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A deep dive into the

habits and behaviors
of South Koreans on
Twitter

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Just three years out from the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, many
marketers are turning their sights on South Korea. Widely considered to be
one of the most connected and Internet-savvy countries, South Koreans have
distinct habits when it comes to the consumption of online media.
This whitepaper explores the role of culture when it comes to how, where
and with what purpose people in South Korea engage on Twitter, and how
their engagement compares to other markets. These findings can be used
as an indication of South Korean consumers engagement on social media
overall and offer important implications for marketers targeting South Korean
consumers on Twitter. The findings in this report are part of a larger series
from 360i that compares Twitter usage in the U.S., U.K., Brazil and India.

Key Findings
1.

Twitter users in South Korea are always on. In addition to posting consistently throughout the day, South Korean users are more
likely to post late in the evening compared to other markets analyzed, specifically between the hours of 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. Availability of
affordable, fast-speed wireless Internet means South Korean users are able to post frequently on their mobile devices at any given time or
location.

2.

Twitter is a platform for expressing frustration. A notable portion of conversations revolve around the frustration experienced in
everyday situations such as in school or in the workplace. With 90 percent of the user sample consisting of teenagers and young adults,
South Koreas highly competitive and stressful culture appears to fuel the large majority of posts expressing negative sentiment.

3.

Anonymity leads to more personal engagement. Anonymity plays a notable role in determining how open a Korean user is to sharing
information online. For example, anonymous users are 1.5 times more likely than identifiable users to share something personal about
themselves. Marketers will want to keep this in mind and ensure engagement does not come at the cost of a user having to reveal too
much about his or herself.

2015 360i. All Rights Reserved

Twitter users in South Korea are

always on

PERCENTAGE OF POSTS FROM

MOBILE DEVICES

When comparing usage behaviors across the different

markets, we found noticeable contrasts in the time of day
when users are most active on Twitter. In addition to posting
consistently throughout the day, Twitter users in South Korea
are more likely than other markets to post late in the evening,
specifically between the hours of 9 p.m. and 1 a.m.

S. Korea

89%

Brazil

38%

India

11%
62%

54%

46%
76%

U.K.

24%

82%

U.S.

18%

VOLUME OF TWITTER POSTS BY

TIME OF DAY
Smartphone/Tablet

Desktop/Laptop

2014 SMARTPHONE PENETRATION

FORECAST

S. Korea
Brazil
India

70%
9%
20%
54%

U.K.

51%

U.S.
S. Korea

Brazil

India

U.K.

U.S.

Source: eMarketer, 2014

The majority of users in South Korea are also accessing

Twitter via their mobile devices (89 percent). This is due, in
part, to the availability of affordable, high-speed wireless
Internet services, which allows them to post frequently and
conveniently at any given time or location. With mobile and
smartphone penetration of South Korea expected to reach
86 percent and 70 percent respectively in 2014, according
to eMarketer, the number of South Korean users accessing
Twitter via their mobile devices is expected to grow further.

2015 360i. All Rights Reserved

What this means for marketers: Brands have a broad range

of opportunities to engage with Twitter users in South Korea,
as users are active throughout the day. Campaigns should
be optimized for easy mobile viewing, and, with users
accessibility to high-speed Internet, brands should not
overlook ways to creatively implement rich media content.

I am disappointed in myself. I am
too afraid to confront my fears.
Female

Twitter is a platform for expressing

frustration
Tweets posted by South Korean users are generally more
neutral or negative in tone than in other countries. With
90 percent of the user sample consisting of teenagers and
young adults, a notable portion of these conversations

revolve around the frustration experienced in everyday

situations such as in school or the workplace. For example,
15 percent of tweets expressing a negative sentiment are
related to school and/or work (e.g. What is wrong I studied
everything... Should I just sleep?), while 41 percent are
related to personal issues and personal reflection such as
self-doubt (e.g. I am disappointed in myself. I am too afraid
to confront my fears).

PERCENTAGE OF CONVERSATION
BY TYPE OF EMOTION
S. Korea

7%

33.8%

3% 3.5%

9%

8%

14.9%

8.5%

12.4%

1%

Brazil

12.5%

25%

10%

12%

11.5%

9.5%

8.5%

12%
1.5%

India

20.8%

U.K.

14.2%

9.1%

11.2%

29.9%

Neutral

Joy

Trust

Fear

Surprise

TOPIC BREAKDOWN OF
NEGATIVE POSTS

6%

Sadness

8.1%

5.6%

8.1%

3.5% 6.1%

2.5% 6.1%

8.6%

9.6%

11.2%

8.6%
9.1%

39.9%

8.6%

U.S.

13.7%

3.6%

11.7%
13.6%

5.1%

16.2%

13.7%

Disgust

Anger

Anticipation

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN: AGE

4%

7%
7%

42%

48%

41%

15%

8%

20%

2%
Personal
Travel

2015 360i. All Rights Reserved

Other People
Food & Drink

Work & School

Hobbies

Teens

20s

30s

40+

Health & Beauty

South Korea is known for having one of the most competitive

educational systems in the world and this, in part, may explain
why tweets posted by South Korean users are more negative
in sentiment. A typical day for students in South Korea does
not end at school. Many attend afterschool tutoring sessions
that go well into the night, leaving little room for relaxation
and recreation. Twitter appears to provide the young
audience an ideal platform for venting frustration without
fear of repercussion. With 42 percent of negative posts being
part of ongoing conversations between friends, the study
found a strong likelihood of users sharing their frustrations
with another person (e.g. @USER Eee ugh its exam period
for everyone these days lets play once exams are over!).

