RIP Internet Explorer: South Korean engineer's browser 'grave' goes viral

Rfi.fr – AFP, 17 June 2022 

South Korea, which has some of the world's fastest average internet speeds,
remained bizarrely wedded to Microsoft's Internet Explorer Kiyoung Jung
Courtesy of Kiyoung Jung/AFP

Seoul (AFP) – A South Korean engineer who built a grave for Internet Explorer -- photos of which quickly went viral -- told AFP Friday that the now-defunct web browser had made his life a misery. 

South Korea, which has some of the world's fastest average internet speeds, remained bizarrely wedded to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which was retired by the company earlier this week after 27 years. 

In honour of the browser's "death", a gravestone marked with its signature "e" logo was set up on the rooftop of a cafe in South Korea's southern city of Gyeongju by engineer Kiyoung Jung, 38. 

"He was a good tool to use to download other browsers," the gravestone's inscription reads. 

Images of Jung's joke tombstone quickly spread online, with users of social media site Reddit upvoting it tens of thousands of times. 

Once dominant globally, Internet Explorer was widely reviled in recent years due to its slowness and glitches. 

But in South Korea, it was mandatory for online banking and shopping until about 2014, as all such online activities required sites to use ActiveX -- a plugin created by Microsoft. 

It remained the default browser for many Seoul government sites until very recently, local reports said. 

The websites of the Korea Water Resources Corporation and the Korea Expressway Corporation only functioned properly in IE until at least June 10, according to a report by the Maeil Economic Daily. 

'Suffering' for IE

As a software engineer and web developer, Jung told AFP he constantly "suffered" at work because of compatibility issues involving the now-defunct browser. 

"In South Korea, when you are doing web development work, the expectation was always that it should look good in Internet Explorer, rather than Chrome," he said. 

Websites that look good in other browsers, such as Safari or Chrome, can look very wrong in IE, which often forced him to spend many extra hours working to ensure compatibility. 

Jung said that he was "overjoyed" by IE's retirement. 

But he also said he felt genuinely nostalgic and emotional about the browser's demise, as he remembers its heyday -- one of the reasons he was inspired to erect the grave stone. 

He quoted Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki: "People are often relieved that machines don't have souls, but we as human beings actually give our hearts to them," Jung told AFP, explaining his feelings for IE. 

He said he was pleased by the response to his joke grave and that he and his brother -- who owns the cafe -- plan to leave the monument on the rooftop in Gyeongju indefinitely. 

"It's been very exciting to make others laugh," he said.

South Korea reports lowest new virus infections in days

Yahoo – AFP, March 8, 2020

Few worshippers attended Sunday services at the Yeouido Full Gospel Church in
Seoul, choosing instead to follow online from home (AFP Photo/Ed JONES)

Seoul (AFP) - Hundreds of churches across South Korea closed their doors Sunday and held online services as the country reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in more than a week.

South Korea -- which has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases outside China with 7,313 -- added 272 new cases Sunday, far below daily increases of around 500 recently.

Two more people died, bringing the death toll to 50, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Despite the smaller rise in COVID-19 cases, we are not at a point where we can say the situation has improved," said health minister Park Neung-hoo.

Medics wearing protective gear carry a patient infected with the COVID-19 virus 

to hospital in Seoul (AFP Photo)

"Small cluster infections can emerge at any time in closed spaces like group facilities or religious events," KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong told reporters.

Yoido Full Gospel Church -- the largest Protestant Church in South Korea with around 560,000 registered members -- was among hundreds of churches that held online services on Sunday.

"Although it is the rule to come to church for service, this is an emergency situation," said elder Kim Doo-young.

"Even though they are attending the service from home, we have asked members to dress and worship in the same manner as they would at Church," Kim told AFP.

A church service is live-streamed by phone in Seoul (AFP Photo/Ed JONES)

Most of the country's infections are linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a religious sect often condemned as a cult.

One of its members attended at least four services before being diagnosed.

Scores of events -- from K-pop concerts to sports matches -- have been cancelled or postponed over the contagion, with school and kindergarten breaks extended by three weeks nationwide.

World's first 5G phone released in South Korea

Yahoo – AFP, April 5, 2019

South Korea's three mobile carriers held launch parties for Samsung's
Galaxy S10 5G, which costs at least $1,200 (AFP Photo/JUNG Yeon-Je)

Samsung Electronics on Friday released the Galaxy S10 5G, the world's first available smartphone with built-in fifth-generation communications technology, as South Korea seeks to build a lead in the transformative system.

