Expat SNS take local approach

Korea based, expat-oriented sites focus on tighter sense of community



You might be forgiven for thinking Facebook and Korea’s own Cyworld are the last word in social networking here. But tailor-made sites are aiming to create a more localized and intimate online community.

“It started off as something personal and then it ended up being people joining the site and making friends. At first it was for English, language exchange, teaching English, as well as foreigners learning Korean,” said James Cowan, the brain behind Come Together Korea.

The site, which currently has more than 450 members, allows members form common-interest groups, chat in online forums and set up events and meet-ups.

So why join Come Together rather than other sites?

“Facebook and those other big networks are very global, huge, and it’s really tough to feel part of a community inside Korea. It’s hard to meet people in your area. This is different because it is just focused on Korea. Everyone on the website is living in Korea and you can search for people by area.”

After three years in Korea, James was surprised and disappointed with how few close Korean friends he’d made. Out of this came the idea for the site.

“It is really hard as a foreigner to get into their circle, to really become good friends with them … There is one girl who was about to leave after a few months because she was so depressed and didn’t know anyone, foreigners or Koreans. She starting making more meet-ups and got so many friends and is having a blast in Korea now.”

The site is not just about making friends, but bringing together people with common interests and hobbies too.

“For instance, some guy just created a film group, you know, who wants to make short films, and other people make brunches and unique dinners and everything like that.’”

While the site is non-commercial and currently just a hobby for Cowan, he is ambitious for what it could become in the future.

“If it does become somewhat popular then maybe I could approach friends of mine who are living in other countries and do the same thing, you know Come Together Taiwan, or Come Together Hong Kong or Come Together Japan.”

Like Cowan, Devin Rupert, the creator of Linked Seoul, saw a gap in online networking options for expats, specifically for business networking.

“I felt there was a need for it in Seoul because the expat community is kind of small so it is just another way to get out there and meet people and mingle,” said Rupert.

The site has more than 1,000 members and organizes regular professional networking events.

“Every month I hold a networking event called Wine-Down Wednesday, it’s at a different venue every month, and from that I have received a lot of positive feedback and I do hear about business deals getting done.”

Rupert started the site about a year ago after becoming frustrated with the lack of a central resource for business networking events.

“I like to go to networking events, and to find out about these events you had to go to usually a chamber of commerce website because there was no one central place to look for all these events. At first it was just my own personal use, and then I shared the list with some other people, then it just got bigger so then I created my own website for that.”

And while the site is about professional networking “for the most part,” it’s also a way to socialize for expats, with monthly events usually attracting upwards of 50 people.

“I think in the expat community in Seoul especially it is a social outlet.”

Internations is a more international operation. An expat networking site founded in Germany, the Seoul group has 1,400 members.

The site, which is fee to join, allows people to post events, jobs, items for sale among other things. They also have monthly events which are free to paid members.

Sven Schelwach, who has led the Seoul chapter since May 2010, says monthly gatherings now attract 80-110 people.

“We had one guest from Jeju-do come,” he says, explaining that the Seoul group is the only one in Korea so far, but they have members from across the country.

“She said she was really sorry that she can’t come to every event.”

The advantage of the site is that it lets members connect before they come ― and to their new home when they move away.

“Sometimes there are people on business trips and they ask me stuff like what is there to do in your free time,” Schelwach says. “Sometimes I get asked general questions, about what life is like in Seoul from people who know that they are going to move here in a few months.”

He says they have had people moving in from Internations groups all over, from Uzbekistan to Japan.

“I wish I had known about Internations before coming to Korea because it’s very useful to get a better feeling for where you are moving,” he says.

“And when you get there you have an instant community that’s really 
accessible and they have monthly events where you get to meet new people.”

By Paul Kerry and John Power
(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)
(john.power@heraldcorp.com)