Naver's premium content platform surpasses 6 million users

Naver's headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi [YONHAP]

Naver's premium content platform surpassed 6 million monthly active users in November, Korea's largest portal site announced Monday.

The online platform, dubbed “Naver Premium Contents,” was launched in February 2022. It allows content creators to sell their work to paying subscribers. Its format is similar to that of Naver's Smart Store, an online shopping platform for small businesses — each creator decides how much content they will offer for free and how much will be limited to premium members.

The most popular content topics are, in order: finance, business, education, liberal arts, books, writing and real estate. Other topics include trends, hobbies, technology, science and employment.

The number of paid users and number of channels both doubled on year, according to Naver. Creators posted more than 130,000 works on the platform in 2023 alone.

One of the most profitable operators makes 850 million won ($651,000) per month, according to a Naver spokesperson.

“Unlike in the West, Korean users are still stringent when it comes to paying for digital content,” the Naver spokesperson told the Korea JoongAng Daily. “Naver is one of the pioneering platforms which hopes to popularize the market. Currently, consumers are more open to the concept of paying for business-related information such as investment and real estate, but what we are ultimately aiming is for more content operators from a variety of fields to enter the platform and stimulate the market.”

Naver incorporates AI technology to make it easier for its operators to upload content. It offers auto-generated subtitles, for example, and can transcribe videos to be published as text.

Naver’s large language model, HyperClova X, will also be incorporated to the platform as a service dubbed “Clova for Writing,” which integrates the algorithm into Naver's writing tool, SmartEditor. The service recommends topics for creators to write about, and can also edit and generate content on its own.

Naver’s app has also been updated to recommend tailored content for its users, including premium works. The company says that about 10 percent of users are introduced to the platform through tailored recommendations.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]