1. Standing up to COVID-19
Kakao COVID-19 Report, 2nd Edition
In September 2020, Kakao published its first Kakao COVID-19 Report.
It described our attempt to keep our lives intact in the face of the sudden COVID-19 pandemic using Kakao’s user data.
The purpose of publishing the first Kakao COVID-19 Report was to compare Kakao’s service data before and after the spread of COVID-19, and share the aspects and types of the impact of the pandemic on our daily life.
This is because we believed that presenting new social changes, or the “New Normal”, in numbers could be a starting point for finding solutions in coping with crises and changes in our society.
In May 2022, we can finally go out again without wearing masks.
Although we have not fully returned to our life before the pandemic, we are taking small steps towards the life that we have missed.
This process of regaining parts of normal daily life stolen by COVID-19 is the result of efforts made by all members of our society. The invisible wall blocking face to face contact during the pandemic has been overcome by digital solutions.
With the second edition of the Kakao COVID-19 Report, we tried to highlight various efforts made by our society to overcome the pandemic through Kakao services and activity.
I hope that you enjoy making plans for the future while ruminating on how we survived the pandemic against impossible odds.
Number of web searches related to COVID-19: 2,297,309,797
COVID-19 was more influential than we expected.
However, the potential strength of our citizens could easily overcome the deadly virus. Amid the fear of the pandemic that has never been experienced before, our citizens tried to get accurate information.
They actively searched quarantine and medical information while staying calm, and proved that the power of information could overcome any disaster.
The 2,297,309,797 searches related to COVID-19 performed on the Kakao platform is also a record of our citizens exercising the so-called “information-based COVID-19 prevention.”
# KakaoTalk – COVID-19 status at a glance
<#COVID-19 Status>
Average Monthly Users: 1,295,046
Total Page Views: 2,101,911,086
As the number of users checking COVID-19 related information on mobile devices increased, providing easy and extensive information through mobile devices became essential in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and keeping users safe.
In March 2020 when COVID-19 began to spread rapidly, Kakao launched the COVID-19 Status page for the first time in Tab 3 in KakaoTalk. Since then, we have comprehensively provided not only information related to the spread of the pandemic such as the confirmed case status, cumulative vaccination rate, confirmed cases by city and vaccination status, and major COVID-19 related news, but also information concerning vaccines that users wanted to know, such as vaccine-specific information, quarterly vaccination plan, COVID-19 vaccine FAQ and so on.
KakaoTalk #COVID-19 Status PageBetween the service start date (Mar. 6, 2020) and Mar. 31, 2022, an average of 13 million users visited the service monthly and the number of cumulative page views has reached around 2,101,911,086.
# KakaoTalk – COVID-19 news delivered daily by News Bot
<COVID-19 Status Card>
Total users: 2,431,890
Total number of uses: 8,437,487
<COVID-19 News Card>
Total users: 82,752
Total number of uses: 1,594,952
As the COVID-19 situation escalated, collecting information such as related news, the progress of confirmed cases, vaccination status, became essential daily tasks to protect ourselves.
Kakao began the News Bot service to deliver COVID-19 news and information in real time. Users could subscribe to this service easily by adding it on the KakaoTalk Channel. The service began in Feb. 2020 for the first time by providing an information card for COVID-19 for regions selected by users, and expanded the service scope to a COVID-19 status card in March and an Emergency Alert card in December, in an effort to provide extensive information for users.
The News Bot COVID-19 status card was used by 2,431,890 users between June 1, 2021 and Apr. 13, 2022, with the cumulative number of uses recording 8,437,487.
The COVID-19 news card was used by 802,752 users between Feb. 20, 2020 and Apr. 13, 2022, with the cumulative number of uses recording 1,594,952.
KakaoTalk news bot service screen# Keyword notification and daily notification
<News Bot>
Number of keyword notification setting: 8,397,996
Number of daily notification setting: 4,528,737
(Based on COVID-19 related keywords)
Users of Kakao News Bot received news in real time with a notification sent whenever new information is updated in the system. The keyword notification feature sent a notification to a user when any news containing keywords registered by the user was updated. The total number of keyword notification setting on COVID-19 was 8,397,996.
Also, a daily notification feature was available for a user to receive all news containing pre-set keywords once a day at a pre-set time. The total number of daily notification setting was 4,528,737.