On Wednesday the South became the first country to commercially launch nationwide 5G services, with three superfast networks going live offering data speeds that allow users to download entire movies in less than a second.

Hours later US giant Verizon began commercial services in Chicago and Minneapolis, after rival AT&T made a 5G-based system available to selected users in parts of 12 cities in December.

South Korea's three mobile carriers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- held launch events across Seoul for the Galaxy S10, whose base version costs 1.39 million won ($1,200).

Interactive virtual-reality displays and robot demonstrations were on show to tout the capabilities of the latest iteration of mobile internet speed, and new users were excited about the possibilities, especially live streaming of sports games and university lectures.

"I watch a lot of videos often, movies and lectures," said buyer Shim Ji-hye, 38. "I hope faster speeds will help me manage my time better."

Another user said he was most excited about virtual reality content -- which includes games and even "celebrity VR dating" apps according to the country's mobile carriers.

With 5G, said researcher Lee Sang-yoon, VR content "can be enjoyed in real time with no delay... I'll be able to enjoy it in better resolution and speed".

Before Friday's roll-out of the Samsung phone, the 5G service had been restricted to a handful of specially selected users in South Korea.

Rival manufacturer LG is due to launch its V50 ThinQ, another 5G phone, in the South later this month, while in the US, Verizon's network works with Lenovo's Moto Z3 smartphone fitted with a special accessory.

Commercialising 5G gives South Korea the chance to build around the technology, which is crucial for the future development of devices such as autonomous vehicles and the Internet of Things.

It is expected to bring about $565 billion in global economic benefits by 2034, according to the London-based Global System for Mobile Communications, an industry alliance.

The implications of the new technology have pitted Washington against Beijing -- whose firms dominate 5G technology -- in an increasingly bitter standoff.

The US has pressed its allies and major economies to avoid 5G solutions from Chinese-owned telecom giant Huawei, citing security risks that technological backdoors could give Beijing access to 5G-connected utilities and other components.

Chinese entities own a total of 3,400 5G patents -- more than a third of the total, according to data analysis firm IPlytics -- with 1,529 of those registered by Huawei.

South Korea comes next, with its companies holding 2,051 patents, while US firms have 1,368 together.

Neither KT nor SK Telecom use Huawei technology in their 5G networks, but it is a supplier to LG UPlus, the companies told AFP.

South Korea to launch world's first national 5G networks

Yahoo – AFP, Kang Jin-kyu, April 3, 2019

A number of South Korea's tech giants are to launch new, 5G-enabled devices
to coincide with the country switching over to the high-speed technology
(AFP Photo/JUNG Yeon-Je)

Seoul (AFP) - South Korea on Friday launches the world’s first nationwide 5G mobile networks -- a transformational leap that has superpowers sparring for control of an innovation that could potentially change the day-to-day lives of billions of people.

The superfast communications heralded by fifth-generation wireless technology will ultimately underpin everything from toasters to telephones, from electric cars to power grids.

But while the South has won the race to be first to provide the user experience, that is only one part of a wider battle that has pitted the United States against China and ensnared giants including Huawei.

Hyper-wired South Korea has long had a reputation for technical prowess, and Seoul has made the 5G rollout a priority as it seeks to stimulate stuttering economic growth.

The system will bring smartphones near-instantaneous connectivity -- 20 times faster than existing 4G -- allowing users to download entire movies in less than a second.

The new 5G technology will eventually be used to run everyday appliances including 

games machines, toasters, telephones and electric cars (AFP Photo/JUNG Yeon-Je)

In the same way that 3G enabled widespread mobile web access and 4G made new applications work ranging from social media to Uber, 5G will herald a new level of connectivity, empowered by speed.

It is crucial for the future development of devices ranging from self-driving vehicles that send data traffic to one another in real time to industrial robots, drones and other elements of the Internet of Things.

That makes it a vital part of the infrastructure of tomorrow, and the 5G standard is expected to bring about $565 billion in global economic benefits by 2034, according to the London-based Global System for Mobile Communications, an industry alliance.

'One million devices'

But the implications of the new technology have pitted Washington against Beijing in an increasingly bitter standoff.

