Mobile community service BAND entered the mobile games market on May 12 with the opening of its mobile game channeling platform, showcasing 10 games. KakaoTalk’s gaming platform has been dominating the market so far, but a new challenger has appeared! Camp Mobile released ten games on May 12, includ
It has been a year since the current government announced its so-called May 15 Plan for the realization of the creative economy through the promotion of venture firms and startups. During the past year, various policy measures have been poured out for the revitalization of angel investment and M&As,
Although a week has passed after the Sewol ferry began to sink, it is still unclear what was happening inside the ship at the time of the accident, or when the ferry changed direction suddenly. But messages sent through KakaoTalk by high school students on the ferry are likely to give an important c
Even though KakaoTalk owes much of its success to its affiliated game companies, they also have created an ecosystem in which many other companies, designers, and artists can benefit by selling their products directly to consumers. Kakaotalk’s original success as a messenger service partly came from
Half of all Korean smartphone users have played the game Cookie Run, which grossed over 62 billion won (US$58.9 million) 9 months after it debuted in April 2013. In the game, a gingerbread man runs for his freedom while gaining points, and it is immensely popular among children, even though people o
Sirgoo Lee is co-CEO of Kakao Corporation, alongside JB Lee. He has previously been the CEO of NHN USA, and is a lawyer by trade. BusinessKorea spoke with him about the history and future of KakaoTalk and his insights into the smartphone instant messaging market.All 3 of the executives of KakaoTalk
It may be hard to believe that the country with greater than 100 percent mobile subscriber penetration was late to the smartphone scene, but South Korea didn’t receive their first smartphone until late 2009. But after digesting that fact, it will not be difficult to believe that KakaoTalk, the most
Ban Seung-hwan, vice president of Kakao, has left the company. He has been in charge of the company’s game department, but has handed it over to Kakao’s Co-CEO Lee Jae-bum.Kakao Games has seen phenomenal growth on the back of domestic demand, but now is facing a transitional phase due to lackluster
Nexon and NCSoft launched a new offensive to increase its share of the mobile games market with blockbuster games using their core online game brands. With the alliance of Tencent and Netmarble dominating the market, the industry is paying attention to whether or not the two latecomers in mobile gam
Google Korea’s efforts to provide support for Korean mobile game developers’ entry into the global market through Google Play has kicked into high gear. However, the industry considers the move part of Google’s strategy to check the influence of local mobile game platforms such as KakaoTalk, Line, a
Messaging apps LINE and KakaoTalk, which have gained popularity through their stickers and emoticons, are expected to vie with each other using character-driven marketing this year. According to industry sources on March 30, Naver unleashed an aggressive character-driven marketing campaign with the
KakaoTalk has introduced a Do Not Disturb feature that keeps users from being notified of KakaoTalk messages through pop-ups, vibrations, or alert sounds at specific times during the day. The feature is expected to be most used in public places, office meetings, or at bedtime. Another new feature
Game developers recording a smash hit with just a single title are drawing the attention of many with the Korean game market mired in a recession due to government regulations and the popularity of imported games.For example, Smilegate posted 376 billion won (US$349.7 million) and 255 billion won (U
YouTube, the most popular video streaming program in the world, is catching up with KakaoTalk in Korea.According to Korean Click’s March 23 data, KakaoTalk and KakaoStory recorded a unique visitor (UV) number of 24.96 million and 17.85 million in February this year. They were followed by YouTube (17
Korea was recently named the worst place for worker productivity in the OECD, which was featured in a recent article by this magazine. This news is not surprising for any professional previously or currently working in Korea, as the notorious overtime hours coupled with years of low growth have been
At the Mobile World Congress 2014, Kakao CEO Lee Seok-woo mentioned that the company will launch its new mobile financial service in the first half of this year. Related to his remarks, the industry is paying attention to whether or not Korea’s top messaging company will be able to dominate the mobi
Google is seeking to supply mobile games to the global market in partnership with Korean mobile game companies.According to industry sources on Feb. 26, Google recently made contact with the Korean mobile game developers such as NCsoft and Nexon, pushing forward business cooperation in mobile games.
“In the broadband era, over-the-top (OTT) companies using broadband networks such as KakaoTalk prosper, while mobile carriers such as KT are threatened,” said KT Chairman Lee Suk-chae at last year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) at the end of Feb. At that time, many people in the mobile carrier indust
Kakao CEO Lee Seok-woo delivered a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014, which kicked off on February 24 (local time) in Barcelona, Spain, and said that his company dreams of an innovation-oriented mobile ecosystem based on collaboration, cooperation, and value creation.He is the f
Korea’s top messaging app KakoTalk reportedly topped the local ranking on Internet companies’ brand value, exceeding the country’s top portal operator Naver. Brand Stock, which specializes in brand value evaluations, announced on Feb. 23 that KakoTalk ranked first in the Feb. Brand Stock Top Index (