KakaoTalk news bot service screen# Chatbot: Easy access to information provided by KDCA
<KDCA Chatbot>
Number of Channel friends: 1,231,677
Users: 6,604,202
Number of messages sent and received: 102,145,680
As a means to continuously provide COVID-19 related information, a chatbot was used along with KakaoTalk Channel.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA, then Korea Center for Disease Control), which was the source of fastest and most reliable COVID-19 information, was already providing information needed by users through KakaoTalk Channel. However, at the time, the KCDC Channel only offered one-on-one chat, and could not communicate effectively with the exploding number of users.
To prevent the confusion of the citizens caused by the spread of COVID-19, and to provide fast and accurate information including confirmed cases status, prevention rules and countermeasures, Kakao launched the KDCA chatbot on Jan. 30, 2020. The number of chatbot users is currently about 6.6 million persons, meaning that one in every eight Korean citizens is using it. The number of messages sent and received on the chatbot is 102,145,680.
KakaoTalk KDCA Chatbot service screen# Chatbot: Virtual assistant “Goodpy” joins KakaoTalk
<Virtual Assistant Goodpy Chatbot>
Number of Channel friends: 6,706,502
Number of users: 8,487,090
Number of messages sent and received: 1,459,290
Subscription to Virtual Assistant and notification setting: 3,473,892
Virtual assistant chatbot, Goodpy, was created to make the virtual assistant service more accessible to users and provide personalized public service information through KakaoTalk. It was launched on Aug. 30, 2021.
Virtual assistant Goodpy provided various public service information as well as vaccine notifications so that citizens could easily reserve vaccination and increase vaccination rates. Also, it provided notifications for the Emergency Disaster Relief Fund to help users apply for the fund conveniently, be informed of its expiration date and so on.
Over 6.7 million users have subscribed the Goodpy Channel to use the virtual assistant service.
KakaoTalk Virtual Assistant Goodpy service screen# Chatbot: COVID-19 self-assessment through smartphones
<COVID-19 Self-Assessment Chatbot>
Number of Channel friends: 77,345
Users: 142,398
Number of messages sent and received: 89,410
The number of confirmed cases surged due to the Omicron variant outbreak. To help citizens check COVID-19 related information promptly, Kakao began a new chatbot service on Feb. 21, 2022, enabling users to perform a COVID-19 self-assessment to find out whether they have been infected as well as a self-check during at-home treatment, based on the consultation and review of medical staff at Seoul National University.
Using the chatbot, people under at-home treatment can have access to quarantine related information such as the quarantine period and guidelines, along with suggested treatment for each symptom and available medical centers.
To those who are not infected, information including action guides and precautions are provided. In less then two months after service commencement, the number of channel friends and the number of chatbot users reached 77,345 and 142,398 respectively.
KakaoTalk COVID-19 self-assessment chatbot screen# KakaoMap – Finding the nearest public mask retailers
<Search for Public Mask Retailers in KakaoMap>
Total users: 3,906,865
Total number of searches performed: 48,130,494
The pandemic was new to everyone.
We could not help but running about in confusion amid unreliable information. In the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, the surging demand for masks led to the distribution of public masks and then, mask shortage. The government launched a mask rationing system on Mar. 9 to help spare people fruitless visits to pharmacies to find masks. The five-day rotation system for masks ended on June 1, and people could buy masks freely starting from July 11.
On Mar. 10, when the public mask rationing system took effect, KakaoMap and Kakao Navi launched a service providing information on public mask retailers and mask inventory to help users find masks conveniently. A total of 3,906,865 users searched public masks through KakaoMap 48,130,494 times before the five-day rotation system for masks was implemented.
We hope that the Kakao platforms helped users save even a little time when they searched for public masks or had to wait in long queues to buy masks.
A public mask search service screen on KakaoMap# KakaoMap – Finding the nearest COVID-19 screening clinics
<Screening Clinic Search on KakaoMap>
Total users: 2,933,261
Total number of searches performed: 10,310,337
The first COVID-19 screening clinic in Korea, which opened in late January 2020 when the first confirmed case was found, is still in operation to fight the disease at the front line.
KakaoMap began its service on Jan. 29, the same day the first COVID-19 screening clinic opened, to provide detailed information on screening clinics such as location, address, phone number and directions. The screening clinic search service on KakaoMap has been used by 2,933,261 users, with the total number of searches reaching 10,310,337 times.
The COVID-19 screening clinic information provided on KakaoMap was also made available on Kakao Navi.
Everyone at Kakao sincerely thanks all health professionals working hard at screening clinics, the front line for COVID-19 prevention.
