The Most Used App by Koreans in 2022 Was 'KakaoTalk'

App/Retail Analysis Service WiseApp·Retail·Goods Survey
2nd YouTube, 3rd Naver... 4th to 10th Vary by Age Group

2022 Mobile Application Rankings Announced by WiseApp, Retail, and Goods, App/Retail Analysis Services. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] A survey revealed that the most used mobile application (app) by Koreans in 2022 was 'KakaoTalk.'

According to a sample survey conducted by app/retail analysis service WiseApp·Retail·Goods on Android and iOS smartphone users aged 10 and above in Korea from January 1 to November 30 this year, KakaoTalk was used by an average of 46.9 million people monthly, ranking first. Second was YouTube (44.98 million), and third was Naver (42.34 million). The top three most used apps were the same across six age groups: under 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60 and above.

Fourth place was Coupang (27.94 million), and fifth was Naver Map (21.54 million). Following were Band (19.90 million), Instagram (19.43 million), Danggeun Market (19.37 million), Baedal Minjok (19.06 million), and Samsung Pay (15.40 million). Compared to last year, Naver Map, Instagram, and Danggeun Market rose in ranking, while Band and Baedal Minjok declined.

By age group, for teenagers, ranks 4 to 10 were Instagram, Naver Webtoon, Roblox, Coupang, TikTok, Naver Papago, and Facebook, with social networking services (SNS) and entertainment apps dominating. Teen app usage showed a distinct pattern compared to other age groups; Naver Webtoon, Roblox, TikTok, and Papago never appeared in the top 10 for other age groups. Naver Webtoon is an app for reading comics on mobile, Roblox is a game and metaverse app, and Papago is a translation and interpretation app.

Instagram ranked 6th among users in their 30s but did not make the top 10 for those aged 40 and above. Conversely, KakaoStory was the only app to rank 9th exclusively among those aged 60 and above, making it into the top 10. The preferred SNS service for people in their 40s to 60s was Naver Band, which consistently ranked 5th. Additionally, in their 20s, the mobile financial service Toss ranked 9th, but Toss did not appear in the top 10 for other age groups. Instead, Samsung Pay occupied ranks 8 to 10.

Meanwhile, WiseApp·Retail·Goods also investigated the apps with the highest increase in users in 2022. The result showed that the game app TangTang Special Forces led with an increase of 3.64 million users. Following were Naver Map (3.39 million), Toss (2.49 million), KakaoT (2.06 million), and 11st (1.96 million).