SNS stands for Social Network Service. The history of SNS is not old, but the types of services are diverse and numerous. It is not easy to define SNS in one word, and people use it in various ways. Just as SNS means different to individuals, different countries have different preferences for SNS and methods, because each country has its own trend and social atmosphere. This Global Life is about what SNS is famous in each country and how people use it.

Korea

1. Kakao Talk

It is a messenger application used by almost all Koreans. Kakao Talk has now become a culture. Chatting with friends or family, and even work-related conversations are done through Kakao Talk. Kakao Pay, a payment system in Kakao Talk, has been introduced, making it easy to pay anytime and anywhere. There is also Gifticon, a mobile gift that can be used as a voucher. In addition, Kakao Talk has many other functions such as shopping, hair salon reservations, and so on.

2. Twitter

In Korea, Twitter is used to dig deep into oneʼs interests rather than sharing daily life. For example, if you like a K-pop artist, you can follow an account related to the artist and receive news. It is also a place to make friends who have similar interests.

China

1. Weibo

Weibo is the aggregate collection of Chinese-style Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and is the most used SNS by the people of China. In Weibo, Chinese do not share their daily lives. Instead, they use Weibo a lot to share their favorite contents or to get information. Also, Weibo is usually a place where you can be a fanboy or a fangirl. This is because there are many places where you can participate, such as group chat rooms for fans and groups where they can share fan arts and information.

2. WeChat

WeChat is SNS used for chatting. People of all age groups use this. Mobile pay function also is available and more useful functions are being added even now. Mini Program is a program that works by opening a new page inside WeChat. In other words, it is an application that runs on WeChat. People can use other applications without installing if they are registered in WeChat. There are a variety of applications available, including mini games, translators, and shopping apps.

3. MeiPai

It is Chinaʼs largest video streaming platform. Individual Internet broadcasting is active, and sharing the video is easy, so you can simply send it to Weibo or WeChat. Short and intense clips are more popular than long videos.

Japan

1. Line

Line receives overwhelming support with 80 percent of the SNS users from the Japanese. The reason why it was popular at first was the existence of a cute character called Line Friends. There is a timeline function, you can share your daily life, and you can see peopleʼs reactions through comments and likes. Recently, Line Pay function has been created, enabling on-site payment through Line. Also gifts can be exchanged through coupons.

2. Twitter

The world-famous SNS is also very popular in Japan. It has been used steadily since the late 2000s. The Japanese write and post daily contents briefly. Unlike other countries, Japan prefers Twitter to Facebook. This is because Twitter is anonymous so there is no compulsion to repay whenever a friend clicks “like” on your post.

How to use Instagram in three countries

Three countries

Celebrities create personal accounts for fans in various countries. Global companies create accounts for promotion.

Korea and Japan

Cafes and places that are good for taking pictures on Instagram are popular. Moreover, Instagram's unique mood has become a photography culture.

Japan and China

Many photos taken with popular filters at that time, such as stickers of dogs, cats, and accessories, are uploaded.

Korea and China

Among Instagram users, attractive-looking people are popular and call them Instagram stars or models.

Korea

Over-edit pictures are not uploaded. Many restaurants and cafes use hashtags to promote themselves.

Japan

Several hashtags are used to convey the story. Reading hashtags in order to help understand what user want to say.

China

Challenges using tags, such as "falling star challenge," are often in vogue.

* China

There are a lot of SNS similar to Instagram, such as “Oasis” and “Xiaohongshu”.

* Japan

There is a newly coined term “Instabae” made by combining “Instagram” and “shashinbae” which means “photogenic”. This means that it is a picture worth posting on Instagram.