The screening clinic search banner (top) and service screen (bottom) on KakaoMap and Kakao Navi# KakaoMap – Finding the nearest rapid antigen test clinics
<RAT Testing Clinic Searches>
Total users: 1,381,230
Total number of searches performed: 4,248,314
With the fast spread of omicron variant, PCR testings performed at screening clinics could not accommodate an exploding number of confirmed cases. To address the issue, the government changed the existing test method to recognized Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) performed by health professionals as a legitimate method of confirmed case classification.
Starting from Feb. 9, 2022, KakaoMap began a search service for RAT testing clinics. Users could type “rapid antigen test” in the search window or click the button at the bottom of the search window to find nearest testing clinics.
Since the introduction of the service, a total of 1,381,230 users have used this service 4,248,314 times. KakaoMap will continue to advance features that can improve users’ convenience and quality of life.
A screen showing the result of RAT testing clinic search on KakaoMap# KakaoMap – Finding the nearest COVID-19 telemedicine centers
<COVID-19 Telemedicine Center Search Service>
Total users: 398,375
Total number of searches performed: 683,432
The spread of COVID-19 has been prolonged while creating mutant viruses continuously. In 2022, new infections soared as the omicron variant began surging in Korea. The omicron variant spread faster while causing less severe illness than earlier variants. As such, the government decided to switch to at-home treatment of omicron, along with a telemedicine service to COVID-19 patients provided by local hospitals and clinics for consultation and prescription.
KakaoMap launched a search service for COVID-19 telemedicine centers as of Feb. 24, 2022, through which users could enter a related keyword in the search window and get a list of 7,000 countrywide telemedicine centers that provide phone consultation and prescription.
The COVID-19 telemedicine center search service has been used 683,432 times by 398,375 users to date. KakaoMap will continue to make efforts to help users overcome COVID-19 using our services.
COVID-19 telemedicine center search screen on KakaoMap# KakaoMap – Stores accepting the Emergency Relief Funds and the National Support Funds
<Search for Emergency Relief Fund Outlets>
users: 358,677
searches: 830,403
<Search for National Support Fund Outlets>
users: 1,581,510
searches: 3,741,179
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety provided various public services to help citizens financially hit by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
To encourage the efficient use of the Emergency Relief funds, which was distributed starting from May 2020, Kakao opened a search service through KakaoMap for stores where users could spend the funds. This service has been searched 830,403 times by 358,677 users to date.
The COVID-19 National Support Fund was provided to the members of households below a certain income level, and this service began in Sept. 2021. Using KakaoMap, Kakao offered information on stores where the funds could be used using the payment means of the National Support Fund (credit and debit cards, local Love Gift Vouchers).
This service has been searched 3,741,179 times by a total of 1,581,510 users to date. Kakao sincerely hope that the search service for stores accepting the relief funds can help users having trouble finding one as well as small business owners going through difficult times.
banner for stores accepting the National Support Fund and the Emergency Relief Fund service screen# KakaoMap: Sharing COVID-19 information with more services
With the spread of COVID-19, various location-based information related to prevention and quarantine has been provided through maps, such as the activity routes of confirmed patients and information on screening clinics.
Starting from Feb. 2020, KakaoMap has also supported individuals, external organizations and the government with the map API quota of KakaoMap so that users could have access to various COVID-19 related various information shared by other online services.
The raised quota has been applied to 13 COVID-19 related apps including COVID-19 Alimi and COVID-19 Map. As the standard of disclosing the activity routes of confirmed patients changed and face masks became widely available in 2020, the quota for some related supports has been adjusted based on the actual usage. In the mean time, and government-related services will be maintained until the COVID-19 situation becomes stable.
[Kakao TV] What we can do in a world halted by COVID-19
Kakao’s commitment and responsibility to make the world a better place. At the forefront to unprecedented changes brought about by the pandemic, Kakao posed a question “What should we do?” and then tried its best to make meaningful changes in its own ways. This is a story of people at Kakao who have worked round the clock doing their jobs to help other people have a safe tomorrow.
2022 Kakao COVID-19 Report, 2nd Edition
Part 1: Standing up to COVID-19
Part 2: Connecting via Kakao
Part 3: Helping small businesses
Part 4: We are in this together
Part 5: Life goes on
Part 6: Kakao is always nearby
Part 7: For our Krew’s safety
2020 COVID-19 Report, 1st Edition click here
Kakao Corporation owns the publication rights to the Kakao COVID-19 Report, and prohibits the use of the Kakao COVID-19 Report for commercial purposes. The Kakao COVID-19 Report must be mentioned as the source, even when the data is used or cited within circumstances specified by copyright law.
Click below to download PDF version of the Kakao COVID-19 Report.