"Ka-talk Me"

Among the hundreds of messenger services currently available, one app in particular is causing quite a bit of chatter (pardon the pun) with over 42 million users worldwide and 12 language capabilities.

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Riding the subway in Korea, I see Kakao Talk on practically every smartphone. The same is true  at my office, in my Korean class, on the street... everywhere.

It's become so popular that it's become its own verb. Instead of "Call me" or "Text me", people now say "Ka-talk me".

The free app owes its popularity to its diverse and easy-to-use feature set.

Have a really fun chat that you want to save or send? You can export chats to your email.

Have friends with prying eyes? You can keep your chats private by locking the app with a passcode.

You can do one-on-one chats or group chats. Sending photos, video, and setting up a custom background are all super simple.

You don't even have to make any extra effort to "add" your Kakao friends; they can be automatically added through their numbers in your phone directory.

Kakao Talk is changing how brands and consumers use their mobiles. The "Plus-friend" feature gives users content and benefits, like discount coupons, when they add their favorite brand. Foreign and local companies like Uniqlo, Kia Motors and McDonald's all have a Kakao account.

Even celebrities and music acts, like Miss A, Girls' Generation and SHINee are on Kakao Talk.

Personally, I really enjoy using Kakao Talk because it helps me keep in touch with my friends and family back in the States. It is a little bit slow at times and sometimes my messages don't always made it through, but Kakao Talk's copious features more than make up for it and it definitely cuts eliminates the costs that I would otherwise be paying for long-distance calls. My dad's also a huge fan of the emoticons.

Do you use Kakao Talk? Leave us a review in the comments!

About the author by Donna Choi

Born and raised in the States, I came to Seoul in 2009 and have loved living and working in such a high-tech and connected city ever since. I enjoy collecting unique, cute gadgets/items (I have a bread-scented smartphone case!) and traveling around Korea. My personal mission while living in Korea: Try every type of Korean food known to exist.

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