As a result of analyzing data from the end of 2020 of Android and iPhone smartphone users over the age of 10 by WiseApp, an app analysis company, here the list of the TOP 10 APPs used in Korea.
KakaoTalk -카카오톡
Kakao started with a simple chat app and has now grown into a huge company that is active in various fields with plenty of Kakao features, including the wallet, channels, contents, meeting management, bulletin board, and much more. Only in the last month, a total of 42.2 million people used the app. KakaoTalk also ranked first as used apps, it was used a total of 97 billion times. The basic marketing method for Kakao Talk is a message-type advertisement that appears in the user's chat room. You can communicate news such as event promotions, new product notifications, and coupons. But Kakao Talk is not just basic. Brands should learn how to properly utilizes services such as Kakao Emoticons, Kakao TV, and Kakao Friends Time. Consumers prefer to give attention to brands they feel close to.
Youtube
The American APP ranked second with 4,060,000 people. When it comes to the length of use YouTube ranked first with 66.2 billion minutes of views.
Naver -네이버
The Korean search engine ranked third with 35.7 million users, but it is second as used apps in Korea being used 21.5 billion times. Naver is technically not a search engine but it is more similar to a portal like Yahoo. This is because in the Search Engine Results Page there is User Generated Content from its own services like Naver Blog, Naver Cafe (that are groups), and Naver Q&A. Common ways of promoting on Naver is the standard advertising, posting on Naver Blog, joining and participating in Naver Cafe and replying to questions in Naver Q&A (and of course optimizing your website for Naver).
Naver Band - 네이버밴드
Band is a mobile community application that facilitates group communication. Created by Naver Corporation, the service is available on iOS, Android, and desktop. Users can create separate spaces for communicating with members of different groups depending on the purpose of those groups. The app ranked fourth with 19.20 million users. This is a good APP for brands looking for users over 40 years old (they account for more than 50% of the Naver Band users). The main topics of this social media are travel, photography, mountaineering, paintings, books, and agricultural products. Since the direct marketplace has been activated inside this social media, it can be a good distribution channel for small business owners. Recently, the APP added a section with the possibility, for the users, to create missions (and rewards) by selecting a specific target achievement period and the number of participating members.
Coupang - 쿠팡
Coupang is a South Korean e-commerce company founded in 2010. The company's Rocket Delivery network provides same-day or next-day delivery of more than five million unique items. It ranked fifth with 17.9 million users.
Instagram
The American App ranked sixth with 14.24 million users
Naver Map - 네이버지도
Naver is one of the leaders when it comes to navigation apps in Korea. The basic (Naver) map is available in four languages, while the driving navigation function is available in English. The Korean App ranked seventh with 13.53 million users
Delivery People – 배달의민족
24-hour Food delivery (and take-away) Korean APP. In addition to its food delivery business, Baemin is running a new service called ‘B Mart’ (B 마트), a grocery delivery service from warehouses that are scattered across the neighborhoods. The Korean App ranked eighth with 11.99 million users
The carrot market - 당근마켓
Karrot is a community-based service. According to their official description: "Buy and sell with your neighbors by meeting up down the road or at local spots". The second-hand App ranked ninth with 11.06 million people users
Facebook
The American App ranked tenth with 10.16 million people users
And Tik Tok...
Despite not being at the top 10 used APP, according to WiseApp, TikTok recorded an increase of more than 150% compared to last year. It's a surprising number to surpass the growth of YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
