YouTube channels. The most traffic is thus generated by the music and entertainment fields. KBS is concentrating on publicizing its content available on KBS World through English-language previews.

Aside from its proven track record in reaching out to a global audience, YouTube channels are also useful in targeting Korean users who seek information and fun while on the run through mobile Internet services available on their handsets. As a representative case, TU Media has steadily co-produced contents suitable for the mobile platform with YouTube. Currently, TU Media has uploaded almost 1,800 videos which have garnered nearly a million views.

Qubi.com channel, the homepage of Korail Networks, opened on January 21, 2009. 2,000 travel videos are already uploaded and a growing number of people are visiting the site through Google YouTube search. The channel plans to post PR videos of recommended travel destinations provided by local governments.

As YouTube is the world’s largest online video-sharing community, partners also benefit from recent trends and technologies related to pertinent issues. One major example is the issue of online copyright protection. YouTube has introduced to partners its Contents Identification and Management System (Contents ID) which employs industry-leading technology to allow rights owners to identify and manage the distribution of their work. TU Media, JYP Entertainment and SM Online have already implemented the CID system to monetize their copyrighted contents.

Doo Hyun-soo of JYP Entertainment said “By partnering up with YouTube, we wanted to introduce our musicians to countries around the world where YouTube is widely used. Not only have we achieved our initial aim, but through CID technology, we have managed to protect the copyrights of our video and are now considering ways to create profits.”

Lee Won-jin, Managing Director of Google Korea, said, “Building a partner channel on YouTube, the world’s largest site for video-sharing, will lead to many new business opportunities in which companies can profit from advertising income in addition to diverse endeavors such as events. In 2009, we will introduce HD services and expand advertising channels as part of our continuing efforts to provide a richer experience to users.”

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