Naver (NAVER) announced on the 8th that it will unveil "hiking-themed weather" ahead of the full-blown autumn foliage season, following its existing themed weather services for baseball stadiums, theme parks, ski resorts, soccer fields, and golf courses.
In September, Naver launched "hiking-themed weather," which provides ultra-short-term forecasts based on the coordinates of 301 major mountains nationwide. Through a total of 868 themed weather services—including 495 golf courses, 30 soccer fields, and 20 baseball stadiums—Naver is enhancing user-tailored weather information.
"Hiking-themed weather" provides weather information based on coordinates rather than broad nearby administrative districts. A key feature is the addition of "hiking trail weather," which repackages hiking course data held by Naver Maps to align with hourly forecasts. When users select a mountain course and departure time, they can check changes in temperature, wind, and precipitation by section in advance, following the timeline of their actual hike.
In addition, Naver provides sunrise times alongside hiking plans, offering weather guidance by course and departure time—a first in Korea. It also features "seasonal scenery" information that guides users on autumn foliage and blooming periods.
Users can regularly check "seasonal scenery" within the Naver Weather screen to help plan hikes and outings for viewing autumn leaves. The company plans to gradually expand this service to other highly relevant themes beyond hiking in the future.
Meanwhile, Naver has received favorable reviews for its themed weather services, which began with baseball stadiums in August of last year, followed by theme parks and ski resorts in December, soccer fields in February of this year, and golf courses in April. As of late September, cumulative subscriptions reached over 213,000. This represents a 2.9-fold increase compared to the approximately 73,000 subscriptions recorded in January of this year, within just eight months. The most subscribed location is Jamsil Baseball Stadium, with over 25,000 subscriptions.
Kim Hye-jin, Naver leader, stated, "Naver Weather has continuously evolved to provide tailored information related to weather, going beyond simply delivering forecasts quickly and accurately." She added, "Unlike other themes influenced by seasonal factors, hiking maintains demand throughout all four seasons, making it our sixth themed service. We will add a 'sea fishing' theme within the year to cover major outdoor activities comprehensively."
in TECH
