Cyworld and the mini-hompy
Cyworld y el mini-hompy
- Date
- c. 1999-2003 · confidence medium
- Place
- Seoul, South Korea
- Credited to
- Lee Dong-hyung and SK Communications
- Field
- Communication
What it is
A South Korean social network in which each user had a 'mini-hompy', a personal space with an avatar room, photos and diary, and a virtual currency (dotori) used to buy items. A pioneer of virtual-goods economics and the mass social network.
Cyworld began in 1999 as a project by KAIST students; SK bought it in 2003, and the mini-hompy launched around 2001. The representative date is approximate.
What it led to
- virtual-goods economics and social micropayments
- a social network with more than 20 million users in Korea
- precedents for Korean mobile social networks