디시인사이드 (DCInside)
Platform · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
디시인사이드 (DCInside) is a South Korean community portal built around "galleries": themed boards where an image and a discussion live together. The platform describes itself this way: "the country's largest internet community portal and a hub of internet trends … providing gallery services, including a real-time best ranking". That is the platform's own claim, not an independent assessment.
Galleries come in four kinds, and the difference between them matters fundamentally to anyone planning to work here. Official galleries (갤러리, "gallery") are opened by the platform itself; minor galleries (마이너 갤러리, "minor gallery") and mini galleries (미니 갤러리) are created and run by users themselves; separately there are galleries about people (인물 갤러리). Lists of minor and mini galleries are available from the front page.
For a social media manager there are two different worlds here. Publishing advertising as a member is prohibited by the agreement and by the rules. On the other hand the platform has an open rate card with prices per thousand impressions — that is, a legal route exists, it is paid, and it goes through the advertising department.
Who's here
The platform gives its own numbers on its company page: about 3 thousand official galleries, over 63 thousand minor galleries, over 24 thousand mini galleries and over 2,600 galleries about people. At the top of the same page there is a counter labelled "일일 페이지 뷰" (daily page views); in the page markup it animates up to 100,000,000 and is then replaced by the label "2억", that is 200 million. It is the platform's own claim.
A sign of how long it has been running is the copyright line in the footer: "Copyright ⓒ 1999 - 2026 dcinside".
The language is Korean; the front page markup declares lang="ko". The company page has a switcher to English, Chinese and Japanese, but the galleries themselves are run in Korean. Indirect advertising-performance indicators exist in the rate card (see the growth section).
Getting started
Registration is unusually light by Korean standards. The user agreement states that the company in principle does not collect personal data such as a name or a registration number, and that registration requires an identifier, a password and a nickname.
An account is not forever: if there is no login for 11 months, the record is deleted. The platform may suspend or restrict access where false data was given at registration, where the service is being disrupted, and where actions break the law.
Your own gallery. A minor or mini gallery is created by a user, and along with it that user takes on the rights and duties of a manager. The rules of use state this plainly: the manager must moderate fairly and consistently, visit the gallery regularly, and bears the main responsibility for preventing violations; the manager may not delete posts that break no rules or unfairly ban members, including for criticism aimed at the manager. The same document names the condition for losing the role: an absence of 10 days or more leads to removal of the powers and their transfer to another user.
There is no separate "business account" on the platform. A company that needs a legal channel goes not to registration but to the advertising department: an application is submitted through a form, with the contact given on the advertising page — [email protected].
What you can publish
The gallery format is text with images; a separate service, 디시콘 (dccon), lets any user create emoticons and use them in galleries for free. A personal showcase of activity is called 갤로그 (gallog) — it is a gallery and a blog combined, with a guestbook.
Content prohibitions are listed in article 11 of the agreement. For our reader the key point is 11(1)(9): advertising or campaigning addressed to an indefinite circle of people is prohibited. The same article prohibits impersonation, harassment and stalking, disclosure of personal data without consent, obscene material and illegal recordings; a separate article prohibits content promoting suicide.
The rules of use add to this an outright ban on commerce in user galleries: "flooding" and spam — repeatedly posting identical content — are prohibited, as are running a minor gallery for commercial purposes and posting for commercial purposes. A separate point prohibits handing over or renting out a gallery for gain and obtaining rights to a gallery by deception.
How to grow
The platform describes the mechanics of promotion sparingly. The only selection tool it names itself is the "real-time best ranking" (실시간 베스트). One more route is named in the announcement about minor galleries: an active minor gallery can be promoted to a main one — the platform's rules and announcements speak of promotion.
The paid route is described far more concretely. The advertising page lists products for the mobile web, the app and the desktop version and gives prices per thousand impressions and average click-through rates:
- Top of the list (리스트 상단), mobile web and PC: a banner of 840 × 243 or 840 × 90 for PC and 640 × 200 for mobile, priced at 3,000 won per thousand impressions, average click-through 0.33%, image size up to 300 KB. The same page notes that html materials are not accepted, and that on the mobile web the banner is shown at half size, 320 × 100.
- Automatic image in the body of a post (본문 자동 짤방): a banner of 800 × 700, priced at 3,200 won per thousand impressions, average click-through 0.23%, size up to 300 KB; it is shown automatically when a post contains no image, and is displayed at half size, 400 × 350.
The full list of placements in the menu of the same section includes the middle and bottom of the list, the top of the post body, a floating icon, a listing in the feed, a logo banner, a video image and side banners. The process is described in four steps: enquiry → proposal and contract → handover of materials → placement and report.
The platform's right to show advertising over user content is fixed in the agreement: article 15 provides for placing advertising using members' registered materials and for showing advertising in the service.
