Back After 6 Years, Daum's 'Real-Time Trends': 5 Challenges the Return of Korea's Portal Hot Search Poses to the Search Market
Kakao subsidiary AXZ has relaunched Daum's real-time popular search feature under the name 'Real-Time Trends' in beta after a 6-year hiatus. While the company highlights technical improvements including AI abuse prevention and multi-source data integration, the industry is watching closely to see whether Daum's search market share — which has fallen to around 1.56% — can stage a recovery.
Image source: Wikimedia Commons — Daum Logo
"KOSPI crash" trending at #1 again — can Daum's Real-Time Trends, back after 6 years, shake up Korea's portal landscape?
TL;DR
- Kakao subsidiary AXZ launched a 'Real-Time Trends' beta service on Daum starting March 3, 2026.
- A 6-year revival after the feature was abolished in February 2020 amid public opinion manipulation and election interference controversies.
- Top 1–10 trending searches, updated every 10 minutes, with AI abuse prevention and automatic exclusion of candidate keywords 60 days before local elections.
- Daum's current domestic search market share stands at just 1.56% (Google 47.1%, Naver 44.1%). Can real-time search be its comeback card?
- Naver maintains its position that it has "no plans to reintroduce" the feature.
1. The Facts: What Has Come Back
AXZ, the operator of Daum, officially launched the 'Real-Time Trends' beta service on March 3, 2026. The service is placed in the upper right of the Daum homepage search bar, with the top 1–10 trending searches refreshed every 10 minutes.
The name has changed, but the user experience is similar to the old real-time search. However, AXZ emphasized the following technical differentiators, stating that "this is not the same service as the old real-time issue search."
- Multi-source data integration: Unlike the past, which relied solely on search logs, multiple sources including news coverage volume, cafe search logs, and real-time web document data are now cross-analyzed
- LLM refinement: Extracted keywords are further filtered through a large language model for quality improvement
- Abuse prevention: Repeated searches from the same account are counted only once; abnormal patterns from bots and automated programs are blocked
- Temporary suspension during anomalies: Guardrails applied
- Restricted nighttime operation: Limited operation from 1–6 AM due to low usage and data volume
The existing 'AI Issue Briefing' service has been discontinued with this overhaul, and related technology has been integrated into Real-Time Trends. The four-color brand logo has also made its return.
2. Why It's Trending Now
| Factor | Description |
|---|---|
| Nostalgia effect | People in their 30s–40s who experienced the portal's heyday in the 2000s are reacting to the "real-time search revival" |
| Iran war news cycle | A string of fast-breaking stories — KOSPI crash, Middle East crisis — has renewed interest in real-time search's utility |
| AI search era | The rise of AI search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity has been interpreted as an attempt to reposition portal real-time search |
| Positioning against Naver | With Naver drawing a clear line by saying "no plans to consider it," Daum's move stands out as a differentiation point |
3. Context and Background
Why Did Real-Time Search Disappear?
Daum operated its real-time issue search for about 20 years. However, in February 2020, Kakao co-CEOs Yeo Min-su and Jo Su-yong ended the service, saying "real-time search should show the result of a phenomenon, but it had become the starting point of the phenomenon." This was because specific groups repeatedly manipulated communities to intentionally push keywords to the top — known as abuse.
Naver also abolished its real-time search a month later in March 2020. Since then, both portals explored alternatives such as AI curation and news clustering.
Daum's Crisis
According to StatCounter, Daum's domestic search market share in February 2026 was 1.56% — trailing not only Google (47.1%) and Naver (44.1%), but also Bing (4.95%). This is the backdrop for AXZ's bet on reviving real-time search.
4. Outlook: Can the Real-Time Search Revival Succeed?
Positive Scenario
- Real-time search could serve as a powerful traffic anchor for breaking news (wars, stock crashes, sports results)
- Service quality improvement by absorbing the AI Issue Briefing and Today Bubble technologies
- Synergy with brand identity reinforcement through the return of the four-color logo
Negative Scenario
- With a market share in the 1% range, a virtuous cycle is needed to see real-time search traffic effects — but the user base itself is too thin
- If public opinion manipulation controversy recurs, the brand damage could be even greater
- If AI search tools (Perplexity, Clova X, etc.) establish themselves as alternatives, the reason for portal real-time search to exist may weaken
5. Checklist: 5 Things to Watch After the Real-Time Search Revival
Reference Links
- IT Chosun — Real-time search revived after 6 years, portal 'Daum' introduces Real-Time Trends
- Yonhap News — Portal Daum revives real-time search after 6 years… Naver: "No plans to reintroduce"
- Hankyoreh — Daum revives 'real-time popular search' after 6 years
- Joseilbo — Daum 'real-time search' revived after 6 years... A bold move amid 1% market share
- JoongAng Ilbo via Daum News — Portal Daum revives 'real-time search' service after 6 years
Image source: Wikimedia Commons — Daum Logo (SVG)