Korea Internet Usage & Platforms (2026)
Korea's internet in numbers: 95% online, 98.8% own smartphones, 90% fibre broadband, plus the local platforms that matter: Naver, KakaoTalk, Coupang.
95% of people in Korea aged 3 and over use the internet, for an average of 21.6 hours a week, and 98.8% own a smartphone, according to the government's 2025 Internet Usage Survey. About 90% of fixed broadband lines are fibre, roughly double the OECD average. The everyday platforms are local: Naver for search, KakaoTalk for messaging, Coupang and Naver for shopping, and easy-pay wallets for payment.
This page covers each layer with the latest official figures, labels private measurements as such, and ends with what to set up first if you are bringing a website or app to Korea.
What percentage of Koreans use the internet?
Household access is close to 100%, and 95% of people aged 3 and over are online. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency (NIA) survey 22,671 households and 50,750 people aged 3 and over each year. The 2025 results, published on 31 March 2026:
| Measure (2025) | Value | Change on 2024 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet usage rate, people aged 3+, used in the last month | 95.0% | +0.5 points | MSIT and NIA |
| Household internet access | 99.98% | +0.01 points | MSIT and NIA |
| Average weekly time online | 21.6 hours | +1.1 hours | MSIT and NIA |
| Smartphone ownership | 98.8% | +1.5 points | MSIT and NIA |
| Internet shopping usage rate | 78.6% | unchanged | MSIT and NIA |
| Internet users who use a messaging app | 98.0% | — | MSIT and NIA |
Two cautions on reading these. First, the summary table does not define the base population for the internet shopping rate, so treat 78.6% as a rate among internet users, not all residents. Second, the release gives no age breakdown, so we do not quote figures by age.
Private estimates exist too. DataReportal's Digital 2026 report, which compiles Kepios, GSMA Intelligence and other sources, uses different definitions from the government survey, so its totals are not directly comparable. We use the government figures here.
How fast is internet in Korea?
Among the fastest and most fibre-heavy in the world, though "the fastest" depends on who measures and when.
| Measure | Korea | Comparison | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fibre share of fixed broadband subscriptions, end of 2024 | 90.5% | OECD average 47% | OECD |
| Median mobile download speed, late 2025 | 224.54 Mbps | — | Ookla data in DataReportal Digital 2026 (secondary) |
| Median fixed download speed, late 2025 | 233.15 Mbps | — | Ookla data in DataReportal Digital 2026 (secondary) |
The OECD's October 2025 release named five member countries where fibre exceeded 80% of fixed broadband: Iceland (93%), Korea (90.5%), Spain (89%), Finland (81.6%) and Lithuania (80.7%). So Korea is one of the most fibre-heavy broadband markets, but not the single top country on that measure.
For a website, fast networks do not excuse heavy pages. Most Korean visitors arrive on a phone, often inside an in-app browser, and they compare your site with Korean sites that load quickly. Page weight and image sizes still matter.
Which search engine do Koreans use?
Naver first, Google second. According to the measurement firm InternetTrend, Naver handled 64.28% of web searches in Korea in the first half of 2026, Google 28.37%, Bing 3.84% and Daum 2.90%. For 2025 as a whole it measured Naver at 62.86% and Google at 29.55%.
| Search engine | Share of web searches, H1 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Naver | 64.28% | InternetTrend (secondary) |
| 28.37% | InternetTrend (secondary) | |
| Bing | 3.84% | InternetTrend (secondary) |
| Daum | 2.90% | InternetTrend (secondary) |
Search share varies a lot by measurement method. InternetTrend counts referrals to a panel of Korean websites; other firms count page views and often show Google higher. The safe statement is that Naver is the leading search engine in Korea and Google a strong second. Plan for both.
Naver runs its own crawler and webmaster tool, Naver Search Advisor, and its results page mixes web documents with Naver's own blog, cafe, shopping and knowledge services. We explain registration and what Naver looks for in Naver SEO for foreign websites.
What messaging app do Koreans use?
KakaoTalk. In the government's 2025 survey, 98% of internet users used a messaging app, and 98% of those used KakaoTalk. Kakao's last published figure for domestic monthly active users was 48.93 million in the second quarter of 2024, in a country of about 51 million people. Kakao has not published the figure in its 2025 or 2026 results releases.
For businesses, KakaoTalk plays the role email and WhatsApp play elsewhere:
- KakaoTalk Channel: a business profile that customers add and message, often linked from a site's contact button.
- Business notification messages (AlimTalk): order, payment, booking and delivery notices sent to a customer's KakaoTalk.
- Kakao Login: sign-up and login with a Kakao account.
See KakaoTalk Channel and AlimTalk and Kakao and Naver login for how these are set up.
Where do Koreans shop online?
Mostly on their phones, on Korean platforms. Statistics Korea measured online shopping transactions of about KRW 272 trillion (roughly US$190 billion) in 2025, preliminary, about 78% of it on mobile. That total includes services such as food delivery and travel. We break the number down in Korea ecommerce market size.
