NHN Corporation

NHN Corporation is a South Korean information-technology and online-gaming company headquartered in Seongnam. Its origins lie in Hangame Communications, founded in December 1999 to operate the Hangame online game portal. Hangame became one of South Korea’s early large-scale web gaming services and was combined with the search company Naver in 2000. The merged company adopted the name NHN, commonly expanded as Next Human Network, while continuing to operate the Hangame and Naver services as distinct consumer brands. The original NHN combined internet search, online communities, advertising, and games. In 2013, the corporate structure was divided for strategic reasons. The search and broader internet-platform operations became Naver Corporation, while the remaining game and entertainment businesses were reorganized as NHN Entertainment Corporation. This separation marked a major change in NHN’s identity: the company moved from being a unified search-and-games internet group toward a more diversified technology and content portfolio. After the split, NHN expanded beyond games. It developed payment services through NHN Payco, operated digital-content and commerce businesses, and invested in cloud computing and technology infrastructure. In 2014, it introduced the TOAST Cloud brand, later associated with NHN Cloud, and in 2015 built its own internet data-center infrastructure. The group also maintained or developed operations connected with mobile games, Japanese entertainment services, music distribution, comics, and software technology. Related companies and brands have included NHN PlayArt, NHN Japan, NHN Cloud, NHN Payco, Comico, Bugs, and several game-development studios. The company changed its name from NHN Entertainment Corporation back to NHN Corporation on 1 April 2019. The renaming reflected a broader business scope than entertainment alone, including cloud services, payments, commerce, content, and enterprise technology. NHN therefore represents both a legacy Korean internet brand and a diversified technology group whose current activities extend across consumer services and business infrastructure. Public reference material identifies the company as active, but does not provide enough reliable information here to state current financial figures, a current chief executive, or a verified corporate website.

NHN began in December 1999 as Hangame Communications, a company created to operate the Hangame online game portal. At the time, web-based games were becoming an important part of South Korea’s rapidly developing internet economy. Hangame established an early position in online gaming by offering browser-accessible games and a portal model that brought multiple titles and users together in one service. In July 2000, Hangame Communications merged with Naver, then one of South Korea’s leading search companies. Following the transaction, the combined company adopted the name NHN, generally interpreted as Next Human Network. The two principal consumer businesses retained their established identities: Naver continued as the search and internet-platform brand, while Hangame remained associated with games. During this period, NHN developed as a major Korean internet company with activities spanning search, online advertising, communities, and games. The company’s next major structural change came in 2013. On 1 August of that year, NHN was separated into two corporate entities for strategic reasons. The search and broader internet-platform business became Naver Corporation. The part retaining the games and entertainment operations was organized as NHN Entertainment Corporation. The division ended the original combined corporate structure and left the NHN name attached primarily to gaming and entertainment activities. NHN Entertainment subsequently pursued a wider technology strategy. Its businesses included online and mobile games, international operations, digital content, commerce, and payment services. The group operated through a collection of subsidiaries and affiliated companies, including NHN PlayArt in Japan and other game studios. It also developed Payco as a payment and financial-services platform and maintained content-related services such as Comico. The group’s portfolio additionally included a stake in Bugs, a Korean digital-music service operating under the Bugs brand. Cloud computing became an increasingly important area from the middle of the 2010s. NHN launched TOAST Cloud in 2014 and built its own internet data-center facility in 2015. These initiatives moved the company toward providing infrastructure and cloud capabilities in addition to consumer entertainment. TOAST Cloud was later associated with the NHN Cloud business and became part of the group’s enterprise-technology positioning. On 1 April 2019, NHN Entertainment Corporation changed its name to NHN Corporation. The new name signaled that the company was no longer focused only on entertainment and games. Its stated business range included games, cloud computing, payments, commerce, content distribution, and technology infrastructure. The company’s related operations have included NHN Cloud, NHN Payco, NHN PlayArt, Comico, NHN Japan, and other subsidiaries or affiliates involved in software, media, investment, and digital services. NHN’s history is therefore defined by three stages: the establishment of Hangame as an early Korean online-game portal; the 2000 combination with Naver into a broad internet company; and the 2013 separation followed by diversification under NHN Entertainment and then NHN Corporation. The available reference material confirms an active, diversified technology business, but does not establish current leadership, ownership, financial performance, or a verified official website for this dossier.

