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This is actually really interesting history, but I wonder about apps like Line, which the Japanese still prefer. It's not a great app, but it's a user app, not

This is actually really interesting history, but I wonder about apps like Line, which the Japanese still prefer. It's not a great app, but it's a user app, not a corporate one.

zdw 2y ago
Interestingly, Line originally was developed by Naver which is a South Korean company, although it's gone through several changes of corporate control since.
- yongjik 2y ago
  It's jointly owned by Naver and Softbank. A few months ago, there was a public outcry in Korea when the Japanese government threatened to twist Naver's arm to give up its share of Line, and South Korea's inexplicably pro-Japanese government stayed mum. With both governments enjoying abysmal public support, I have no idea how it will eventually be settled.
  - onetokeoverthe 2y ago
    s.korea is pro japan. =. better than china.
    - onetokeoverthe 2y ago
      So s korea should favor the country that boycotts them for random hurt feelings?
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    I wonder why Koreans care: they don't use LINE anyway, AFAIK. They all use KakaoTalk.
    - yongjik 2y ago
      Why wouldn't Koreans care? We're talking about 50% ownership of a messaging platform that's de facto standard in multiple Asian countries. Imagine the UK government trying to force Google to sell DeepMind.
      - shiroiushi 2y ago
        >Why wouldn't Koreans care? Because they don't use it. >We're talking about 50% ownership of a messaging platform that's de facto standard in multiple Asian countries Yeah, except Korea. If they think it's so great, why aren't they using it themselves? It seems hypocritical. >Imagine the UK government trying to force Google to sell DeepMind. Does Google or anyone in the US actually use DeepMind? If so, that's a poor analogy.
timoth3y 2y ago
Line was actually a Korean startup. There days, it's not a great app, but strong network effects keep it dominant here in Japan.
- rwmj 2y ago
  Really? I use Line all the time including for sending text, video, and making audio and video calls, and it works great. Never had issues with it.
  - hnlmorg 2y ago
    This Line? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details/%EB%9D%BC%EC%9D%B8_LINE?id=jp.naver.line.android&hl=en-US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details/%EB%9D%BC%EC%9D%B... From the reviews, it looks like the unhappy path wasn’t well tested.
    - klausa 2y ago
      FWIW, this is on par with reviews for _anything_ in Japan. The fanciest and most recommended ramen shops don't crack 3.9 on local review sites, the mindset is completely different from "oh nothing went wrong, 5 stars I guess!".
      - freddie_mercury 2y ago
        Ha, I'm reminded of reviews from Vietnam where you'd usually see restaurants get destroyed in reviews because they are 20 cents more expensive than some place else. Price was such a much bigger part of the review than other places I've lived.
      - hnlmorg 2y ago
        I wasn’t looking at the stars. I was looking at all the reviews from different people saying the app locked them out of all their contacts.
    - rwmj 2y ago
      Yes that one. It works very effectively for me and I've not had any dropped calls, except for the obvious where we one of us loses network connectivity.
ilamont 2y ago
Also used widely in Taiwan.
- tjpnz 2y ago
  And Thailand, apparently.
  - FMecha 2y ago
    It was also popular in Indonesia, but the userbase eventually moved to WhatsApp and Discord. People who run "official accounts" on LINE in Indonesia eventually moved to Twitter (the Indonesia-specific "base"/"menfess" accounts/culture were originally from similar LINE accounts allowing users to send anonymous messages so it can be relayed to many users, as well as from K-pop roleplaying on Twitter) and Instagram (for news, after LINE Today, their news aggregator, closed), too.

This is actually really interesting history, but I wonder about apps like Line, which the Japanese still prefer. It's not a great app, but it's a user app, not a corporate one.

zdw 2y ago

Interestingly, Line originally was developed by Naver which is a South Korean company, although it's gone through several changes of corporate control since.

yongjik 2y ago
It's jointly owned by Naver and Softbank. A few months ago, there was a public outcry in Korea when the Japanese government threatened to twist Naver's arm to give up its share of Line, and South Korea's inexplicably pro-Japanese government stayed mum. With both governments enjoying abysmal public support, I have no idea how it will eventually be settled.
- onetokeoverthe 2y ago
  s.korea is pro japan. =. better than china.
  - onetokeoverthe 2y ago
    So s korea should favor the country that boycotts them for random hurt feelings?
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  I wonder why Koreans care: they don't use LINE anyway, AFAIK. They all use KakaoTalk.
  - yongjik 2y ago
    Why wouldn't Koreans care? We're talking about 50% ownership of a messaging platform that's de facto standard in multiple Asian countries. Imagine the UK government trying to force Google to sell DeepMind.
    - shiroiushi 2y ago
      >Why wouldn't Koreans care? Because they don't use it. >We're talking about 50% ownership of a messaging platform that's de facto standard in multiple Asian countries Yeah, except Korea. If they think it's so great, why aren't they using it themselves? It seems hypocritical. >Imagine the UK government trying to force Google to sell DeepMind. Does Google or anyone in the US actually use DeepMind? If so, that's a poor analogy.

timoth3y 2y ago

Line was actually a Korean startup. There days, it's not a great app, but strong network effects keep it dominant here in Japan.

rwmj 2y ago
Really? I use Line all the time including for sending text, video, and making audio and video calls, and it works great. Never had issues with it.
- hnlmorg 2y ago
  This Line? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details/%EB%9D%BC%EC%9D%B8_LINE?id=jp.naver.line.android&hl=en-US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details/%EB%9D%BC%EC%9D%B... From the reviews, it looks like the unhappy path wasn’t well tested.
  - klausa 2y ago
    FWIW, this is on par with reviews for _anything_ in Japan. The fanciest and most recommended ramen shops don't crack 3.9 on local review sites, the mindset is completely different from "oh nothing went wrong, 5 stars I guess!".
    - freddie_mercury 2y ago
      Ha, I'm reminded of reviews from Vietnam where you'd usually see restaurants get destroyed in reviews because they are 20 cents more expensive than some place else. Price was such a much bigger part of the review than other places I've lived.
    - hnlmorg 2y ago
      I wasn’t looking at the stars. I was looking at all the reviews from different people saying the app locked them out of all their contacts.
  - rwmj 2y ago
    Yes that one. It works very effectively for me and I've not had any dropped calls, except for the obvious where we one of us loses network connectivity.

ilamont 2y ago

Also used widely in Taiwan.

tjpnz 2y ago
And Thailand, apparently.
- FMecha 2y ago
  It was also popular in Indonesia, but the userbase eventually moved to WhatsApp and Discord. People who run "official accounts" on LINE in Indonesia eventually moved to Twitter (the Indonesia-specific "base"/"menfess" accounts/culture were originally from similar LINE accounts allowing users to send anonymous messages so it can be relayed to many users, as well as from K-pop roleplaying on Twitter) and Instagram (for news, after LINE Today, their news aggregator, closed), too.