The US has pressed its allies and major economies to avoid 5G solutions from Chinese-owned telecom giant Huawei, citing security risks that technological backdoors could give Beijing access to 5G-connected utilities and other components.

Long-anticipated deployment of ultrafast 5G wireless networks is beginning in 

South Korea and the United States (AFP Photo/GABRIEL BOUYS)

But Chinese firms dominate 5G technology.

Huawei, the global leader, has registered 1,529 5G patents, according to data analysis firm IPlytics.

Combined with manufacturers ZTE and Oppo, plus the China Academy of Telecommunications Technology, Chinese entities own a total of 3,400 patents -- more than a third of the total, according to the research firm.

South Korea comes next, with its companies holding 2,051 patents.

In contrast, US firms have 1,368 altogether, IPlytics said -- 29 fewer than Finland's Nokia alone.

All three of South Korea's mobile operators -- KT, SK Telecom and LG UPlus -- will go live with their 5G services on Friday.

"5G's hyper speed can connect one million devices within a one square kilometre zone simultaneously," KT said in a report.

LG senior vice president David VanderWaal discusses 5G at the 2019 

Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January (AFP Photo/Robyn Beck)

Neither KT nor SK Telecom use Huawei technology in their 5G networks, but it is a supplier to LG UPlus, the companies told AFP.

On the same day, Samsung Electronics will release the Galaxy S10 5G, the world's first available smartphone using the technology, and rival phonemaker LG follows with the V50s two weeks later.

Deployment in US market

Until now, no mobile networks have offered nationwide 5G access.

US network carrier Verizon said Wednesday it became the first carrier in the world to deploy a 5G network -- in Chicago and Minneapolis, with more cities due to follow this year.

The system will work with Lenovo's Moto Z3 smartphone.

“Verizon customers will be the first in the world to have the power of 5G in their hands," said Hans Vestberg, Verizon's chairman and chief executive officer. "This is the latest in our string of 5G firsts."

The development of wireless mobile networks from the 1980s to the introduction 

of 5G communications (AFP Photo/Jonathan WALTER)

Rival US carrier AT&T deployed what it called its 5G E network in 12 cities last year with speeds faster than 4G networks but below those being deployed in other fifth-generation systems.

Andre Fuetsch, president of AT&T Labs, said in a statement Wednesday that independent testing shows "that we are the fastest wireless network nationwide."

Qatari firm Ooredoo says it offers 5G services in and around Doha -- but does not have devices available to use them.

Japan is also expected to roll out a limited deployment in 2019 before full services start in time for next year's Tokyo Olympics.

Cost barrier

More than three million South Koreans will switch to 5G by the end of this year, predicted KT vice-president Lee Pil-jae.

Cost is likely to be a barrier initially for user uptake, analysts say, as the cheapest version of the new Galaxy handset will be priced at 1.39 million won ($1,200).

"While there are many cheap 4G smartphones under $300, Samsung's 5G phones are well over $1,000, which could be a major minus point for cost-savvy consumers," a KT representative told AFP.

None of South Korea's three network operators would say how much they have invested in 5G, but Seoul's economy minister Hong Nam-ki estimate it would be at least $2.6 billion this year alone.

"If 5G is fully implemented," he said, "it will greatly improve people's lives".

Samsung Electronics apologises for factory cancer cases

Yahoo – AFP, Jung Hawon, 23 November 2018

Samsung Electronics co-president Kim Ki-nam bows as he makes a formal
apology to victims of work-related diseases in Seoul on November 23, 2018

Samsung Electronics apologised Friday to workers who developed cancer after working at some of its factories, finally ending a decade-long dispute at the world's top chipmaker.

The father of a dead 22-year-old worker and the company's co-president Kim Ki-nam signed a formal settlement agreement in Seoul as other disabled ex-employees looked on.

"We sincerely apologise to the workers who suffered from illness and their families," said the firm's co-president Kim Ki-nam. "We have failed to properly manage health risks at our semiconductor and LCD factories."

Samsung Electronics is the world's biggest mobile phone manufacturer and chipmaker and the flagship subsidiary of the Samsung Group, by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate the South's economy.

Samsung currently operates vast semiconductor production compounds in Suwon as well as the cities of Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, as well as Xian in China.

Campaign groups say that about 240 people have suffered from work-related illnesses after being employed at Samsung semiconductor and display factories, with around 80 of them -- many of them young women -- dying.

