Social network penetration South Korea Q3 2023

According to a survey conducted in the second and third quarter of 2023, 87 percent of South Koreans reported to use KakaoTalk. KakaoTalk is a messaging app developed in South Korea and owned by Kakao Corporation. 

Kakao Talk

KakaoTalk, often referred to as KaTalk, is a free mobile messenger for smartphones. Since its launch in 2010, it has grown to have around 48.5 million monthly active users in the fourth quarter of 2023. While the application is free to use, the company sells so-called emoticons in their app-shop and operates a gift system. Emoticons are stickers, most often depicting popular characters, that the users can send to their contacts in the chatrooms. Kakao’s own characters, “Kakao Friends” became fashionable enough to be sold in KakaoTalk merchandise stores all over the country. As of 2017, it was reported that the company was selling around 5.5 thousand sticker packs in their mobile store. 

Social media usage

South Korea has the one of the fastest internet worldwide as well as an internet penetration rate of over 97 percent. Naturally, the majority of citizens use social media on a daily basis. While older generations prefer domestic platforms, like Naver BAND, international platforms, like Facebook or Instagram, were more popular among younger social media users. Nevertheless, YouTube is widely popular among South Koreans of all ages. In a survey among 19 to 59-year-old consumers, only 0.8 percent of respondents stated that they have never heard of the streaming platform. According to Reuters, around 47 percent of respondents aged 55 years or older used YouTube as a news source.