Why does Google suddenly think I'm Korean?

December 9, 2008 7:10 AM

Why would the Google search bar in Firefox suddenly think I'm Korean?

I'm using Firefox 3.0.4 and iGoogle is one of my homepages. If I search Google via that page everything is normal, but any search from the search bar in Firefox comes up under google.co.kr.

This just started this morning and I haven't changed any preferences or system settings recently. I used the search bar with no problems yesterday. I've tried restarting my pc but it's still happening and I have no idea what to try next. Any help would be appreciated.

posted by Mamapotomus to computers & internet (10 comments total)

If you do Manage> Features tab> Search box settings it sets your country search page there. Is it US or Korea?
posted by 8dot3 at 7:56 AM on December 9, 2008

If you go to google.com, there should be a "Google in English" (or some variant of that) link towards the bottom. This happens to me every now and then too. I think it has something to do with the IP address your ISP gives you.
posted by niles at 8:54 AM on December 9, 2008

I believe Google will auto-adjust based on where your IP address is coming from. Are you going through any type of proxy that you know of (i.e., Corporate VPN?)
posted by mattholomew at 9:24 AM on December 9, 2008

I had that problem once. Try this.
posted by kidbritish at 10:28 AM on December 9, 2008

8dot3, I'm not sure where the menu is you're telling me about. Is it in Firefox or on the Google page? If it's Google then I'm out of luck- I can't read Korean :-) The only options I can find for the search bar seem to just add or delete different search engines.

niles & kidbritish- When I click either of your links I get the regular English page (with my Google account name showing myself as logged in on the upper right side).

I'm not using a proxy.

If the problem is one of my Firefox settings why would it only affect the search bar and not tabs opened in the browser?
posted by Mamapotomus at 2:09 PM on December 9, 2008

Sorry - the menu I was asking about is in the google menu on the firefox toolbar, but i think i have a google menu add-on, which is where I saw the drop-down, on the side of that toolbar button. Do you see a drop down on the toolbar anywhere? (Sorry, my pc is at work and I'm on a mac at home so I can't give step-by-step from here.)
posted by 8dot3 at 3:34 PM on December 9, 2008

Look for a wrench icon maybe?
posted by 8dot3 at 3:36 PM on December 9, 2008

8dot3- the search bar only has a drop-down menu that will let me Manage Search Engines (add, delete, or re-order them ). The only other option in that menu is to Restore Factory Defaults.
posted by Mamapotomus at 3:55 PM on December 9, 2008

Well, since you can't edit the properties of a search engine, you might try this: Go to the search bar, Manage Search Engines, select Google, delete. Then browse to this page, find Google (making sure it's the US version*), and add it. Does that freshly-installed search option make any difference?

*It's the first entry under Category 29, Major Search Engines.
posted by exphysicist345 at 5:08 PM on December 9, 2008

Yaaaay!!! Thank you!
posted by Mamapotomus at 6:30 PM on December 10, 2008