According to a survey conducted in South Korea in 2024, Instagram was one of the most popular social media platforms in South Korea, with around **** percent of survey respondents in that year stating that they used it the most frequently out of all the other social media services provided in the country. The former leader was Facebook, which, together with Instagram and WhatsApp belongs to Meta. Social media in South Korea The number of Instagram users have continuously increased, while Facebook's user numbers had declined. Instagram seems to be widely used by Koreans aged under ** years old, with the share of active users dropping significantly after this age. Facebook, a social media giant, which had a largely increased usage penetration in 2020, had recently come under scrutiny for its user privacy policies. User penetration has declined since then.On-the-go media Social media networks are becoming more and more mobile. Globally, mobile social media users have been increasing, and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. South Korea is not excluded from this trend - the country leads the world in terms of mobile phone penetration. With South Korea’s smartphone ownership rate at ** percent, the success of social media services in the country looks likely to be determined by how well received they are in the mobile app market.

According to a survey conducted in South Korea in 2025, around ** percent of respondents stated that they use YouTube as a news source. This was followed by the South Korean messenger app KakaoTalk at ** percent. Relative low trust in news The usage rate of YouTube as a news source was especially high for South Koreans aged between 55 years and older. Meanwhile, around one in five South Koreans stated that they trusted news on social media. All in all, South Koreans were found to be rather skeptic of news in their country. A survey by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that the share of South Koreans who trust the news was relatively low. News consumption  According to the South Korean government, the share of news readers in South Korea fell from around **** percent in 2011 to around **** percent in 2021. The share was especially low for South Korean aged 60 years and above, and especially high for South Koreans in their thirties. Meanwhile, the share of online newspaper readers among news readers increased up to **** percent in 2021.

According to a survey conducted in the second and third quarter of 2023, 87 percent of South Koreans reported to use KakaoTalk. KakaoTalk is a messaging app developed in South Korea and owned by Kakao Corporation. Kakao TalkKakaoTalk, often referred to as KaTalk, is a free mobile messenger for smartphones. Since its launch in 2010, it has grown to have around 48.5 million monthly active users in the fourth quarter of 2023. While the application is free to use, the company sells so-called emoticons in their app-shop and operates a gift system. Emoticons are stickers, most often depicting popular characters, that the users can send to their contacts in the chatrooms. Kakao’s own characters, “Kakao Friends” became fashionable enough to be sold in KakaoTalk merchandise stores all over the country. As of 2017, it was reported that the company was selling around 5.5 thousand sticker packs in their mobile store. Social media usageSouth Korea has the one of the fastest internet worldwide as well as an internet penetration rate of over 97 percent. Naturally, the majority of citizens use social media on a daily basis. While older generations prefer domestic platforms, like Naver BAND, international platforms, like Facebook or Instagram, were more popular among younger social media users. Nevertheless, YouTube is widely popular among South Koreans of all ages. In a survey among 19 to 59-year-old consumers, only 0.8 percent of respondents stated that they have never heard of the streaming platform. According to Reuters, around 47 percent of respondents aged 55 years or older used YouTube as a news source.

This statistic depicts the most frequently accessed social media among users aged 18 to 24 years in South Korea in 2018. During the measured time period, 36.6 percent of social media users aged between 18 to 24 years in South Korea accessed Facebook the most.

Korean Companies’ SNS Analytics Data provides important information to analyze consumer opinions and trends on social media. This data includes social media posts, comments, and likes. Collected from platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, it helps investors analyze consumer sentiment, evaluate brand awareness, and optimize marketing strategies, helping in the valuation of Korean companies based on their social media presence and consumer engagement.

According to a survey conducted in 2020, the most used social media among Millennials in South Korea was Instagram, with 34.4 percent of respondents answering to use it. Following was Facebook with a user share of 27.6 percent.

During the first quarter of 2023, internet users in Brazil spent an average of three hours and 49 minutes per day on social media. Nigeria and the Philippines also reported high usage levels. By comparison, internet users in Japan spent less than 50 minutes per day on social media. Low levels of daily usage were also recorded in South Korea and the Belgium.

As of January 2023 social network Facebook was ranked first worldwide in terms of active users with almost three billion MAU. Other popular social media include mobile messaging platforms YouTube and WhatsApp, as well as social content sharing networks such as Instagram and social video platform TikTok.

