Kakao to focus on interest-based platform for global market

South Korea’s online platform giant Kakao Corp. plans to shift its focus to an interest-based platform from its existing acquaintance-based messenger app in a bid to expand globally.

Kakao on Tuesday unveiled its metaverse ecosystem Kakao Universe, which allows users worldwide with similar interests to communicate without constraints of time and space.

“We aim to connect users and create meaningful relationships based on interest,” Kakao Chief Executive Namkoong Whon told an online press conference. “We will be able to realize our vision of ‘Beyond Korea’ in the long run if we connect people around the world based on interest through the Kakao Universe.”

Its key feature is an open link service that enables users with common interests to gather and communicate based on the open chatting service of KakaoTalk, South Korea’s top mobile messenger app. A foreign enthusiast of the country’s webtoon can discuss digital comics with local fans on an open link at Kakao Webtoon, for example.

Last month, Namkoong said that KakaoTalk’s main features won’t be limited to chatting among friends, but will include various services shared among people who aren't on each others' contact lists.

COMMUNICATION WITH STRANGERS

Kakao plans to expand into space for communication among users who do not have any previous connection, utilizing the open link service. It is scheduled to start the service in the first half of 2023 in South Korea to expand the business in conjunction with various global services.

“It was hard to enter the global market with acquaintance-based platforms such as KakaoTalk,” Namkoong said. “The open link starts as an open chat, but we are considering a plan to launch as a separate service from KakaoTalk in the future.”

To attract users of the new business, Kakao plans to introduce a system for rewards by helping creators or managers of open chat rooms make profits. It will establish an ecosystem that allows users not only to create and share content but also to utilize it for business.

The company will also upgrade KakaoTalk for various services to enjoy within the mobile messenger app beyond its original role for communication.

“We will allow users to express their own characters in various ways with a reshuffle in the user profile function in the second half,” said a company official. “We will upgrade the multi-profile service in the long run so that users can enjoy using multi-personas.”

In addition, Kakao is set to cooperate with affiliates to upgrade some text-oriented services into ones based on images, videos and virtual reality. Kakao Brain said it is developing a huge artificial intelligence system that can track users’ facial movements to improve user engagement.

Neptune Corp., a unit of Kakao Games Corp., unveiled the Colorverse, a three-dimensional virtual space metaverse service that encompasses mobiles and PCs.

Write to Sungsu Bae at baebae@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.