Then in 2014, Kakao merged with another of Korea’s internet wunderkind, Daum, to form Daum Kakao. Then Kakao branched out, adding a social network called KakaoStory, a gaming service, premium accounts (called “YellowID” or now, “Plus Friends”), and even a mobile payment service. It started with KakaoTalk, South Korea’s most popular messaging platform, back in 2010.

It’s an app! It’s a company! It’s an empire? Although, with 99% of Koreans using KakaoTalk frequently, I’m not sure we can still call it “competition.” It looks more like domination. Here’s where you have to start paying attention, because even in a country like South Korea, where Facebook is the preferred social network, there’s competition in the messenger space. WhatsApp and Messenger, both Facebook-owned products, each have over a billion global users. Not only is Facebook the dominant social media platform the world over, but Facebook is also the dominant messenger in most of the world. Then there’s also the mere fact that so much of the technology we hold in our hand seems to revolve around America’s tech giants.

Maybe that’s why we sometimes have a tendency to talk like the American version of a thing is everyone’s version of that thing. If you look at the whole list, US brands account for more than half. In fact, a full two thirds of the top 20 brands are American. Why you’ve maybe never even heard of KakaoĪccording to Interbrand’s international list of the top 100 brands, four of the top five brands are all American corporations.

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