Most social networks are accessible through multiple platforms, but many popular social media started out as mobile apps, demonstrating the growing trend of mobile first development. Examples include Instagram, which initially was launched as an iOS photo editing and discovery app as well as mobile social messenger, as well as TikTok, which recorded 23.7 million downloads worldwide via the Google Play Store alone in June 2023.

Social networking does not only enable users to connect with other people but also with brands and celebrities. Social media has also become a growing source of news for internet users in many countries.

This statistic shows the results of a survey about social media usage and awareness in South Korea in June 2018. According to this survey, almost 45 percent of participants stated they primarily consumed funny texts and videos and current hot issues or trends on social media.

South Korea digital marketing market size is projected to exhibit a growth rate (CAGR) of 6.07% during 2024-2032. The presence of a robust technological infrastructure, ongoing shift in consumer behavior, booming e-commerce sector in South Korea, rising mobile penetration rate, and growing popularity of social media platforms represent some of the key factors driving the market.

RISA-Korea provides insight into Korean retail investor sentiment and interest in 4200 KRX securities (with 3100+ KRX stocks) by analyzing 60 million posts and 80+ million replies in Naver, the most popular web portal in South Korea since 2017.

By analyzing the discussions on Naver's stock forum, RISA-Korea provides valuable information about the sentiments, opinions, and trends expressed by retail investors regarding various securities. The inclusion of a wide range of securities in the analysis ensures that RISA-Korea captures a holistic understanding of retail investor sentiment across the market, and the dataset serves as a valuable resource for studying retail investor behavior, identifying market trends, and assessing the impact of retail investors on specific securities.

In particular, in addition to the statistical analysis of each security, this dataset provides record-level post analysis, such as information on sentiment, related stocks and hotness. for each post, which allows users to group posts according to their needs, such as identifying popular posts or excluding machine posts, to gain in-depth insights.

• Coverage: 4200+ KRX securities (3100+stocks, 800+ETFs and 300+ ETNs) • History: From 2017-06-07 • Update Frequency: Daily

South Korea digital marketing market size reached USD 7.8 Billion in 2024. Looking forward, IMARC Group expects the market to reach USD 19.7 Billion by 2033, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7% during 2025-2033. The presence of a robust technological infrastructure, ongoing shift in consumer behavior, booming e-commerce sector in South Korea, rising mobile penetration rate, and growing popularity of social media platforms represent some of the key factors driving the market.

IMARC Group provides an analysis of the key trends in each segment of the market, along with forecasts at the country level for 2025-2033. Our report has categorized the market based on digital channel and end use industry.

As of February 2025, online video giant YouTube had a total potential advertising reach of about 86 percent of all internet users in South Korea. This put them far ahead of other social media platforms' potential ad reach, with Instagram coming in second at around 47 percent of all Korean internet users.

Population-level national networks on social media are precious and essential for network science and behavioural science. This study proposes a data collection strategy for scraping online social networks at the population level, and thereby serving as a “ground truth” for the validation of both ego-centric and socio-centric data collection approaches. We proposed a set of validation approaches to evaluate the validity of our approach. Finally, we re-examined classical network and communication propositions (e.g., 80/20 rule, six degrees of separation) on the national network. Our proposed strategy would largely flourish the data collection pool of population-level social networks and further develop the research of network analysis in digital media environment.

As of the third quarter of 2024, Kakaotalk was named as the most favorite social media platform in South Korea by around 50 percent of respondents in a survey. It was far ahead of Instagram at 22.5 percent.

According to a survey conducted by Rakuten Insight in South Korea in 2025 on social commerce, close to **** percent of respondents answered that they used Instagram for purchases during the last 12 months. YouTube followed with a response share of around ** percent.

As of February 2025, South Korea had the highest social media penetration rate in the Asia-Pacific region, at around ** percent. This was followed closely by Singapore with about ** percent. In comparison, Afghanistan had a social media penetration rate of around *** percent that year. Social media in APAC While Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia have relatively high social media penetration rates, the number of active social media users in the Asia-Pacific region paints a very different picture. China dominates the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in terms of the number of active social media users, surpassing the *********** mark. This far exceeds the number of users in second-placed India. In comparison, during the same period, South Korea had about **** million social media users, while Singapore had only around *** million.  What are the most popular social networks? Facebook boasted an enormous number of monthly active users in the Asia-Pacific region, cementing itself as a firm favorite among Asia-Pacific social media users. While global platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and YouTube enjoy widespread popularity across the region, many markets have their own preferences for local social media platforms due to cultural relevance, government censorship, and tailored features. For instance, in China, WeChat dominates as an all-in-one app for messaging, payments, and social networking, while Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, has the highest monthly active users among short-form video apps in China. In South Korea, KakaoTalk is widely used for messaging, as well as integrated services like mobile payments, gaming, and even ride-hailing. KakaoTalk’s monthly active users in South Korea has consistently increased in the past years.