• 2019

  NHN Entertainment returns to the NHN name

  [1]NHN Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  On 1 April 2019, NHN Entertainment Corporation changed its name to NHN Corporation to reflect its broader technology and service portfolio.

• 2015

  NHN develops data-center infrastructure

  [1]NHN Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  The company built its own internet data-center facility as part of its expansion into cloud computing and infrastructure.

• 2014

  TOAST Cloud is launched

  [1]NHN Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  NHN began its cloud-services push with the launch of the TOAST Cloud brand.

• 2013

  NHN is separated into Naver and NHN Entertainment

  [1]NHN Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  On 1 August 2013, the search and internet-platform business was separated into Naver Corporation, while the games and entertainment business became NHN Entertainment Corporation.

• 2000

  Merger with Naver

  [1]NHN Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Hangame Communications merged with Naver in July 2000, and the combined company adopted the NHN name while preserving the Hangame and Naver consumer brands.

• 1999

  Hangame Communications is founded

  [1]NHN Corporationen.wikipedia.org

  Hangame Communications was established in December 1999 to operate the Hangame online game portal.

A diversified South Korean technology group built on online gaming and expanded into payments, cloud infrastructure, commerce, and digital content.

• Online gaming portal · 1999

  Hangame

  Hangame was the original online-game portal operated by Hangame Communications and became one of South Korea’s early prominent web-gaming platforms. Its portal model brought multiple online games together and formed the foundation of the company that later became NHN. Although the corporate structure and portfolio evolved substantially, Hangame remains central to NHN’s historical identity.

• Game development and publishing

  NHN PlayArt

  NHN PlayArt is an NHN-affiliated game business associated with the development and operation of online and mobile games, particularly in Japan. It represents the group’s continued presence in game production after the separation of the original NHN and its expansion beyond the Korean market.

• Cloud computing · 2014

  NHN Cloud

  NHN Cloud provides cloud-computing and infrastructure services for technology and enterprise users. Its development traces back to TOAST Cloud, launched in 2014, and to NHN’s investment in proprietary data-center infrastructure. The business broadened the company’s role from a consumer internet and games operator into an enterprise technology provider.

• Payments and fintech

  NHN Payco

  NHN Payco is the group’s payment-services business. It reflects NHN’s expansion into digital payments and related financial technology, complementing its gaming, commerce, and content services. The available reference material does not provide a complete current description of its product range or geographic coverage.

• Digital comics and content

  Comico

  Comico is a digital-content service associated with NHN and focused on comics and web-based entertainment. It extends the group’s consumer-content portfolio beyond games and illustrates NHN’s involvement in the distribution of serialized digital media.

• Digital music streaming

  Bugs

  Bugs is a South Korean digital-music service operated by NHN Bugs Corporation, formerly associated with Neowiz Internet. The service trades under the Bugs brand and gave NHN exposure to music streaming and digital-audio distribution. Reference material reports that Bugs held a 15 percent share of South Korea’s music-streaming market at the end of 2016 according to an IFPI survey, but no current market-share figure is stated here.

• 2019

  Renaming from NHN Entertainment to NHN CorporationStrategy

  Background

  The company had expanded into payments, cloud services, commerce, content distribution, and infrastructure, making the Entertainment name narrower than its operating scope.

  Action taken

  On 1 April 2019, NHN Entertainment Corporation changed its corporate name to NHN Corporation.

  Aftermath

  The change repositioned the company as a diversified information-technology group rather than an entertainment-focused business.

  Source

• 2014

  Expansion into cloud computingStrategy

  Background

  Following the 2013 separation, NHN Entertainment sought to develop businesses beyond games and digital entertainment.

  Action taken

  The company launched the TOAST Cloud brand and began building a cloud-services and infrastructure business.

  Aftermath

  Cloud computing became a continuing component of the group’s broader technology portfolio and was later represented by NHN Cloud.

  Source

• 2013

  Separation of the search and games businessesStrategy

  Background

  The original NHN combined a major search and internet-platform operation with a substantial online-gaming business. The company pursued a structural separation to give the two businesses more focused strategies.

  Action taken

  On 1 August 2013, the search and internet-platform operations were separated into Naver Corporation, while the remaining gaming and entertainment operations were reorganized as NHN Entertainment Corporation.

  Aftermath

  The transaction ended the original unified NHN structure and left the NHN name associated primarily with the games and entertainment successor until the company broadened its portfolio and adopted the NHN Corporation name again in 2019.

  Source

1. 1NHN Corporationen.wikipedia.org