"This should be regarded as a big setback for Microsoft
in Korea, for many years one of the few countries in which it was
not the dominant player in all of the desktops app business.
The thorn in its side was Haansoft, formerly known as Hangul and
Computer, which is the owner of the Hancom business. Until the late
90s, the Hangul wordprocessor was the major wordprocessing package
in Korea with 90 per cent-plus market share. (This dominance was
not reflected in sales figures - as most packages were
pirated.)
Microsoft even tried to buy the company in 1999 - but was beaten
back by a fierce, nationalistic campaign conducted by local
consumers and business."
