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| Kim Seong-cheol, a professor at Korea University, speaks during a forum in Seoul, Nov. 15. / Courtesy of Naver |
By Baek Byung-yeul
Naver's video streaming service V LIVE is expanding its presence among the young generation in Southeast Asia as the platform is helping content creators and K-pop idols expand their fan bases in overseas countries, the internet company said Tuesday.
At a forum focused on changing media trends held on Nov. 15 in Seoul, professor Kim Seong-cheol of Korea University announced that his research showed Naver's video streaming platform is effective for expanding the fan bases of content creators and K-pop idols in the region.
Kim, who analyzed key success factors of K-pop channels in V LIVE, said "content creators and K-pop idols could improve their fan bases by producing original content that is only available on Naver's platform."
The professor added V LIVE can grow into a global leading platform that can deliver content to global markets if Naver keeps trying to offer "fan-customized" content.
"V LIVE performs a role of distributing not only Korea's cultural content to global markets but also content produced in Vietnam and Indonesia to neighboring countries," Kim said.
"V Live can become a global pipeline that can distribute diverse kinds of content to global markets if Naver keeps offering more fan-customized content and developing more business models."
In the Southeast Asian market, V LIVE is capable of competing with global live streaming platforms such as YouTube and Facebook, according to Kim Sook, CEO of Culture Media Lab.
"By analyzing hallyu or Korean wave fandom in Southeast Asia, it turned out that young people in their teens and 20s in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines prefer to use social media and the internet to consume cultural content. Among the video streaming platforms, V LIVE is one of the most popular platforms to enjoy hallyu content along with YouTube and Facebook," Kim said.
The young generations in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also highly satisfied with paid content at V LIVE. According to Kim's survey, the satisfaction level with the paid content averaged 4.32 points out of 5.
"Through this research, Naver's V LIVE was confirmed to have competence among millennials in Southeast Asia," Kim said.
"The global growth of V LIVE is expected to contribute to scaling up the fandom culture of K-pop to an industrial level."
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