South Korea’s tech giants’ map app services, which used to simply help users find destinations and provide directions, are undergoing a transformation.
Now, they are connected to various services such as recommending nearby restaurants, providing subway boarding and alighting notifications, and calling taxis. As they are able to collect more precise location data, these apps are evolving into “super apps” that offer a wide range of functions.
Naver is turning into an “all-in-one platform” by integrating information from its search portal, “Naver Place,” into its map service.
Naver Place allows users to search for and check detailed information about businesses such as restaurants and hotels, including their locations, operating hours, and parking availability. Small business owners can update their information in real time, making it more up-to-date than other platforms. Naver is also linking real-time reservation, takeout, and delivery services to this business information.
Similarly, KakaoMap has partnered with the food delivery platform “Yogiyo” at the end of 2023, enabling users to order delivery directly through the map app.
Recently, it updated its service that provides detailed information about places, aiming to become a lifestyle-oriented platform. This service allows users to view addresses, phone numbers, and user reviews of specific locations on KakaoMap, and even check fuel prices when looking up gas stations. Additionally, features that provide regional restaurant rankings and highlight current trends are being developed to attract more users.
Tmap, the leading app in the driving navigation market, is focusing on becoming a comprehensive mobility platform. It combines services such as navigation, parking, chauffeur services, and electric vehicle charging with public transportation services like airport bus reservations and taxi calling, catering to both drivers and non-drivers. In June, Tmap partnered with the South Korean restaurant reservation platform CatchTable, which allows users to make restaurant reservations while getting directions.
The S. Korean map app market is currently dominated by its local companies. According to mobile index data from data platform company IGAWorks, in June, Naver Map had the highest monthly active users (MAU) among S. Korean map and navigation apps, with around 25.78 million users.
Besides, Tmap had 14.96 million monthly users, and KakaoMap had 10.74 million. However, Google Maps, which dominates the global digital map service market, had only 9.22 million users in Korea.
The reasons Google Maps has limited success in S. Korea are that the export of map data is prohibited for national security reasons and that Google does not have data centers in Korea, limiting its map service. With Google Maps struggling, S. Korean map apps are building their unique ecosystems by adding services needed for everyday life beyond geographic information.
As more user data accumulates, the range of services available on map apps is also expanding.
Since 2020, Naver has been refining its map app with the “Smart Around” service, which uses AI to analyze real-time location, time, age, gender, store popularity, and user preferences to recommend nearby places to visit. Naver continues to enhance this service with its newly developed technologies, such as the advanced AI model “HyperCLOVA X.”
Additionally, KakaoMap is also attracting users by leveraging more precise data. A notable example is its service that provides high-precision bus location updates, which started in Jeju in 2019 and has since expanded to six regions, including Ulsan, Chuncheon, Mokpo, Busan, and Gwangju. This service uses satellite navigation systems to update bus location information every 10 seconds, providing real-time updates with 1-second intervals.
