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Korea Herald
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
ChatGPT hits 1.2m daily users in Korea amid Ghibli-style AI-generated image trend
If you have been on social media recently, chances are you have come across Studio Ghibli-style images created by ChatGPT. The global trend of AI-generated images has also taken off in Korea, with many users experimenting with Ghibli-style visuals. This surge in interest is reflected in ChatGPT's user numbers here. According to industry tracker IGAWorks, the AI chatbot recorded a record 1,252,925 daily active users in South Korea on Thursday, a sharp increase from 799,571 on March 1. The platform first crossed the one million users mark on March 10, reaching 1,033,733 users. Technology industry experts attribute the surge to the launch of ChatGPT's new image generation model, ChatGPT-4o Image Generation, on March 25. The feature has fueled a global trend of users creating AI-powered images in various animation styles and sharing them across social media. Among these, the most popular aesthetic appears to be that of Studio Ghibli, the renowned Japanese animation studio behind classics such as 'Howl's Moving Castle' and 'Spirited Away.' Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined the trend, changing his profile picture on X to a Ghibli-style image of himself. Searching for "Ghibli-style" in Korean on Instagram reveals a flood of AI-generated artwork on Tuesady, reflecting the trend's strong presence in Korea. However, as the technology's use expands, concerns over copyright infringement and the potential for generating harmful content continue to grow.
Korea Herald
01-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Daily ChatGPT users rise to fresh high on popular Ghibli-style AI images: data
The daily active users of ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence service developed by OpenAI, rose to a new high last month, driven by the popularity of its new image filter that transforms personal photos into famous Japanese animation-style illustrations, industry data showed Tuesday. ChatGPT's DAU reached a record 1.25 million as of last Thursday, up from 1.03 million on March 10 and 790,000 on March 1, according to the data from industry tracker IGAWorks. The rapid growth came with OpenAI's new image-generation tool, which allows users to convert their photos into illustrations inspired by Studio Ghibli films. Founded by Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio behind famous films, such as "My Neighbor Totoro," "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Spirited Away." The new image tool gained global attention after OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman changed his profile picture on X, formerly Twitter, to a Ghibli-style version of himself, sparking a wave of user interest. However, the surge in AI-generated animated images has raised copyright concerns and technological issues. Altman said OpenAI plans to introduce rate limits on the feature, saying, "Our graphic processing units are melting." (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
02-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
S. Koreans watch YouTube for 2 hours per day
South Koreans spent an average of two hours per day on the global video streaming platform YouTube, industry data showed Sunday. Korean users collectively spent 69.65 million hours on YouTube as of Tuesday, according to the mobile index data from industry tracker IGAWorks. It marked 29.99 million daily active users, with each user spending an average of 139.37 minutes per day. In particular, the daily average usage time rose to over 150 minutes on Sundays. The IGAWorks data also showed that Instagram had 13.4 million DAUs as of Tuesday, with users spending an average of 50.58 minutes on the app. KakaoTalk, the country's top mobile messenger run by Kakao Corp., posted 37.16 million DAUs, with an average daily usage time of 30.12 minutes. Naver, the largest mobile and online portal app, reported 26.51 million DAUs, with users spending an average of 25.4 minutes per day. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
23-02-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Weekly ChatGPT users surpass 2 m for 1st time amid DeepSeek suspension
The number of weekly users of OpenAI's ChatGPT in South Korea exceeded 2 million for the first time this month, data showed Sunday, after the government temporarily suspended the local service of China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence over concerns of its data management. The mobile ChatGPT application had 2,025,546 users in the first week of February and further advanced to 2,092,797 users last week, according to the data compiled by industry tracker IGAWorks. ChatGPT had maintained its weekly user base at around 1.5 million in the beginning of the year. With the advent of DeepSeek, the weekly users of ChatGPT rose, along with that of its Chinese competitor, reaching 1,804,499 users in the last week of January. The recent surge in ChatGPT users came as public institutions and private companies in South Korea began banning the use of DeepSeek over security concerns. The Personal Information Protection Commission temporarily suspended new downloads of the Chinese AI app on Monday, citing concerns about its data collection practices. Consequently, the number of ChatGPT users jumped to 829,459 on Monday, compared with 760,766 tallied the previous day, according to the data. The number increased further to 855,979 on Tuesday, with the upward trend likely to continue for the time being, according to IGAWorks. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
19-02-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Korean TikTok users on rise despite data leakage worries
South Korean users of the popular short-video app TikTok are on the rise despite concerns over possible data leakage, an industry data tracker said Wednesday. The monthly active users of TikTok and TikTok Lite, which are owned by China-based ByteDance, reached 4.89 million and 4.79 million, respectively, in Korea last month, according to the data from industry tracker IGAWorks. TikTok Lite is a faster version of TikTok, designed for users who have less than 3 gigabytes of random access memory or limited data. The combined MAU of TikTok and TikTok Lite stood at 9.69 million, exceeding the 8.61 million monthly users held by Meta Platforms' social media app Facebook here in January, the data showed. TikTok launched its smaller version, TikTok Lite, in Korea in late 2023 amid concerns over possible user data leaks to China and the app's addiction risks. Most recently, TikTok parent ByteDance turned out to have shared Korean user data sent by the DeepSeek chatbot, developed by a China-based artificial intelligence startup. South Korea temporarily suspended new downloads of DeepSeek in the country over concerns about its data collection practices. (Yonhap)
