logo

NAVER Launches Open Beta for New UGC Platform ThingsBook in North America

- Text-based platform centered on personal records and tastes, allowing users to archive movies, books, music, travel, and more through custom collections

- Integrates with local platforms to enhance usability and support interest-based connections among users

- NAVER continues global service initiatives, aiming to expand its creator-centric content ecosystem in North America

January 26, 2026

NAVER Corp. (CEO Choi Soo-yeon) announced on the 26th the open beta launch of ThingsBook, a new user-generated content (UGC) platform targeting the North American market.

NAVER already operates a diverse portfolio of services in North America, including WEBTOON, Wattpad (web novel), BAND (community), and Poshmark (C2C). With ThingsBook, NAVER is taking on a new challenge in the social networking space.

​

ThingsBook is a text-based platform that focuses on the essential values of social networking, personal records and tastes, in an environment dominated by short-form and highly stimulating content. Users can create their own custom collections to deeply archive movies, books, music, travel destinations, everyday experiences, and more. They can also connect and communicate with other users based on shared interests.

ThingsBook also provides an advanced editor centered on text, allowing users to record images, locations, star ratings, links, and more to express their experiences and perspectives in richer ways. Moving beyond a chronological feed-based structure, the platform is designed around an archiving structure in which users’ tastes accumulate as collections, enabling them to systematically manage and expand their records. NAVER also plans to enhance usability through integrations with its various local platforms in North America, including WEBTOON, Wattpad, and BAND, making it easier for users to record a wide range of experiences on ThingsBook, from content and communities to interest-based consumption.

​

To support ThingsBook’s smooth global launch and service advancement, NAVER operated a three-month closed beta program starting last October, reviewing overall usability including the usage patterns and needs of North American users. Based on a wide range of user feedback collected during this process, NAVER has continued to improve service stability and key features, and plans to further enhance the service step by step with a broader user base through this open beta.

“NAVER has continued to take on overseas markets based on global strategies tailored to each region’s culture and user characteristics,” said Kim Eon, Leader of the ThingsBook service at NAVER. “With ThingsBook, we aim to establish the platform as a place where we communicate closely with local users and build a creative culture centered on personal records and tastes together.” Kim added, “Through our global initiatives, we will continue to refine the service to build a meaningful content ecosystem and community culture in the AI era.”