Junior Naver, South Korea’s first children’s portal, will officially shut down at 3 p.m. on May 27. For many born in the 1990s, now in their late 20s and early 30s, Junior Naver was a key part of their childhood. After 26 years, the service will disappear, making way for new educational efforts focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and software learning.
Many users remember games like “Animal Farm” and “Beauty Maker” fondly. These games helped define the Junior Naver experience in the early 2000s. For example, “Animal Farm,” launched in 2003, invited players to manage a virtual farm and restore transformed villagers back to humans. The “Beauty Maker” series featured Sho, a 9-year-old character, starring in popular flash games such as “Sho’s Ramen Shop,” where players helped her work part-time, and “Sho’s Beauty Maker,” where users could style Sho for her busy days.
Yoo Seong-jun, 31, recalled playing “Animal Farm” with friends after school. “I even became popular for using cheat codes to get more in-game currency,” he said. Yoo Min-a, 30, shared her memories of the “Beauty Maker” games. “’Ramen Cooking’ was surprisingly hard. You had to focus a lot to get the timing right. It’s sad to see JuniVer go.”
Junior Naver was launched in June 1999 as a child-focused portal by Naver. It offered educational content such as fairy tales and children’s songs, alongside many flash games. At its peak, it attracted millions of users. In 2017, Naver reported that Junior Naver had about 4.5 million users—roughly the entire population of children under nine in South Korea at that time.
However, Junior Naver’s popularity declined from the mid-2010s. The platform stopped updating its games, and popular features like “Game Land” and “Animal Farm” were discontinued. At the same time, competitors expanded aggressively. Streaming giants like YouTube and Netflix increased their content for young children. Telecom companies also launched children’s education services such as LG Uplus’s “Kids Land,” SK Broadband’s “B tv ZEM,” and MegaStudyEdu’s “Elihigh.”
In response, Naver is shifting its focus to AI and software education through its platform called “Entry.” Launched in 2013, Entry offers AI and software learning content for elementary and middle school students. The platform is supported by the Naver Connect Foundation and provides free educational materials for schools nationwide.
A Naver spokesperson said, “AI and software skills are very important for the future. We decided to end Junior Naver to focus on Entry, which better fits the needs of today’s students.” They added that some videos from Junior Naver will still be available on Naver TV.
Junior Naver’s closure marks the end of a nostalgic chapter for many South Koreans. Yet, Naver aims to support the next generation with new tools to learn and grow in an AI-driven world.
