Live-streaming service V app from South Korea‘s leading search engine Naver is expanding its reach into Southeast Asian markets, according to industry watchers.

Launched in August of last year to allow fans to interact with their favorite K-pop stars, the app has so far garnered around 12 million downloads, gaining much traction in the global market.

The tech giant said downloads of the app outside Korea accounts for more than 60 percent of the total and most of the overseas traffics comes from Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand.

Naver also opened a channel for Vietnamese celebrities in November of last year to better cater to local viewers, and plans to create similar channels in other Asian nations.

The service targets global viewers in their teens and twenties who have interest in Korean pop-culture, beauty, fashion and entertainment, according to the company.

Naver’s real-time broadcasting app V allows fans to interact with their favorite K-pop stars through live broadcasts. The app is available for Android and iOS. For more information, visit www.vlive.tv.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)

Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.naver.vapp
Apple App Store https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1019447011?mt=8