Path to monetization
The platform does not pay authors. There is no ad revenue share, no donations and no paid gallery subscriptions here; the platform calls dccon emoticons a free service that anyone can create. A gallery manager gets moderator rights, but no income.
Money on the platform moves from the advertiser to the platform according to the rate card quoted above. Trying to earn "around" that — running a gallery commercially or selling the rights to one — is prohibited outright by the rules of use.
Tools and automation
Automation is not welcome here: the rules of use explicitly name repeated posting of identical content — "flooding" and spam — as a violation.
Of the platform's own tools, all a company gets is enquiry forms: an advertising and marketing application, a business partnership and a content partnership — three separate forms on the company page, and an enquiry form on the advertising page. The advertising department publishes a platform deck, a rate card and a guide to producing materials for download.
Limits and rules
- Advertising as a member. Prohibited by the agreement: advertising and campaigning addressed to an indefinite circle of people.
- Commercial galleries. Running a minor gallery for commercial purposes and commercial posting are prohibited.
- Spam. Repeated posting of identical content is prohibited and punished.
- Types of sanction. Restricting a post (it stops being visible to others), suspending a user — temporarily or indefinitely, removing a manager, restricting access to a gallery, closing a gallery.
- Manager activity. An absence of 10 days or more is grounds for removing the powers.
- Account inactivity. 11 months without a login — deletion.
- Requirements for advertising materials. Image size up to 300 KB, html materials not accepted, display on mobile at half size.
Who it's for
It suits companies working in the Korean market that need broad exposure at a low price: 3,000 won per thousand impressions in the top block is a rare case of a platform publishing a price openly, before any negotiation. It also helps that click-through is given as an average for the product — there is something to build a plan on.
It suits niche products: tens of thousands of user galleries mean that almost any narrow topic is already being discussed somewhere, and the community itself can be read without registering.
It does not suit a "soft" presence in the guise of an ordinary member: that is prohibited both by the agreement and by the rules of use. It does not suit those counting on starting and running a brand gallery as a channel: running a minor gallery commercially is explicitly named as a violation.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the platform describes itself this way: «국내 최대 인터넷 커뮤니티 포털이자 인터넷 트렌드의 중심, 디시인사이드입니다. 실시간 베스트 등의 갤러리 커뮤니티 서비스를 제공합니다.»
This is the platform's statement about itself, not an independent assessment
source, checked 2026-07-28
the copyright line: «Copyright ⓒ 1999 - 2026 dcinside»
No separate page with a founding date was found
source, checked 2026-07-28
Who's here
the platform reports: about 3 thousand official galleries, over 63 thousand minor ones, over 24 thousand mini galleries and over 2600 galleries about people
A claim by the platform about itself, with no date given
source, checked 2026-07-28
on the company page a counter labelled «일일 페이지 뷰» (daily page views) shows the value «2억», that is 200 million
The value is set in the page markup; no date or methodology is given
source, checked 2026-07-28
Account and access
the agreement states that the company in principle does not collect a name or registration number; registration requires an identifier, a password and a nickname
Article 8 of the user agreement
source, checked 2026-07-28
if there is no login for 11 months the account is deleted
Article 6(5)
source, checked 2026-07-28
a gallery manager's absence of 10 days or more leads to removal of the powers and their transfer to another user
The rules of use
source, checked 2026-07-28
Advertising
the «리스트 상단» (top of the list) product: a banner of 840×243 or 840×90 for PC and 640×200 for mobile, 3000 won per thousand impressions, average click-through 0,33 %, up to 300 KB, html materials not accepted
On the mobile web it is shown at half size, 320×100
source, checked 2026-07-28
the «본문 자동 짤방» (automatic image in the body of a post) product: a banner of 800×700, 3200 won per thousand impressions, average click-through 0,23 %, up to 300 KB
Shown when a post contains no image; displayed at 400×350
source, checked 2026-07-28
the advertising process: enquiry → proposal and contract → handover of materials → placement and report; contact [email protected]
The platform deck and the rate card are posted as PDFs; we were unable to make out the file
source, checked 2026-07-28
Restrictions
the agreement prohibits advertising and campaigning addressed to an indefinite circle of people
Article 11(1)(9) — the key prohibition for promotion made as a member
source, checked 2026-07-28
the rules of use prohibit running a minor gallery for commercial purposes, commercial posts, «flooding» and spam, and handing over or renting out a gallery for gain
Sections 4 and 7 of the rules of use
source, checked 2026-07-28
types of sanction: restricting a post, temporary or indefinite suspension of a user, removal of a manager, restricted access to a gallery, closure of a gallery
The rules give no durations in days
source, checked 2026-07-28
Legal
the agreement provides for placing advertising using members' registered materials and for showing advertising in the service
Article 15
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: ko
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
Catalogue section: all similar See also: catalogue index · region: South Korea · scheduler comparison · find by situation · platform restrictions