Not too far back an alternative design for Google’s China page was tried out, to experiment with the push model (Yahoo/ portal-style) vs the conventional Google.com pull model, see: Google China’s Trying Alternative Homepage Designs!.

Now, the Korean episode entails molding the local search engine service into a graphic-rich style, which suits the Korean tastes much better. However, the Google’s International Project Manager Jung Ki-hyun states, "This is not a Korea-only project. All of Google has been involved in this project, and we are thinking of adopting the same system to other language versions."

Translated Google Korea Page:

So are we beginning to see a change in Google’s philosophy? Moreover,the  multi-column, contents-tailored look is on the anvil for other countries as well, said Jung Ki-hyun.

While too many details have not been let out, Jung Ki-hyun said that user response to the categorized, graphic-rich look is already being monitored in several countries.

The move is also being seen as a measure to compete with the Korean portal websites such as Naver and Daum which are more graphical and replete with images and display news and graphics in different sections.

"We didn’t want to make the Korean site the same as our global site…So we have worked to develop a new user-interface to best suit the Korean Internet users and this is the product" said Google Korea CEO Lee Won-jin, in a press conference in Seoul. While Google and Yahoo! are two of the most popular websites in the world, for Korea their search engine market share is only 5%. Both Naver and Daum lead with the search engine market share.

Armed with this newer interface Google expects to distinguish itself from other search engines in Korea. “…growth potential is huge given its broad base of Internet users. We’re not setting any domestic market share target, but we expect the new services will help,” said Lee Won-jin.

It appears that Google is striving to make its presence felt in Korea in a big way. Only a couple of days ago the Korean version of the YouTube was launched as well. Even when Google tries to follow its Korean competitors, the competitors it is reported are going the Google way of being “simpler is better.” Which strategy would work better only time will tell.

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Korea “To Play A Very Critical Role For Google”

This comment came as Google considers strengthening its ties to Daum Communications Corp., a South Korean search engine.  “Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and Daum CEO Seok Jong-hoon discussed cooperating in Internet search services and Daum’s user-created video content service,” reports the International Herald Tribune.

In fact, Google has already done some cooperating in Korea.  In addition to the company’s previous relationship with Daum (which involved paid search results), Google AdSense’s terms of service have been tweaked in the region.  Then, about two weeks ago, it was discovered that users would have to enter their name and the Korean version of a social security number before searching for any “adult” subjects.  This process isn’t as insidious as it sounds, but it still proves Google’s willingness to conform.

Which brings us back to why Google is buttering up the country.  According to Pashupathy, who exchanged emails with the Yonhap News Agency, “Korean computer science talent is an important reason why Google is in Korea.  The sophistication of educational institutions, the broad range of research at universities, established IP protection system, along with interest and practical experience in Internet technologies make this (South Korea) an important talent base for Google.”

I’m sure that South Korea’s large population of Internet users also makes it an attractive market.  But if Google’s preparing to make some new concession in order to gain a foothold, that “very critical role” comment may come off as a justification, rather than a freely spoken compliment.

The Korea Times reported the numbers seen by online consultancy KoreanClick were up almost 15 percent for Google from January 2006. Gmail brought in 650,000 uniques for the month too.

Compared to the locals, Google barely registers in Korea. Top Korean search engine Naver saw some 26.6 million people stop by in January. For email, Daum Communications drew 21.1 million visitors.

Trends favoring Google in Korea have been noticed, though. Daum’s numbers reflect a 5.8 percent drop from the previous January. The report cited another trend as well:

“We learned male Internet users aged between 25 and 29 moved from Naver to Google last year for some reason,” a KoreanClick researcher said.

“Google’s customer base is not a match to Naver or Daum. Yet, it is growing quickly. The pace will accelerate thanks to its policy change on Gmail.”

The change referred to means Google’s opening of Gmail to all. Previously, people needed an invitation to join Gmail and enjoy its 2,800 MB and growing storage.

Google values Korea as a market, even if they haven’t been wholly embraced in return. When Google first made its official company blog available in a language besides English, they chose Korean.

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Microsoft will pay $10 million in cash to Daum as part of the settlement terms. Another $10 million will come in the form of advertising deals. The last $10 million would be delivered via what Cnet called “unspecified business terms.”

“The agreement resolves the companies’ antitrust dispute in South Korea,” Microsoft and Daum said in a joint statement. That won’t stop the Korean Fair Trade Commission from moving forward with its probe, a Microsoft manager told Cnet.

Daum’s acceptance of the settlement puts about four years of antitrust accusations behind Microsoft. In 2001, Daum accused Microsoft of violating antitrust rules by bundling its instant messenger and media player applications with Windows.

Microsoft had said earlier in the week that an adverse finding against it could see it pull Windows from the Korean market entirely. The Korean information ministry criticized Microsoft for that stance, saying it should “take responsibility” for its business.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.

I first reported of the possible sale of Lycos last week, not too much was known about the deal. Daum Communications was mentioned numerous times as the possible buyer.

Daum has said it would pay over 100 billion, won for 100 percent of Lycos Inc., which Terra bought in an all-stock deal in May 2000, according to abcnews.com.

To this day Lycos still remains a force on the Internet, with Tripod, which allows users to build their own web pages, and news sites affiliated to technology magazine Wired.

Discuss this topic and many others at WebProWorld, the WebProNews forum.

Jeremy Muncy is a staff writer for WebProNews.com