Why Koreans Use Naver Instead of Google: Everything Foreigners Need to Know About Korea's #1 Search Engine
If you've ever visited South Korea or researched Korean internet culture, you've probably noticed something unusual — most Koreans don't use Google as their primary search engine. Instead, they rely on a platform called Naver (네이버) . For many foreigners, this is surprising. In nearly every other country, Google is the undisputed king. So what makes Korea so different? This guide breaks down everything you need to know about Naver — what it is, why it dominates, and how foreigners can navigate it. 🔍 What Is Naver? Korea's Answer to Google (And More) Naver (NAVER Corporation, ticker: 035420.KS) is a South Korean technology conglomerate founded on June 2, 1999 , by Lee Hae-jin, a former Samsung engineer. It is headquartered in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Naver launched as the first Korean web portal to develop its own proprietary search engine , at a time when foreign-built search tools like AltaVista and later Google could barely unders...