Korea Academic Information Co.

Name

Korea Academic Information Co.

Legal name

한국학술정보(주)

Website

https://kstudy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Database and Content Services

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Book Publishers (51313), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Blankbooks, Looseleaf Binders & Bookbindg & Relatd Work (2780)

akta.pro primary industry

Reference Works & Academic Databases (Encyclopedias, Indexes, Abstracts) (MPAJABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

E-book Retail & Reading Platforms (Stores, Apps, Devices) (MPAJAMAA), eBook & Digital Reading Platforms (BPAMAJAK)

Keywords

• Academic database services
• E-journal platform
• On-demand printing
• Academic content services
• Personalized photo books

Headquarters

HQ city

Paju

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Institutional Academic Database Subscriptions (KISS): Annual subscription contracts with universities, libraries, and research institutions for access to the KISS academic journal database. Institutions pay recurring subscription fees for unlimited access by their members. Also includes per-article purchase options for non-subscribed content.
2. Individual Academic Paper Purchases (KISS/Pay-per-download): Individual users purchase academic papers on a per-article basis using K-money (포인트/K머니) prepaid credits. Minimum recharge of 30,000 KRW. Subscribing institutions provide free access to their members.
3. PaperSearch Individual Paper Sales: Personal-use academic database service where individual users purchase papers using prepaid credits (PaperMoney/페이퍼머니). K-money has a 5-year validity from last use, with refunds available within 7 days for unused充值 credits.
4. Booktory Digital & Offset Printing: On-demand printing services for theses, textbooks, academic journals, leaflets, portfolios, and other printed materials. Customers order via the Booktory platform; both digital (small quantity) and offset (bulk) printing available. 24/7 customer service and easy online ordering.
5. StopBook Photo Book & Print Products: Personalized photo book, photo printing, and photo calendar products sold via web and mobile app. Customers upload photos, customize layouts, and order printed products delivered to their address.
6. Card-Q Custom Card Products: Customized invitation cards, wedding cards, greeting cards, and seasonal cards sold online. Professional designers assist with customization; orders are processed and delivered.
7. Publishing (Idambooks): Book publishing under the Idambooks brand, covering general books and academic publications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Korea Academic Information Co. (KSI) operates Korea's largest academic e-journal database, KISS, serving 750+ universities, libraries, and research institutions with access to approximately 1,550,000 academic entries from 1,250+ partnered Korean academic societies, together with the personal-use PaperSearch database, AI-powered KISS X tloote AI search, and a portfolio of consumer printing and personalization brands including Booktory (on-demand printing), StopBook (photo books), Card-Q (custom cards), and Idambooks (publishing).

Product overview

KSI (Korea Academic Information Co.) operates a multi-brand portfolio centered on academic content databases and digital printing solutions. The core platform is KISS (Korean Studies Information Service), an e-journal database serving 750 institutional members with access to approximately 1,550,000 academic journal articles from domestic Korean academic societies. Complementing KISS is Paper Search, Korea's first personal-use academic database for individual consumers with approximately 1.22 million papers. KSI also offers KISS AI, an AI-powered search assistant built on tloote AI technology that provides conversational academic search, paper summarization, and multilingual support across 60+ languages. On the digital printing side, the company operates three consumer-facing brands: Stopbook (personalized photo books and photo printing), Card-Q (customized invitation and greeting cards), and Booktory (on-demand printing for theses, textbooks, and academic journals). The publishing arm, Idam Books, rounds out the content offerings. The company was established in 1992, employs 330 people, and serves customers across 30 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 스탑북 (STOPBOOK): Photo book publishing and photo printing brand that allows users to create personalized photo books and prints.
• 카드큐 (CARD-Q)
• 북토리 (BOOKTORY)
• KISS
• 페이퍼서치 (Paper Search)
• 이담북스 (Idam Books)

