The top-level domain (TLD) “xn—t60b56a” is used in website addresses to represent websites that are in the Korean language. The jumbled alphanumeric label is a Punycode representation of a Unicode string, a way to represent complex scripts such as Korean Hangul in a format that can be understood by the Domain Name System (DNS) that powers the internet.
The Punycode system is an algorithmic conversion of Unicode strings into a limited character set that can be recognized by DNS, which was designed with a much more limited character set (A-Z, 0-9, and ‘-’). It is part of the Internationalizing Domain Names in Applications (IDNA) system, which was introduced to allow internet users across the world to use domain names in their own languages and scripts.
The specific Punycode “xn—t60b56a” translates in Unicode to “.닷컴”, which phonetically translates to “.dotcom” in English. This TLD was released as part of ICANN’s New Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Program, which vastly expanded the number of TLDs available from the originally available ones like .com, .org, and .net. This program has allowed for the creation of TLDs in multiple languages and scripts, offering a much more global, diverse internet.
Numerous websites now utilize this Korean TLD for their web addresses, particularly local companies catering to Korean-speaking audiences. Plus, it’s not restricted merely to businesses in Korea; any organization that wants to focus on the Korean market or attraction directory can use this TLD.
As far as reliable sources, you can verify the specifics of Punycode and the IDNA system on the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)’s official publications of RFC 3492 for Punycode and RFC 5891 for IDNA.
The details of the New gTLD Program can be found directly on ICANN’s website, under the “New gTLD Program” section. You can find a list of all TLDs on websites like “data.iana.org,” which is managed by ICANN and the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), who are responsible for coordinating and maintaining the internet’s global domain name system.
In summary, the TLD “xn—t60b56a” stands for “.닷컴”, providing a way for Korean language websites to have a domain recognizable and pronounceable by their native Korean-speaking audiences while still functioning within the globally connected system of the internet.
Sources:
- RFCs for IDNA and Punycode (https://www.ietf.org/standards/rfcs/)
- ICANN’s New gTLD Program (https://newgtlds.icann.org/en/)
- List of TLDs (data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt)
