Yes, that is essentially it. [From Wikipedia][1]:

> In typography, kerning (less commonly mortising) is the process of adjusting the spacing between characters in a proportional font, usually to achieve a visually pleasing result. In a well kerned font, the two-dimensional blank spaces between each pair of characters all have similar area. The related term kern denotes a part of a type letter that overhangs the edge of the type block.

the point of making it looking nicer is the only point, but it can be *very* important for a clean-looking typeface. The Wikipedia page shows how massive the difference can be:

![alt text][2]


  [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerning
  [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/fVg91.png