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| Kim Jin-ah, country director at Meta Korea, speaks during a press conference at the company's headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Meta Korea |
By Baek Byung-yeul
"Godsaeng," a newly-coined word referring to an exemplary and productive life, was the keyword of the year on Meta's social networking service, Instagram, in Korea, its Korean unit said Tuesday.
Meta Korea held a press conference to announce the keywords, places and latest trends that Instagram users mentioned the most often in 2022.
"This year, the word, 'godsaeng,' became a keyword on Instagram. It has been an impressive year for Instagram users who are constantly trying to develop themselves," Kim Jin-ah, country director at Meta Korea, said.
Godsaeng is a portmanteau of the English word, "god" (the Korean pronunciation of which, "gat," is a word meaning "awesome"), and the Korean word, "saeng," which means "life." The new word has emerged as many young people are trying to live their lives as a model for others by diligently focusing on themselves and productively by adhering to their own routines.
The country director also said that Seongsu-dong in eastern Seoul was the area that Instagram users tagged the most this year. The neighborhood, also referred to as the Brooklyn of Seoul, is home to hip and trendy coffee shops, bakeries and stylish stores converted from old warehouses.
"This year's most popular place on Instagram was Seongsu-dong, a mecca of pop-up stores. This place is popular because it's a place where people can feel (both) the atmosphere of the past and new trends. Many brands opened pop-up stores, including Meta, which ran a pop-up store there in October," Kim said.
In addition, various regions in Korea, including Busan, Jeju Island, Daegu, Gwangju, Gangneung and Gyeongju, also ranked as top trendy places, confirming that many Instagram users were interested in travelling domestically this past year as the COVID-19 pandemic continued but ebbed.
The country manager added that its short video feature, Reels, has become an emerging tool for young people and business operators.
"About 20 percent of Instagram users around the world are using Reels. Short videos are also gaining in popularity among business operators, because they have to grab consumers' attention quickly," Kim said.
Sharing its future vision for next year, the country director added that Instagram aims to provide more interesting tools so that users can produce short videos via Reels.
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