Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Instagram using K-pop, e-Sports to draw users
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri speaks during a press conference at Facebook Korea's headquarters in Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Instagram Korea
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
The rising influence of Korea's cultural content such as K-pop and e-Sports has quickly become a driving force to expand Instagram's global reach, said the CEO of the photo and video-sharing social network service, Monday.
“K-pop is not just a local phenomenon but a world phenomenon,” Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said during a press conference in Facebook Korea's headquarters in southern Seoul.
The Instagram executive explained K-pop has been one of the most popular types of content on its platform for the past four years since 2015. K-pop music-related content has been especially popular on Instagram among countries such as Indonesia, the United States and Brazil, the firm said.
The CEO said he visited SBS TV's broadcasting station Sunday to watch the broadcasting firm's 'SBS Popular Song' a music program featuring K-pop musicians. “I met K-pop band Monsta X. They are pros at selfies,” he said adding he posted photos on his Instagram account after meeting them.
Instagram is a social networking service specializing in sharing photos and videos. Though the firm didn't come up with the exact number of its users here, it has more than 1 billion accounts around the world.
Mosseri had worked for 10 years as a designer at Facebook, a parent company of Instagram, and was appointed CEO in October 2018. “Our mission is to connect with people and things we love. To do any of that, you need to fundamentally express yourself,” he said.
Mosseri also said its Instagram Stories service has helped the firm expand rapidly. Introduced in 2016, the feature allows users to post videos or photos which stay on the users' accounts for 24 hours, then disappearing. Instagram said there are more than 5 million daily active users of the feature and the figure in Korea in December 2018 increased by 50 percent year-on-year.
The company also has been cooperating with Samsung Electronics as the latter's latest premium smartphone Galaxy S10 features an Instagram mode. “We are excited to work with Samsung. The Instagram mode in the S10 camera allows users easily to use Instagram Stories and share them straight to Instagram,” he said.
E-Sports is another sector that helps the firm expand its footprint, the CEO said. “People love to follow Griffin's team account but also follow player accounts, he said.
Mosseri visited LoL Park, an e-Sports stadium in Seoul for Riot Games' 'League of Legends' to watch the Korean league of the online combat game, Sunday.
He said Instagram has seen more than 1 million users who posted e-Sports-related content within the past 90 days.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri poses with actress Kim So-hyun during a press conference at Facebook Korea's headquarters in Seoul, Monday. Kim received a plaque as she has one of the fastest-growing Instagram accounts in the world. / Courtesy of Instagram Korea
The press conference also featured actress Kim So-hyun who has one of the fastest-growing Instagram accounts in the world.
“Instagram is the quickest and the most convenient communication tool between me and my fans,” Kim said.
The 19-year-old actress has about 7.1 million followers on her account. Recognizing her contribution, Instagram awarded her a plaque.
“When communicating with global fans, I posted photos with a message in English,” she said. “I share what my next drama will be and my role through Instagram. I really appreciate my fans.”
Kim added she also has followed about 7,000 Instagram accounts and more than half of them are her fans.