Under a deal announced earlier this month, Samsung Electronics will pay the group's employees compensation of up to 150 million won ($133,000) per case.

It covers 16 types of cancer, some other rare illnesses, miscarriages and congenital diseases suffered by the workers' children. Claimants can have worked at plants as far back as 1984.

The scandal emerged in 2007 when former workers at its semiconductor and display factories in Suwon, south of Seoul, and their families said that staff had been diagnosed or died of various forms of cancer.

A series of rulings and decisions by courts, Seoul's state labour welfare agency and a mediation committee followed over more than 10 years, culminating in Friday's announcement.

Factfile on Samsung Electronics, including profit and smartphone market share

Hwang Sang-ki, who signed the agreement on behalf of the workers and their families, told reporters he was glad to have fulfilled his promise to his daughter, who died of leukaemia in 2007, to prove Samsung was to blame for her death.

But he went on: "The apology honestly was not enough for the families of the victims but we will accept it.

"No amount of apology will be enough to heal all the insults, the pain of industrial injuries and the suffering of losing one's family.

"I cannot forget the pain she and our family went through. Too many people have suffered the same fate."

Trade secret

Little is known about possible connections between the production process in the factories and the workers' illnesses, as Samsung has refused to disclose what specific chemical substances it uses, describing the information as a trade secret.

Hwang and other relatives have sought a court order to compel it to release the details.

"Compensation for industrial injury is important, but what's more important is prevention," said Hwang, whose story was made into a movie in 2013.

Samsung has played a key part in the South's rise to become the world's 11th-largest economy, but it is also the focus of resentment over the power and influence of the chaebols and has faced accusations of murky political connections.

Its de facto leader Lee Jae-yong was found guilty of bribing former president Park Geun-hye as part of the corruption scandal that brought her down, and he spent almost a year in prison before most of his convictions were overturned on appeal and he was released.

The cancer scandal is one of the worst instances of industrial injuries in the South, where safety standards sometimes belie its advanced technological status.

Two months ago, two subcontractors were killed in a carbon dioxide leak at Samsung Electronics' Suwon chip plant.

In January, four workers suffocated due to a gas leak at a steel factory owned by Posco -- the country's top steelmaker -- in the southern city of Pohang.

'Gangnam Style' dethroned as top YouTube video

Yahoo – AFP, July 11, 2017

After 4.5 years as the most viewed YouTube video, the quirky "Gangnam Style"
pop hit is dethroned by "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth
(AFP Photo/OZAN KOSE)

New York (AFP) - "Gangnam Style," the quirky South Korean video that spawned a global dance craze and went so viral it nearly broke YouTube, has finally been dethroned as the most watched video.

After four and a half years as YouTube's most seen video, "Gangnam Style" slipped late Monday to number two, replaced by "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth.

"Gangnam Style," a satirical take on the nouveau riche residents of the Seoul district by the same name, surprised even its singer, Psy, with its sudden global ascent in 2012.

Psy, who until "Gangnam Style" was little known outside of South Korea, found an avid fan base with the video's equestrian-style dance moves set to its infectious pop beat.

The video became the first to reach one billion views on YouTube and caused the site's engineers to scramble to make changes when it topped 2.1 billion views, previously thought to be the maximum possible.

As of early Tuesday US time, "Gangnam Style" had 2.895 billion views on YouTube, a notch under "See You Again," which was featured in the 2015 action movie "Furious 7."

"See You Again" intersperses scenes from the film with Wiz Khalifa rapping and Charlie Puth singing as they overlook a sandy coast. The song was a tribute to Paul Walker, an actor in "The Fast and Furious" film franchise who died in a car wreck.

Psy's triumph was all the more striking due to the overwhelming dominance of English-language music on global charts.

In a new example, "Despacito" -- a Spanish-language reggaeton song by Puerto Rican star Luis Fonsi and rapper Daddy Yankee -- has reigned for nine weeks at the top of the US Billboard singles chart.

The "Despacito" video is already the fifth most-watched on YouTube at 2.486 billion views even though it was released just this year.

Once historic when Psy crossed the threshold, a total of 68 clips have passed the one billion view mark on YouTube, all but three of them music videos.

