Soompi

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]

  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.