Writing in Red, and death threats? A Korean social networking site,which started in 1999 ? So,technically,would this be the first successful social networking site? Nice information and links! From this discussion,I am inclined to the proposition,UI have little to do with popularity in a specific country -It narrows down to features like game dynamics on login, and profile visits, which local sites seem to have done a great job catering to their audience- and that's something Facebook might have a tricky incorporating (Profile visits enabled only for China?? ) Interesting!