It took 4.5 years to dethrone "Gangnam Style," but "See You Again" is now the most watched YouTube video https://t.co/ayZCf41dh5 pic.twitter.com/pLCq0Ro7HD

— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 11, 2017

On the trail of South Korea's high-tech peeping Toms

Yahoo – AFP, Jung Ha-Won, October 18, 2016

A member of Seoul's 'hidden camera-hunting' squad moves a hand-held detector
around the toilet seat of a women's bathroom stall in search of a 'secret camera'
(AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-Je)

Walking into an empty women's bathroom stall, Park Kwang-Mi waves a hand-held detector around the toilet seat, paper roll holder, doorknob and even the ventilation grill on the ceiling.

"It's my job to make sure there's no camera to film women while they relieve themselves," the 49-year-old said after similarly inspecting dozens of public toilet stalls at a museum in Seoul.

"It's weird that there are people who want to see something like that ... but this is necessary to help women feel safe," she told AFP.

A member of Seoul city's all-female "hidden camera-hunting" squad, Park is at the forefront of a battle against "molka", or "secret camera" porn.

South Korea takes pride in its tech prowess, from ultra-fast broadband to cutting-edge smartphones. Around 90 percent of its 50 million people possess smartphones -- the highest rate in the world.

But it's a culture that has also given rise to an army of tech-savvy peeping Toms in a still male-dominated country with a poor record on women's rights.

Many use special smartphone apps to film up women's skirts as they ride subway escalators or sit at desks, and spy cameras to gather footage from changing rooms and toilet stalls.

The images are then often shared to numerous molka speciality sites on the Internet.

Such practises have become so rampant that all manufacturers of smartphones sold in South Korea are required to ensure the cameras on their devices make a loud shutter sound when taking photos.

Many of South Korea's tech-savvy peeping Toms use spy cameras to

gather footage from changing rooms and toilet stalls (AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-Je)

'Molka' crimes

Molka crimes are daily news, and perpetrators cover a broad social range.

A pastor at a Seoul mega-church with 100,000 members was caught filming up a woman's skirt on an escalator. His smartphone was packed with similar images of other women.

A 31-year-old obstetrician was jailed for secretly filming female patients and nurses in a changing room and sharing some of the images on the Internet.

And the head coach of South Korea's national swimming team resigned last month after two male swimmers were found to have installed a hidden camera in the locker room of their women teammates.

According to police data, the number of molka crimes jumped more than six-fold from about 1,110 in 2010 to more than 6,600 in 2014.

While some offenders use smartphones, others employ spy-style gadgets, including ballpoint pens, glasses or wrist watches equipped with micro lenses, said Hyun Heung-Ho, a detective attached to Seoul police's metro squad.

The squad was established in 1987 to fight subway crime like pickpockets, but now its main focus is on tackling various kinds of sexual harassment, including molka crimes.

"It's tough because the technology they use advances so fast, like special apps to mute camera sound or to show something else on the display while the camera is rolling," Hyun told AFP.

The majority of men nabbed by the squad are in their 20s or 30s -- and include many college-educated, white-collar workers.

"They generally cry and beg to be let off, saying they were 'simply curious'," Hyun said.

High-tech gadgets

Convicted offenders face a fine of up to 10 million won ($9,100) or a maximum jail term of five years.

To help with their crackdown, police have offered cash rewards to those reporting molka crimes and the Seoul city council has hired dozens of women like Park to scour bathrooms and other spaces for hidden cameras.

Office worker Lee Hae-Kyung said she, like many of her friends, tried to avoid toilets in public spaces like subway stations.

"If I urgently need to use a public toilet, I always inspect the doorknob or the flush handle," the 38-year-old told AFP.

"It's scary because many molka are apparently filmed by normal people like office workers ... so who knows? An ordinary-looking guy standing next to you in the subway may be filming up your skirt," she said.

Whenever a man stands behind Lee on an escalator, she slightly turns her body to face him or look him in the eye -- a move detective Hyun says can act as a strong deterrent.

The main focus of Seoul's 'hidden camera-hunting' squad nowdays is on tackling

various kinds of sexual harassment, including 'molka' crimes (AFP Photo/Jung Yeon-Je)

Gender inequality

According to Lee Na-Young, a sociology professor at Hanyang University in Seoul, the only real solution is a societal one.

Lee said "upskirt videos" had been avidly consumed in South Korea and Japan for decades.

