Mobile analytics firm MobileIndex reported that YouTube was the most-used app in South Korea in January with 45.47 million monthly active users (MAUs), surpassing Korea’s domestic messaging app KakaoTalk’s 45.25 million MAUs. MAUs are the number of users who use an app at least once a month.
YouTube was the most time-consuming app compared to others. It overpowered other apps in terms of time spent. As of January, South Koreans spent a total of approximately 1.95 billion hours on the YouTube, which is three times more than the second most popular app, KakaoTalk (with 550 million hours), and five times more than the third most popular app, Naver (with 370 million hours). This means that, on average, each South Korean spends 43 hours per month on the YouTube. Considering that Facebook’s MAUs (3.049 billion) far outpaced YouTube’s (2.491 billion) in the global market during the same period, the data indicates that Koreans particularly prefer YouTube.
However, YouTube’s penetration into the lives of Koreans has had serious side effects. The platform has become a breeding ground for misinformation, fake news, and hate speech, which has contributed to extreme political and social polarization. Instead of relying on media outlets for factual news, people are turning to YouTube for sensationalized false claims and biased views. Additionally, YouTube’s dominance in the video market has allowed it to expand into the music distribution and shopping markets. Thanks to a “tie-in” program that offers free music service “YouTube Music” to paid subscribers, YouTube has emerged as the leading platform in the Korean market.
