On Dec 10, Kim Hee-jung, head of the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), played host to a meeting held at Korea National Open University (KNOU), which was intended to explain the selection process of a Korean language country code top-level domain (ccTLD) and to canvass public opinion on desired Korean language top-level domain names. At the meeting, information on the prerequisites for applying for IDN ccTLDs from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and on application processes was shared. Also, opinions of general Internet users on the selection of a ccTLD in the Korean language were also gathered.
IDN ccTLDs mean multi-lingual domain names in languages other than English. For example, web site addresses could end with the extension ".한국", which is the word Korean in the Korean language. Another option would be ".中", which is the word for China in Chinese. These are possibilities for ccTLDs, just like existing extensions .com, .org, and .kr. According to the ICANN's early application prerequisites, Korea's IDN ccTLD can be either "한국" or ".대한민국" which means the Republic of Korea in Korean. At the meeting, it turned out that general Internet users in attendance favored ".한국" over ".대한민국" for typing convenience. But some suggested that the symbolic connotation of ".대한민국" should be taken into consideration.
The KISA aims to adopt a Korean-language country code top-level domain by the second half of 2010. To do so, in the first half of next yea the KISA will solicit opinions from both professionals and the general public on the overall adoption processes such as creating early registration policies.