"Both are deeply conservative nations where open discussion of sex is quite taboo, people feel sexually oppressed and women are relentlessly objectified and discriminated against," she said.

South Korea -- Asia's fourth-largest economy -- has long been ranked bottom for women's rights among OECD member nations.

Average pay for South Korean women is 63.3 percent that of men -- the lowest in the OECD -- and women account for 11 percent of managerial positions and 2.1 percent of corporate boards -- far lower than the OECD average of 31 percent and 19 percent.

In this environment, some men view women as nothing more than sexual objects, Lee said, describing the molka trend as a "wrong marriage between fast-evolving technology and slow-evolving patriarchal culture."

"The molka problem won't be solved unless we deal with this bigger social problem through education at home and at school," she said.

IBM unveils 'breakthrough' computer chip

The chipmaker said it has managed to shrink the circuitry on its semiconductors by 50 percent, overcoming 'one of the grand challenges' of the industry. The discovery could take computing power to a new level.

Deutsche Welle, 9 July 2015

IBM on Thursday said its new chips could boost computing power of "everything from smartphones to spacecraft."

They are the first of their kind with transistors only 7 nanometers wide - roughly 1/10,000 the width of a human hair, the company said.

That's dramatically thinner than the 22 nanometer or 14 nanometer transistors used in the microprocessors that power today's servers.

The breakthrough was celebrated as a potential game-changer for the industry, which has consistently built smaller chips with more power in recent years but has seen progress slow as the physical limitations of existing technology appeared to be reached.

IBM said the new transistors could help power chips that would meet the ever-increasing demands of future cloud computing and Big Data systems, mobile products and other novel technologies.

The research was part of a $3 billion (2.7 billion euro) investment that saw the chipmaker partner with Samsung as well as the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute to develop silicon-germanium transistors capable of boosting processing power.

cjc/pad (AP, AFP)

Indonesian Online Marketplace Elevenia Sees Strong Growth in Transactions

Logging On. Elevenia.co.id welcomed 20 million visits to the marketplace in February alone

Jakarta Globe, Tabita Delia, May 16, 2015

Jungsung Lee, chief executive of Indonesian online marketplace Elevenia, views
 other marketplaces as ‘cooperators’ not competitors. This twist on traditional
business relationships is indicative of the change and development Elevenia
is planning to evoke in Indonesia’s e-commerce industry. (GA Photo)

Jakarta. Indonesia as an e-commerce paradise in just two years’ time may seem an idle dream to those who still struggle with connectivity as a massive burden in their lives. It is, however, an emerging reality for some of the people behind Indonesia’s growing online market ecosystem.

Meet Jungsung Lee, chief executive of Indonesian online marketplace Elevenia. Hailing from South Korea, he prefers to be called James and is one of those who have thrown off any doubts about Indonesia’s potential.

His company is already starting to tap the country’s huge e-commerce potential, he said in an interview.

While he acknowledged that Internet infrastructure is still far from ideal, there are methods to tackle the problem.

Elevenia, registered as a business entity as XL Planet, opened for business in March last year as a joint venture between mobile provider XL Axiata and South Korea’s online marketplace, SK Planet.

It began modestly, with around 500,000 products and 6,000 sellers.

In just a year, the online marketplace had almost a million registered members, two million products and more than 20,000 sellers.

Elevenia.co.id had 20 million visitors in February — 5 million of which were unique visits.

The online marketplace posted Rp 250 billion ($19.45 million) in total transaction value last year and in the first two months of this year had booked Rp 60 billion.

“It has exceeded [my plan]. We achieved more than our business target so our shareholders are so happy with us,” he said, noting that the investors now plan an additional capital injection within the next two years.

Initial investments from XL and SK Planet last year amounted to $18.3 million and another $24.2 million was injected earlier this year.

Calm, focused and friendly, Lee is clearly investor-friendly. At first glance he looks like any other businessman in his 40s but his nature manages to radiate a sense of security and optimism amid the hustle and bustle of an online business community populated by employees in their mid-20s.

Jokingly, one of his employees said his calmness is the product of months of training. Korean businessmen are not accustomed to talking with the press and dealing with informal work atmospheres, yet Lee has been able to keep his cool.

The Korean set out to explain the principles he believes are needed for success in the online world.

“The first thing is trust. The second is good products, then good prices and convenience. For the Indonesian market, trust is very important; it is the customers’ basic demand,” he said.