Anonymity leads to more personal

engagement
In South Korea brands receive few organic mentions on
Twitter, being referenced in fewer than 3 percent of overall
conversations. While this isnt significantly lower than other
markets, barring India, there is an interesting correlation
between anonymity and how it affects openness to share on
the platform.

PERCENTAGE OF CONVERSATION
INCLUDING BRAND MENTIONS

What this means for marketers: Brands can better connect

and make their content resonate with the South Korean
Twitter audience by offering them a means for relieving
stress. With a sizable percentage of users sharing their
negative experiences with their followers, brands can
provide an alternate outlet of conversation and build genuine
relationships with consumers by understanding their
daily concerns and sharing content that is empathetic or
humorous. Brands should also consider the young skew of
the South Korean Twitter audience when creating content by
featuring or incorporating topics that are trending amongst
this teen and college-aged demographic.

15%

5.5%
4.5%

TYPE OF NEGATIVE POSTS

2.5%

S. Korea

3%

Brazil

India

U.K.

U.S.

Compared to Twitter users in other global markets, South

Korean consumers share less personal information online.
Only 35 percent use photos of themselves for profile pictures,
preferring instead to use photos of celebrities or art and/or
anime. Even more interesting is that only 23 percent use their
real name on Twitter. The majority of profile names instead
consist of pseudonyms or aliases. Consumers in countries
such as India on the other hand, are more open about
their identity with 92 percent of users displaying photos of
themselves, and 83 percent using their real names on Twitter.

Conversation (@reply)

Original Content

@USER Eee ughits exam

period for everyone these days
lets play once exams are over.
Female
2015 360i. All Rights Reserved

While it may seem as though South Korean consumers

are not open to sharing personal information on Twitter,
luckily for brands, this is not the case. Anonymous users
are 1.5 times more likely to share something personal about
themselves (e.g. My family does not know that I have had
dreams of becoming a singer since elementary school) than
identifiable users, and contribute 80 percent of the brand
mentions. This can be explained by the overall trend of social
media users in South Korea gravitating towards less open,
more exclusive social networking according to Youkyung
Lee of Business Insider. Being anonymous on Twitter is a
reflection of this trend, highlighting why South Korean users
are more comfortable in what they say online.

% OF USERS WHO USE PHOTO OF

THEMSELVES AS PROFILE PICTURE

% OF USERS WHO USE THEIR REAL

NAME FOR PROFILE PICTURE
83%
73%

72%
63%

23%

92%
87%

84%

72%

Brazil

India

U.K.

Brazil

India

U.K.

U.S.

What this means for marketers: Brands should not expect

or request identifiable information from South Korean
consumers. However, brands can still expect to see personal
and vocal engagement from consumers, especially from
those who may not have a profile picture, or use their
real name. Marketers can even leverage this by providing
branded templates, online stickers or profile pictures that
appeal to users further supporting their anonymity while
also allowing them an easy way to showcase brand love or
affinity in a unique way.

35%

S. Korea

S. Korea

U.S.

My family does not know that I

have had dreams of becoming a
singer since elementary school.
Male
2015 360i. All Rights Reserved

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What is currently lacking on Twitter in South Korea is the

two-way conversation between brands and consumers. Our
study suggests there is an untapped opportunity for brands
to do exactly that by sparking genuine conversations around
the daily concerns engulfing South Koreas young Twitter
audience.

Methodology
This data comes from 360is research and analysis conducted
January 2014 to April 2014 on Twitter conversations spanning
31st March, 2013 - 30th September, 2013. A random sample
of 200 posts was collected and analyzed from public Twitter
profiles.

Because of the prevalence of mobile phones and

accessibility to high-speed Internet, South Korea is one of
the few markets where marketers have the ability to reach
consumers consistently throughout the day. The nature of
the conversations currently being had by Twitter users leaves
an open opportunity for brands to engage and provide relief
from users hardships throughout the day.

This random sample was not targeted to subject matter.

Data was vetted and cleaned to ensure tweets were coming
from relevant users and then analyzed for behavioral trends
among Twitter users in South Korea. Top-line metrics and
categories were analyzed out of the 200-post sample, and
time of day was analyzed on a larger sample of 10,000 posts
per market.

Due to the reluctance of South Korean users to provide

identifiable information, an optimal way to engage with users
is for marketers to focus on offering fun Twitter templates,
avatars and online stickers which have become prevalent
in social culture since the emergence of the platform,
KakaoTalk. KakaoTalk is a multi-platform messaging app
that also offers users mobile commerce, a digital store, and
gaming network. This platform saw the most growth of any
social media platform in Korea in 2014, gaining 23.9 percent
in usage rates year over year, according to eMarketer.
While the social media usage in recent years has shifted
slightly away from Twitter in South Korea, the way consumers
have evolved in using the platform is opening up new doors
for brands looking to increase awareness and acquire
advocates in the market. These Twitter users are open to
brand engagement if brands approach them in a way that
corresponds with their needs.

2015 360i. All Rights Reserved

About 360i
360i is an award-winning agency that drives results for
Fortune 500 marketers by making brands culturally relevant
amid the rapid pace of consumer behavior change. 360i is a
highly strategic creative and media partner for clients that
brings together digital specialization in insights, strategy,
social, influencer marketing, search, analytics and media
with a deep understanding of how people discover brands
and share stories across all channels. 360i is the only agency
to be named a Top 3 agency on Advertising Ages Agency
A-List three years in a row, and MediaPosts OMMA Agency
of the Year two years straight. The agencys clients include
Coca-Cola, Mondelez, Pernod Ricard USA, Toyota and HBO.
For more information, visit blog.360i.com or follow us on
Twitter @360i.