Soompi
Available inEnglish, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai
HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States (Global)
Seoul, South Korea (Korean offices)
OwnerRakuten Inc.
(Viki)
URLwww.soompi.com
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedMarch 1998; 26 years ago (1998-03)
Current statusActive

Soompi is an English-language website providing coverage of Korean pop culture.[1] It has one of the largest international Internet communities for K-pop,[2] mostly concentrated in news and forums. With more than 23 million fans across all platforms, Soompi offers English and Spanish services.[3]

Since its establishment in 1998, Soompi has grown into one of the longest-running, and most frequently visited websites providing coverage of Korean music, celebrity news and entertainment.[4][5][6][7]

Initially its visitors were mostly Koreans residing in foreign nations, with over 1.2 million people visiting the site. However, as of 2012, the majority of its members are non-Koreans in the United States, Canada, Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia, among others.[8][9]

History

Soompi was founded in 1998 by Korean American web developer Susan Kang,[10][11] In February 2011, it was acquired by Enswers, Inc.,[12][13][14] a Seoul-based IT venture company specializing in video search technology,[15] and operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of it. When Enswers was acquired by another company, Soompi found a new home with Crunchyroll, a U.S.-based VOD site that specializes in anime, in 2013.[citation needed] Viki acquired Soompi on August 19, 2015.[16]

Soompi Awards

Soompi is also known for its annual Soompi Awards,[17] which began in 2005, and recognise K-pop and Korean drama acts.[18] Winners are selected partially based on fan voting and partially based on Soompi's music charts.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Soompi.com shows Hallyu where to go". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Have You Heard Of Soompi? It's The Largest English Community For The Korean Wave". Advanced Technology Korea. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  3. ^ Dae-yong, Kim (24 September 2012). "KT - New Strategies for Media & Contents industry". Korea IT Times. Archived from the original on 20 February 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  4. ^ Bue, Jonathan. "K-Pop's Connection to CSUN". Daily Sundial. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2012. of Soompi.com, an English language authority for Korean entertainment.
  5. ^ "Can Girls Generation break through in America?". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012. "Girls' Generation are easily the biggest girl group in all of Asia," says Susan Kang, founder and CEO of Soompi.com, the largest English-language K-pop site.
  6. ^ "Ways to keep the Wave rolling around the world". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "Gangname-style viral popularity in US has koreans puzzled gratified". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017.
  8. ^ "Web triggers global renaissance of Korean Wave". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ "Soompi – A Site Where Netizens Revel in Korean Culture". Koreabrand.net. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  10. ^ "Music Of The Seoul". The Daily. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  11. ^ "Founder of largest English K-pop site Soompi". Korea Times. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  12. ^ "Enswers Acquires Soompi Korean Entertainment community". allthingsd.com. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  13. ^ "Enswers' history". enswersinc.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  14. ^ "SOOMPI.COM - the Korean Pop Culture Site". HanCinema. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  15. ^ "Translation services make World Wide Web more worldwide". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 25 May 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  16. ^ "Viki Buys Korean Fan Community Soompi from Peter Chernin's Crunchyroll". Variety. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 23 August 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  17. ^ Herman, Tamar (16 April 2018). "Interactive Soompi Awards Show Immense Growth In K-Pop-Oriented Twitter Activity". Forbes. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  18. ^ a b Herman, Tamar (16 April 2018). "BTS, GOT7 & Other K-Pop Acts Win Big at Soompi Awards". Billboard. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
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