Many Indonesians remain hesitant to use online shops due to a lack of information. Potential customers think that fraud and crime are easily concealed in an apparently anonymous digital world.

That is not the case with Elevenia, Lee said.

“We use a system called escrow,” a formal account which holds funds prior to completion of a transaction, allowing Elevenia to guarantee a safe transaction for both buyer and seller.

Elevenia also has some unique traits. For instance, customers can directly ask Elevenia to find a certain product, local or otherwise.

“If there is something the customer can’t find, they can inform us, then we will get the product. [Especially] products from Korea. We have the experience, we have good channels. From Korea, we can get anything,” said Lee.

To further the trust factor, the company has set limits on trading. It will not sell counterfeit goods, drugs or other illegal items.

The growing business of Elevenia is a glimpse of Indonesia’s blossoming e-commerce industry.

A survey conducted by the Indonesian Internet Providers Association (APJII) and University of Indonesia shows that online shopping is catching on fast with younger Indonesians.

Samuel A Pangerapan, chairman of APJII, said the survey showed that there were 88.1 million Internet users in Indonesia in 2014. A huge portion — 49 percent — are young, around 18 to 25 years old, with 51 percent of them women.

They use the Internet for various reasons, from networking through social networking applications to searching for information and exchanging messages, downloading and sharing videos.

Internet users’ behavior has shifted, Samuel stated, from only using the Internet to interact — like exchanging stories from blogs, chatting through messaging services or talking directly through video chat — to more complex behavior like trading.

In its latest report, APJII said many Indonesian Internet users have started to use the Internet for shopping. Around 11 percent of users purchased goods online in 2014, double the number a year earlier. The vast majority — 85 percent — browse the Internet with their phones, although many also use laptops, tablets and PCs.

To meet this multiple gadget lifestyle, Elevenia has made sure it can be accessed from website, mobile web and mobile application.

According to Lee, being in every digital space was critical, since competition is beginning to intensify as companies recognize Indonesia’s e-commerce potential.

The number of popular e-commerce sites in Indonesia is growing each year. Local sites with a similar business model to Elevenia include Tokopedia, BukaLapak, Quoo10, Lazada and Rakuten, and new ones keep coming.

“We welcome the competition,” said Lee. “At the moment, this market is really in its early stage. It’s not mature, that’s why at this moment I don’t think the other players are our competitors. At this moment, they are our cooperators.”

Elevenia is keen to work with other e-commerce players in Indonesia to build an ideal ecosystem.

GlobeAsia

Google unveils first Asian startup campus

Gangnam district in South Korea's capital Seoul is now the new home of Google's first Asian startup campus. The US search engine giant hopes to encourage a new generation of global tech entrepreneurs in the region.

Deutsche Welle, 8 May 2015

Known as the "Beverly Hills" of South Korea, Seoul's hip and ritzy neighborhood of Gangnam has a reputation of being a hotspot for fashion and plastic surgery.

Now the district may be adding another attraction to its list - entrepreneurship.

US technology behemoth Google opened doors to its first Asian startup "campus" in Seoul's Gangnam district on Friday, citing South Korea's flourishing entrepreneurship scene and widespread smartphone use as reasons for picking the capital as a base, after opening similar sites in London and Tel Aviv.

The endeavor is the latest addition to the expanding startup scene in Gangnam, which has attracted app developers, entrepreneurs and investors. In the past couple of years, the district has become the home of domestic startups like D. Camp and Maru 180.

But despite local successes, Korean firms have struggled to take their products to the global market.

"Our goal with Campus Seoul is to create a space where entrepreneurs can thrive," Mary Grove, Director of Global Entrepreneurship, said on Google's official blog. "Where they can feel at home with the local community, yet have everything they need to build a global company."

Campus Seoul rents out its 2,000 square meter space to startup companies and venture capital investors. With an open plan office design, it hopes to foster collaboration between fledgling companies.

In addition to providing space for people to network, it offers mentoring and training by Google teams and experienced entrepreneurs, as well as access to other startup communities in Asia and beyond.

The campus is also an effort by the South Korean government, which has partnered with Google, to establish a "creative economy." South Korean President Park Geun-Hye pledged a 3.3-trillion-won ($3.0-billion, 2.7-billion-euro) fund in 2013 to help nurture startups over the next several years.

el/uhe (AP, AFP)