[Exclusive] Danggeun Set for Explosive Growth Nationwide This Year... Operating Profit Expected to Surpass 70 Billion KRW

Monthly Operating Profit Surpasses 7 Billion Won Since May
MAU Consistently Exceeds 20 Million

The leading local community platform in Korea, "Danggeun," is expected to experience explosive growth this year. By expanding into used car sales, real estate, and job matching, the company is projected to more than double its performance compared to the previous year.

According to venture capital (VC) and financial investment industry sources on October 2, Danggeun Market, the operator of Danggeun, began recording monthly operating profits in the 7 billion won range since May. Its monthly revenue has also surpassed the mid-20 billion won mark. Both internally and among major investors, expectations are that Danggeun Market will achieve annual revenue of over 270 billion won and operating profit exceeding 70 billion won this year. Last year, Danggeun Market posted revenue of 189.1 billion won and operating profit of 37.6 billion won.

The monthly active users (MAU) of the Danggeun service have also grown significantly. The figure increased from around 5 million in 2020 to 18 million in 2023. Although it remained at about 19.6 million until March of this year, it has stably surpassed 20 million since around July.

Since its launch, Danggeun has not charged separate fees for used goods transactions. As a result, even though it established itself as a leading national service, it struggled to generate profits and only increased in scale. As recently as 2022, it posted an operating loss of 46.3 billion won.

The company found a breakthrough by introducing "Biz Profile" at the end of 2021, a service that connects local shops with residents. As it refined its advertising business model, revenue more than doubled from 49.8 billion won in 2022 to 127.6 billion won in 2023. Operating profit reached 17.3 billion won, marking the first time in the company’s eight-year history that it turned a profit.

Now, Danggeun is expanding beyond used goods trading into jobs, used cars, real estate, and commerce, with advertising revenue in all sectors growing explosively. The company is evolving into a "hyperlocal platform" closely connected to local communities, beyond just a used goods platform. While it is also developing a commission-based business through its secure payment service "Danggeun Pay," advertising revenue-which accounts for more than 95% of total sales-is expected to grow even further as the service becomes more deeply integrated into users’ lives.

Reflecting this upward trend, a recently released block of existing shares worth 30 billion won attracted significant interest in the market. The company’s valuation at that time was set at 2.5 trillion won. Although there was some discussion about discounts on the valuation, transactions ultimately took place at the originally set 2.5 trillion won. With performance now on an upward trajectory, it is expected that Danggeun’s valuation will easily surpass the 3 trillion won it received during its Series D investment round in 2021, when it was still operating at a loss.

A financial investment industry official commented, "Danggeun Market has already achieved stable performance, alleviating much of the previous investor anxiety. The remaining challenge is overseas expansion, but even with a conservative outlook and considering the valuations of other platform companies, Danggeun’s valuation could rise to the 7 to 8 trillion won range."