There is no official platform-share table. Coupang reported 24.6 million active customers in the fourth quarter of 2025 in its annual report, and promises free next-day delivery on orders placed up to midnight, with dawn delivery by 7 a.m. on certain products for members. Naver combines search with shopping and a marketplace for small sellers. Open marketplaces and brand-owned stores, often built on Korean platforms such as Cafe24, make up much of the rest. Cafe24 vs Shopify for selling in Korea compares the two most common routes for a brand store.
Which payment apps do Koreans use?
Easy-pay wallets on top of cards. The Bank of Korea counted 35.57 million easy-pay transactions a day in 2025, worth KRW 1.1 trillion a day, up 14.9% and 14.6%. Providers include Naver Pay, Kakao Pay, Samsung Pay and Toss. Card spending overall averaged KRW 3.6 trillion a day, and at domestic merchants tracked by the Bank of Korea, card payments made without the physical card, through phones and online, reached about KRW 1.7 trillion a day against about KRW 1.4 trillion with the card.
| Payment layer | What it means for a website | Source of figures |
|---|---|---|
| Easy-pay wallets | Shoppers expect Naver Pay, Kakao Pay and similar buttons at checkout | Bank of Korea |
| Korean credit and debit cards | Accepted through a Korean payment gateway | Bank of Korea |
| Phone-based card payments | Payment windows must work on mobile and in in-app browsers | Bank of Korea |
Most of these are connected through a Korean payment gateway rather than a global card processor. See Korean payment gateway integration, Toss Payments integration and Does Stripe work in South Korea?.
What this means if you're launching in Korea
The platforms above decide what a foreign company's website or app needs before launch. In rough order:
- A Korean, mobile-first site. Korean pages with their own URLs, designed for phones and tested in the KakaoTalk and Naver in-app browsers. Our Korean website localization checklist and Korean web design guide set out what changes.
- Naver Search Advisor and Google Search Console. Register the site with both, verify ownership, submit the sitemap and allow Naver's crawler in robots.txt.
- A KakaoTalk Channel. Open it early so the channel name and profile are ready for the contact button, and add business notifications for orders or bookings if you sell online.
- A Korean payment gateway. Apply with your business documents, then connect cards and easy-pay wallets and test the payment window on mobile. If you already use Stripe or another global processor, check what it can and cannot cover in Korea first.
- Clear delivery and contact information. Korean shoppers expect a delivery date and a Korean-language contact route.
- Identity and login where needed. Kakao or Naver login for sign-up, and identity verification (PASS) if your service requires a verified Korean mobile number or age check.
If you are still deciding how far to go, Do you need a Korean website? helps size the project, and Selling online in Korea covers marketplaces versus your own store. For how Korean shoppers behave on these platforms, see Korean consumer behavior online.
Frequently asked questions
Does South Korea have the fastest internet?
Korea is among the fastest, not clearly the fastest on every measure. About 90.5% of its fixed broadband subscriptions were fibre at the end of 2024, against an OECD average of 47%, and Ookla data compiled by DataReportal shows median download speeds of about 225 Mbps on mobile and 233 Mbps on fixed lines.
Does South Korea have its own search engine?
Yes. Naver is a Korean search portal and the leading search engine in Korea, with about 64% of web searches in the first half of 2026 by InternetTrend's measure. Daum is a smaller Korean search portal.
What percentage of Koreans use the internet?
95.0% of people aged 3 and over used the internet in the last month, according to the government's 2025 Internet Usage Survey. Household internet access was 99.98%, and people spent an average of 21.6 hours a week online.
Is Google used in Korea?
Yes. Google is the second search engine in Korea, at 28.37% of web searches in the first half of 2026 by InternetTrend's measure, and other measurements put it higher. Foreign websites should register with both Google Search Console and Naver Search Advisor.
What messaging app do Koreans use?
KakaoTalk. In the government's 2025 survey, 98% of people who use a messaging app used KakaoTalk. Businesses use KakaoTalk Channels for customer chat and KakaoTalk business messages for order and booking notices.
Sources
All checked October 2026.
- Ministry of Science and ICT and NIA, 2025 Internet Usage Survey results, 31 March 2026
- OECD, Fibre and 5G drive OECD digital transformation as broadband markets mature, statistical release, 30 October 2025 (data to end of 2024)
- Kakao, Q2 2024 earnings release, 8 August 2024
- Statistics Korea (Ministry of Data and Statistics), Online Shopping Trends, December and annual 2025, 2 February 2026 (preliminary)
- Coupang, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, filed with the US SEC
- Bank of Korea, Electronic payment services in 2025, 20 March 2026, release document via the KDI Economic Information and Education Center
- Bank of Korea, Domestic payment and settlement trends in 2025, 30 March 2026, release document via the KDI Economic Information and Education Center
- Secondary: InternetTrend search engine share, H1 2026, as reported by Digital Daily, 12 July 2026
- Secondary: DataReportal, Digital 2026: South Korea, with Ookla speed data
Bringing a website or app to Korea? Start from the Korea market entry overview or send us your project details. Our English-speaking founder handles consultation directly, and we help with the Korean-side paperwork for PG, KakaoTalk Channel and Naver Search Advisor; the accounts stay in your name.