TikTok H1 Trends and Business Strategies Explained
Increase in Everyday Life Content Post-Endemic
More Korean Companies Expanding Overseas Using 'TikTok Shop'
The short-form video platform TikTok, which has 1 billion users worldwide, is seeing a surge in popularity for Korean content. The hashtags '#kpop' and '#manhwa' have recorded nearly 1 trillion views.
On the 27th, TikTok Korea held a press conference in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Jeong Jae-hoon, Head of Operations at TikTok Korea, and Son Hyun-ho, GM of Global Business Solutions at TikTok Korea, attended to explain TikTok Korea's trends and business strategies for the first half of the year.
Jaehoon Jung, Head of Operations at TikTok Korea, is explaining the trends of the first half of the year at a press conference on the 27th.
◆ K-Content Dominates on TikTok = A notable trend in the first half of this year is the significant increase in users recording their daily lives through short-form videos following the transition of COVID-19 to an endemic. The hashtag '#hotplacerecommendation' increased by 5129% compared to the first half of last year. The hashtag '#dailyshare' grew by 1068% during the same period.
Jeong explained, "81.2% of Generation Z (born mid-1990s to early 2000s) reported using short-form videos in the past six months, and over 20% of them posted content to document their daily lives."
TikTok identified the globalization of Korean entertainment through communities as a key user trend. The hashtag '#kpop' recorded 414.8 billion views, surpassing traditional music genre hashtags such as pop (31.8 billion views), hip-hop (69.8 billion views), and rock (39.1 billion views). Due to the global popularity of webtoons, the hashtag '#manhwa' recorded 543 billion views, more than double the '#comics' hashtag (204 billion views).
A survey conducted among TikTok users also revealed the global attention on K-content.
66% of TikTok users in the Asia-Pacific region believe that the Korean Wave, represented by entertainment, will continue for some time. Among Southeast Asian users who participated in the survey, 92% said that K-content on TikTok increased their interest in Korean products and brands.
Son Hyun-ho, General Manager of TikTok Global Business Solutions (GBS), is presenting the business strategy at a press conference on the 27th.
◆ TikTok’s ‘Super App’ Competition... ‘TikTok Shop’ Active Among Domestic Companies = TikTok is being used not only for user communication but also as a business model for companies. A representative example is ‘TikTok Shop.’ Although it has not yet launched in Korea, it is actively used in overseas markets such as Southeast Asia, serving as a stepping stone for Korean companies to enter foreign markets. TikTok Shop allows users to purchase products immediately after watching specific promotional videos.
GM Son said, “TikTok Shop has a powerful content commerce function and is actively used in Southeast Asia, with many Korean companies leveraging it. In the U.S., the feature was just launched, and the market value is expected to exceed 1,300 trillion KRW by 2025.”
Meanwhile, TikTok has officially entered the ‘super app’ competition. A super app integrates various functions that consumers want into a single platform. On the 24th (local time), TikTok added a new text-only feature to its existing app. This could impact text-based social networking services (SNS) such as Twitter and Threads.
Jeong said, “We do not consider competitors when launching specific features; it is to satisfy our internal users.” He added, “Although we cannot disclose specific figures, TikTok in Korea continues to see steady growth in key indicators such as new users and downloads in the first half of this year.”
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