Products and services

• KISS (Korean Studies Information Service) KISS is Korea's largest academic e-journal database providing 750+ institutional members (universities, libraries, research institutes) with access to approximately 1,550,000 academic journal articles and papers from Korean academic societies and research institutions. Includes search, download, citation export, and AI-powered research assistance via the KISS X tloote AI integration.
• PaperSearch (페이퍼서치) PaperSearch is Korea's first personal-use academic database service for individual researchers and students, providing access to approximately 1.22 million academic papers and over 1 million PDF full-text documents under copyright agreements with 1,250+ academic societies. Users purchase individual papers using prepaid PaperMoney credits via the papersearch.net website.
• KISS AI (KISS X tloote AI) KISS AI is an AI-powered conversational search assistant integrated into the KISS academic database. Built in partnership with tloote AI, it supports natural language queries, AI paper summarization, table of contents generation, and multilingual interactions across 60+ languages for institutional and individual KISS users. It also handles library administrative inquiries such as operating hours and lending policies.
• StopBook (스탑북) StopBook is a personalized photo book and photo printing service that lets consumers create photo books, premium albums, photo prints, photo fancy items, and photo calendars from their own photos. Orders are placed via the stopbook.com website and the StopBook mobile app.
• Card-Q (카드큐) Card-Q is a custom card platform offering personalized invitation cards, wedding invitations, 1st birthday cards, seasonal greeting cards, and a designer collaboration series. Customers customize designs online with professional designer support and have finished cards delivered to their address.
• Booktory (북토리) Booktory is KSI's on-demand printing brand offering digital and offset printing services for theses, textbooks, academic journals, leaflets, portfolios, and small-quantity books. Customers order online at booktory.com with pricing that varies by product, quantity, and binding, and 24/7 customer support is available.
• Idambooks (이담북스) Idambooks is KSI's book publishing brand for academic and general books, distributed via the ebook.kstudy.com e-commerce storefront and through the company's participation in international book fairs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Deployed AI-powered digital literacy tools to 4,000+ students in Paraguay and 45,000+ young people in Colombia through Korea Trust Fund / IDB collaboration
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• tloote AIcoreTechnology or Integrationtloote AI is integrated into the KISS academic search platform as the underlying AI technology powering the KISS X tloote AI conversational search service. This partnership provides AI chatbot functionality for academic paper search, summarization, multilingual support (60+ languages), and library administrative inquiry handling.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• EBSCO Information Services: Global academic database and information services provider serving universities and libraries worldwide; competes with KISS for institutional budgets in Korea and overlaps with KSI's international Korean-studies positioning abroad.
• JSTOR: Non-profit digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources; serves the same institutional subscriber base as KISS at Korean and international universities, though with a broader multi-language and multi-discipline archive.
• Snapfish: Global photo book and personalized print platform; directly comparable to StopBook in product offering (custom photo books, prints, calendars) and target customer (B2C consumers creating personalized photo products).
• ProQuest: Major global aggregator of academic journals, theses, and dissertations; competes with KISS for multi-language academic database subscriptions at Korean universities and overlaps with PaperSearch for individual researcher access.
• Yes24: Korea's largest online bookstore and e-book platform, overlapping with Idambooks in the digital book publishing/distribution segment and with KISS's broader content access role for Korean readers.

Emerging players

• Ridibooks: Leading Korean e-book subscription and retail platform; competes with Idambooks for digital reading market share and overlaps with KISS's content-access value proposition for individual Korean readers.

Direct peers

• RISS (Research Information Sharing Service): Korea's national academic repository managed by KERIS, providing cross-institutional thesis and academic paper search; competes head-to-head with KISS in the Korean academic database segment, though with a more thesis-and-dissertation focus.
• Blurb: Self-publishing and photo book platform enabling on-demand book creation; competes with Booktory for on-demand printing customers and overlaps with StopBook for premium photo book buyers.
• DBpia: Operated by NURIMEDIA, DBpia is one of Korea's largest academic journal databases and the closest direct competitor to KISS, serving Korean universities with similar subscription-based academic content access and overlapping institutional customer base.

Regional players

• KoreaMed: Korean medical academic database providing access to Korean medical journal articles; comparable in business model (institutional subscription for Korean-language academic content) but narrower in subject focus (medicine only).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/stopbook_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Korea Academic Information Co.