History
Launched in 1999, Cyworld was purchased by SK Communications in 2003 and became one of the first companies to profit from the sale of virtual goods.
Cyworld soon became wildly popular in its home market with 2005 claims that practically every South Korean in their 20s and 25 percent of the total population of South Korea were users. By 2006 its domestic user-base numbered 19 million, but this had dropped to 18 million by 2008.
Its reception in some overseas markets did not prove as enthusiastic, and by 2010 Cyworld ended its operations in Germany, Japan, and the United States. As of 2009, it continues to provide service to the Chinese and Vietnamese markets where it has subscriber bases of seven million and 450,000, respectively.
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