With over 53 million active users worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2022, KakaoTalk is one of the most popular mobile messaging apps from South Korea. Operated by the South Korean Kakao Corporation, it is particularly popular in its homeland. In fact, of the 50 million global KakaoTalk users, more than 47 million were based in South Korea.
The rise of Kakao
In October 2014, Kakao Corp. merged with Daum, South Korea's second-largest internet portal. Since then, the revenue of Kakao Corp. has almost tripled, exceeding 2.4 trillion South Korean won in 2018. Kakao’s founder is one of the leading social media billionaires worldwide. As of March 2020, Kim Beom-Su's net worth was estimated to be 2.8 billion U.S. dollars.
What else does Kakao have to offer?
Aside from KakoTalk, Kakao Corp. also provides other social media services used by many Koreans. KakaoStory, a social networking service which allows users to share photos with friends, was accessed by almost a quarter of social media users in South Korea. KakaoGame also drew in billions of South Korean won in revenue in 2018. This service provides games on mobile, PC and VR platforms for its users.
