Untitled Document
 On
December 13, three Kids Reporters and the chief editor Julia Baik
got together to visit the headquarters of Naver in
Bundang and had an interview with the CEO of Happy Bean, Kwon Hyuk-il.
Despite his busy schedule, he kindly showed us around the jaw-dropping
headquarters of Naver and answered our questions. It was such a special
experience for us, Lim Gi-yoon, Lee Jae-ho, and Song Suk-bin!
 Lim:
Naver is the best portal site in Korea. It seems like the site grew
so quickly. What are the secrets of Naver’s success?
Kwon: Actually it took a long time
for Naver to be successful. You see, the online environment changes
so quickly in about six months. It took four years for Naver to get
a new record. I slept only about four hours a day for first two years,
working really hard. Naver could be successful thanks to the new searching engine programs
and new communication programs.
Lee: Why is Naver’s symbol color green?
Kwon: At first, Naver’s symbol
color was yellow. But later we chose the color green instead. This
is because “Naver” mean a “navigator” and a navigator explores the green jungle.
So I thought green is more suitable for Naver than yellow.
 Song: What
made you establish Naver?
Kwon: I established Naver with five people. I first started the portal
service in 1997 and founded the company in 1999. I started
it in a form of in-company venture in Samsung.
At that time, people started using the Internet actively. So I decided
to create a searching engine to help people communicate with each
other easily.
Lim: Now you are working for Happy Bean. When did you establish the
organization?
Kwon: I worked for Naver until 2000. Then I moved to Japan to work
for Naver Japan. I came back to Korea in 2003 and I wanted to do something
good for my society. This is why I decided to establish Happy Bean
site. Of course, I went through many trials and errors. Now, Happy
Bean is the fourth biggest service in Naver.
 Song:
How does the Happy Bean service operate?
Kwon: More than 40 people work for Happy Bean. At first, not many
people made donations when we made the website. In order to activate the
donation website, I linked Naver and Happy Bean together so people
could easily visit our website and donate money for the less fortunate people. I
wanted to create a new donation culture. So I think it was important
to start the website in the place where many people come.
Lim: Then, what is the meaning of “sharing” for you?
Kwon: Well, sharing could mean to help someone in need with money
or food. But I think the true meaning of sharing is to have sympathy with others. We
should have more interest in our neighbors and try to share their
feelings to make the world a better place. |
|
|
|
