KaKao

- Emoticon total send count surpasses 260 billion, with over 2 million Emoticon Plus subscribers.

- 2023's popular emoticons unveiled in an award ceremony style, featuring categories like 'Office Worker Empathy' and 'Best Couple.'

- 'New Year Greetings with Emoticons' event offers chance to win Emoticon Plus subscriptions.

 

[November 28, 2023] Kakao (CEO Hong Eun-Taek) is celebrating a significant milestone: the 12th anniversary of its beloved Kakao Emoticons. In commemoration, Kakao has unveiled a retrospective of the emoticons' journey over the past dozen years and spotlighted the most popular emoticons of the year.

 

Over the last 12 years, Kakao has released a staggering 600,000 individual emoticons, with their cumulative usage surpassing 260 billion. As of 2023, the emoticon service boasts monthly average users and cumulative buyers numbering 30 million and 29 million, respectively.

 

The subscription service 'Emoticon Plus,' introduced in 2021, has also reached a milestone, exceeding 2 million subscribers. This innovative service offers unlimited access to emoticons tailored to specific emotions or situations, complete with keyword-based recommendations, enhancing user experience and conversation richness.

 

A notable feature of Kakao Emoticons is the provision of approximately 67,000 matching texts, enabling users to express a myriad of emotions and scenarios. Impressively, there are over 9,000 variations for emoticons depicting the simple word "Yes" in various forms like '네,' '넹,' '넵.'

 

Kakao also introduced the winners of the '2023 Emoticon Awards,' celebrating this year's most beloved emoticons. Highlighting the year's trends, the '2023 Emoticon Awards' showcased this year’s most adored emoticons across nine distinct categories, akin to a grand end-of-year celebration. 

 

Standouts included 'Today's Meme' winning the 'Office Worker Empathy Award,' appealing to those in their 30s and 40s; 'Chigreong Duck' for the 'Steady Performance Award,' recognized for its popularity throughout the year with various series; and the 'Best Couple Award' going to 'Bear Doll and Rabbit Doll' beloved as couple characters.

 

The 'Chart Comeback Award' was clinched by 'Sukidoki Friends,' which saw a surge in popularity through word-of-mouth post-release. 'Tinting Tinkle' garnered the 'Popular Merchandise Award' for its success beyond emoticons into merchandise. The Rising Stars award recognized new favorites like Moonyongyi, Twalduck, and Cute Pudgy Gomdyori,' as chosen by user votes.

 

To mark its 12th anniversary, Kakao is also hosting a 'New Year's Greetings from Emoticons' event for users. Running until December 31, participants can draw New Year's greetings on the event page, share them on blogs, Instagram, and other social media with the hashtag #Emoticon12thAnniversary, and post the URL in the comments. From these participants, 10,000 lucky winners will be drawn to receive a one-month subscription to 'Emoticon Plus.'

 

Kim Ji-Hyun, Head of Kakao's Digital Item Team, stated, "The emoticon ecosystem, nurtured by our users' love, has enabled Kakao and its creators to grow hand in hand over these 12 years. We deeply appreciate our users' enduring support for Kakao Emoticons and are committed to fostering an even more vibrant and creative emoticon landscape for our users' enjoyment." (End)