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Doing it for the...Kakao? Korea's top messaging app set to add Instagram-like features.

Published: 20 Aug. 2025, 16:07 Updated: 20 Aug. 2025, 17:30

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

The icon for KakaoTalk, the most widely used messenger app in Korea, is pictured next to an illustration of a social media service. [KAKAO, GETTY IMAGES BANK]

KakaoTalk may be dreaming of becoming the new Instagram — soon you’ll be able to scroll through friends’ “life updates” and short-form videos as the app pushes deeper into content and social features.

Korea's most widely used messenger app is set to incorporate a story feed into the list of contacts that allows users to "share their daily lives," Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a said at the tech firm's second quarter earnings call on Aug. 7.

KakaoTalk's current user interface (UI) shows a list of contacts by Korean alphabetic order, much like a phone book, with the option to check each individual's profile.

“The updated profile function will be enhanced," Chung said at the conference call.

"At the bottom of the tab, users will see a feed that brings together daily life content shared by friends, birthday updates, and media such as videos or photos shared in group chats. This will create a space where users can consume a wide range of relationship-based content.”

The new UI for the contact list will be similar to Instagram, the Chosun Ilbo reported Wednesday, citing a source at Kakao.

Instagram Stories allows users to share and watch photos and videos in a slideshow format by tapping on a user's profile photo. The updates disappear after 24 hours.

Another space will be added to KakaoTalk where users can share and watch short-form videos, Yonhap reported Wednesday.

“The short-form video service aims to diversify channels for sourcing content while building a studio that allows creators to produce it easily,” Chung said.

“We plan to secure a richer supply of content both in quantity and quality through a strategy of expanding exclusive content available only on Kakao and original content produced with the capabilities of Kakao affiliates."

The features will roll out by the end of this year, according to Yonhap.

The app's new features will first be revealed in September at If Kakao, the tech giant's annual conference for IT developers, a Kakao spokesperson told the Korea JoongAng Daily. The company declined to disclose more details on the updates.

The new updates come as Kakao aims to increase users' time spent on the app, Chosun Ilbo reported. KakaoTalk users spent an average of 686 minutes on the app in January this year, down from 822.7 minutes in May 2021, according to analytics firm Mobile Index.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]