Enswers to buy Korean pop culture site in U.S.

Video search technology provider Enswers Inc. said yesterday that it has agreed to acquire Silicon Valley-based online company Soompi Media LLC to create a Web portal for Korean pop culture and news in the United States.

Under the agreement, Seoul-based Enswers will introduce this month a revamped Soompi.com powered by its own video search technology in a bid to bring Korean dramas, music, movies and news to audiences outside the country, it said in a statement. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 2006, Soompi is among the largest online Korean pop culture communities in English. It gained ground on the back of hallyu, or the Korean Wave - drawing about 5 million monthly visitors from some 150 countries.

The Korean Wave was fueled by the huge popularity of Korean soap operas, pop music and movies in Asian countries. But efforts by local online companies to deliver content to global audiences were hamstrung by Korea’s Internet regulations requiring visitors to identify their names and ID numbers. Enswers is a four-year-old company. Yonhap