ChatGPT’s daily active users (DAU) in South Korea have surpassed 1.2 million for the first time, driven by the popularity of its artificial intelligence (AI) image generation feature. However, the surge in users has also led to technical issues and copyright concerns.
According to market research firm IGAWorks on April 1, the AI chatbot had 1,252,925 daily users in South Korea on March 27, marking its highest number ever. This is a significant jump from 799,571 on March 1. By March 10, it had already surpassed 1 million users, reaching 1,033,733, and within two weeks, it set a new record.
The rise in users is linked to OpenAI’s launch of its new ChatGPT-4o image generation feature on March 25. After its release, people around the world began using ChatGPT to create images in styles inspired by popular animations like Disney films and “The Simpsons,” making it a viral trend on social media.
Among these, images in the style of Studio Ghibli, known for films like “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “Spirited Away,” have been especially popular.
Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined in, updating his profile picture on X (formerly Twitter) with a Ghibli-style image.
The image tool is built into OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o model and can generate pictures based on user input without requiring detailed prompts.
However, the sudden surge in demand has put pressure on OpenAI’s servers. Altman acknowledged the issue, saying, “Our GPUs are melting,” and announced that temporary rate limits would be introduced while efforts are made to improve efficiency.
There are also concerns about copyright issues related to certain artistic styles, as well as the potential for generating harmful or offensive content.