According to a survey in South Korea in 2024, around 64.5 percent of social media users accessed the services to socialize. Another roughly 53.6 percent used the services to check out posts of others.

According to a survey conducted in South Korea in early 2024, almost one in four respondents aged 18 to 24 years stated that they used Instagram as a source for news, making them the age group with the highest share of people to do so. Instagram was the third-most used social media or messaging platform used for accessing news in the country, after YouTube and KakaoTalk.

This statistic presents a ranking of the most popular social networks in South Korea according to social media users. As of December 2015, 59.8 percent of survey respondents named Facebook as their most-used social networking service.

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Social Media Listening Market Size 2025-2029

The social media listening market size is forecast to increase by USD 4.87 billion at a CAGR of 8.9% between 2024 and 2029.

The market is experiencing significant growth, driven primarily by the increasing usage of social media platforms worldwide. With over 4.3 billion users as of 2021, social media has become a powerful tool for businesses to engage with their customers and gain valuable insights into consumer behavior and preferences. A key trend in this market is the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies in social media listening solutions, enabling more accurate and efficient data analysis. However, this market is not without challenges. Data privacy and regulatory compliance are becoming increasingly important, with stricter regulations being implemented to protect user data.
Companies must ensure they have strong data security measures in place to comply with these regulations and maintain consumer trust. Additionally, the vast amount of data generated on social media requires sophisticated analytics tools to extract meaningful insights. As such, businesses seeking to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the market must invest in advanced analytics solutions and prioritize data security and privacy. By doing so, they can effectively navigate the challenges and stay ahead of the competition.

What will be the Size of the Social Media Listening Market during the forecast period?

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Social media listening has emerged as a crucial business tool, enabling organizations to gain valuable insights from the vast amount of data generated through social media activity. This data is analyzed using techniques such as topic modeling and sentiment scoring to understand consumer behavior, preferences, and trends. Social media geographics and demographics provide essential context, while social media reach and volume measure the scope and impact of conversations. Social media pulse and sentiment reflect the current sentiment and buzz surrounding specific topics, offering real-time insights into market dynamics and trends.
Social media listening software is a vital component of the global market for social media analytics. Social media influence is assessed through the size and engagement of an audience, providing valuable information for marketing and brand management strategies. The social media landscape and heatmap offer a comprehensive view of the social media ecosystem, helping businesses stay informed and adapt to evolving patterns.

How is this Social Media Listening Industry segmented?

The social media listening industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in 'USD million' for the period 2025-2029, as well as historical data from 2019-2023 for the following segments.

Type

  Software
  Services


End-user

  Retail and e-commerce
  IT and telecom
  BFSI
  Media and entertainment
  Others


Geography

  North America

    US
    Canada


  Europe

    France
    Germany
    UK


  Middle East and Africa



  APAC

    China
    India
    Japan
    South Korea


  South America

    Brazil


  Rest of World (ROW)

By Type Insights

The software segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period. This segment encompasses platforms and tools that offer real-time, automated, and scalable capabilities to monitor and analyze social media conversations across various channels such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Reddit. Real-time monitoring is a key feature of these solutions, empowering brands to identify mentions, trends, and sentiment as they emerge. By staying abreast of evolving topics, businesses can respond promptly to customer concerns, capitalize on viral events, and maintain a strong online presence. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies are integral to social media listening software, enabling advanced topic identification, sentiment analysis, and trend recognition.

These technologies enable businesses to gain valuable customer insights, inform product development, and enhance customer experience. Social media listening platforms also offer data visualization and reporting features, allowing businesses to analyze and present their findings in a clear and actionable manner. Additionally, they provide social media dashboards, alerts, and governance tools to ensure compliance with social media policies and ethical standards. In summary, social media listening software plays a pivotal role in the global market for social media analytics, offering real-time insights and advanced capabilities to help businesses navigate the complex social media landscape and engage effectively with their audience.

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