Half of the Nation Uses Emoticon Chats... Kakao Celebrates 11th Anniversary of Emoticon Release

11th Anniversary of Kakao Emoticon Release
30 Million Monthly Average Users of Emoticons

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Kakao's Kakao Emoticons have celebrated their 11th anniversary since launch.

To commemorate the 11th anniversary of emoticons, Kakao revealed on the 15th an infographic showcasing various records set by emoticons over the past 11 years as well as this year’s popular emoticons. Additionally, a special event was prepared to thank users for their support.

30 Million Monthly Average Emoticon Users... Cumulative Sent Volume of 2.4 Trillion

Marking its 11th anniversary, Kakao Emoticons first debuted on KakaoTalk in November 2011 and have since grown explosively, loved by people of all ages and genders.

Over the past 11 years, the cumulative number of individual emoticons has reached approximately 500,000, with the total sent volume exceeding 240 billion. This means an average of 60 million emoticons were sent daily over 11 years. As of 2022, the monthly average number of emoticon users was 30 million, and the cumulative number of emoticon purchasers was also 27 million, indicating that more than half of the entire population uses emoticons to communicate.

The cumulative number of users who experienced ‘Emoticon Plus,’ launched in January last year, has also surpassed 12 million. ‘Emoticon Plus’ is a subscription service that allows unlimited use of emoticons, enabling users to freely use individual emoticons according to emotions or situations, and features automatic recommendations based on keywords for easy use during conversations.

Emoticon Plus has attracted attention as a product that offers a unique enjoyment of discovering numerous emoticons created by various creators and provides creators with additional revenue opportunities. It has become so popular that one out of every three emoticon users subscribes to Emoticon Plus.

Kakao’s emoticons have created a new profession called ‘Emoticon Artist’ and have become a platform where creators can challenge themselves without special conditions. Since 2017, new and diverse emoticons have been continuously created through ‘Kakao Emoticon Studio,’ a platform where anyone can easily propose emoticons. Kakao is thus building a new business sector called the emoticon ecosystem.

Gosimi, Manggeureojin Gom, Tosimi and Tomungi... This Year’s Most Popular Emoticons

Kakao also revealed eight emoticons that captured users’ hearts this year. Various animal emoticons such as ‘Manggeureojin Gom,’ ‘Gomgwa Gaengaji,’ ‘Jjigeureong Ori,’ ‘Odungimnida Man,’ ‘Shuya,’ ‘Kkukakkua and Bearkku,’ and ‘Tosimi and Tomungi’ were loved, and ‘Gosimi,’ which gained popularity on social networking services (SNS) and popup stores, also ranked among the top.

Additionally, eight emoticons were selected as this year’s rising stars: ‘Daengdaengi-ui Segye,’ ‘Gomsiki and Tosiki,’ ‘Ipbbitul Ori,’ ‘Keoham,’ ‘Gwakcheoli,’ ‘Gomdoljjingi and Tokkijjing,’ ‘Eojjeolticon,’ and ‘Dandap Quokka.’ Steady sellers that have been consistently loved, such as ‘Daehak Ilgi,’ ‘Oneul-ui Jjal,’ and ‘Onigiri,’ were also introduced.

11th Anniversary Event Held... Webtoon Also Released

Kakao is also holding a special event to thank users for their support of Kakao Emoticons over the past 11 years.

Through the ‘Lucky Charm Sharing’ event, until the 31st, users can draw a random lucky charm drawn by popular artists on the event page, share it on SNS with the hashtag ‘Emoticon 11th Anniversary,’ and then leave the shared post’s URL in the comments. Among participants, 10,000 people will be selected by lottery to receive a one-month Emoticon Plus subscription.

A webtoon series called ‘EmotiM iToon,’ which depicts various stories related to emoticons in webtoon format, will also be released. For this, user stories were solicited in September, and eight stories were selected from about 4,000 submissions. Representative stories include ‘The Mischief of Cat Mont,’ based on a funny emoticon-related episode involving a user’s cat, and ‘The Secret of Extreme T Girlfriend,’ which deals with experiences through emoticon conversations with a girlfriend.

A Kakao official said, “Thanks to the love of many users, we have been able to grow alongside creators for 11 years and have continuously revitalized the emoticon ecosystem. We will continue to create an environment for mutual growth with creators and strive to build an emoticon ecosystem that users can enjoy.”