KakaoTalk was the most frequently used application among Koreans this year, according to data released Monday.
KakaoTalk, the dominant messaging platform operated by Kakao (035720.KS), recorded an average of 48.23 million monthly users, making it the most widely used app, according to WiseApp·Retail. YouTube followed with 46.78 million users, Google with 45.1 million, Naver with 44.09 million, and Google Chrome with 42.03 million.
Coupang ranked sixth with 33.88 million monthly users despite suffering a data breach that exposed personal information of 33.7 million customers.
KakaoTalk also led in monthly app launches with 76.1 billion sessions. Instagram came second with 15.9 billion, followed by YouTube with 14.9 billion, Naver with 14.4 billion, and CashWalk with 8.8 billion.
YouTube topped the ranking for total time spent, with monthly usage reaching 114 billion minutes, equivalent to approximately 1.9 billion hours. KakaoTalk followed with 32.4 billion minutes, Instagram with 27.9 billion minutes, Naver with 19.1 billion minutes, and Google Chrome with 16.6 billion minutes.
The survey was conducted by WiseApp·Retail from January to November this year, based on a sample of Korean Android and iOS smartphone users. The analysis covered apps available on both operating systems.
