Which application do you use when you contact your family and friends?
Facebook messenger? Instagram? Whatsapp? I guess there are many different platforms for interaction with people.
A majority of Korean people use Kakao Talk to communicate with family members, colleagues, friends, etc., because Kakao Talk was invented after people started using smart phones.
Actually, other applications were made ealier than Kakao Talk, but Kakao was more convenient and has more cute emojis than other applications. Naturally, Kakao monopolized the messenger market. It was meant to be just a messanger, but Kakao invested its money in different services, such as taxi, bank, shopping, emoji, foods, etc. Now that 99 percent of smart phone users use Kakao Talk, many business want to advertise their products on Kakao.
People can also send their friends giftcards for cake, coffee, cosmetics, and anything you can imagine.
If you want to live in South Korea, you will definitely need this application for your life.