Google Maps crossed 10 million monthly active users in South Korea for three consecutive months ending in September, intensifying competition with domestic platforms like Naver Map, Tmap, and KakaoMap, according to data released by Mobile Index.
Ten Million Users and a Narrowing Gap
Google Maps recorded 1,019만명 monthly active users across Android and iOS devices in September. That figure followed 1,013만명 users in July and 1,118만명 in August, marking the first time the platform has stayed above the 10-million threshold for three straight months since tracking began in March 2021, when user counts sat at roughly 7.05 million.
1/ UPDATE: South Korea has approved Google's request to export detailed mapping data, effectively ending almost two decades of restrictions that left Google Maps largely unusable in the country, the government has just announced. https://t.co/pDkvAPghCI
While the September total dipped from the summer travel peak in August, it represented a 15.1% increase compared to 885만명 users in September of the previous year. That growth rate outpaced domestic rivals over the same 12-month period. Naver Map grew by 9.3%, KakaoMap by 7.0%, and Tmap by 3.6%.
Naver Map remained the clear market leader in September with 3,054만명 users. Tmap followed with 1,520만명 users, and KakaoMap registered 1,340만명 users. The gap between Google Maps and third-placed KakaoMap shrank from approximately 368만명 in September of the previous year to about 321만명 by September of the current year.
Stable Four-Way Market Structure
Despite Google’s upward trajectory, monthly user counts for the top domestic services remained remarkably steady between July and September. Naver Map hovered between 3,026만명 and 3,098만명 users. Tmap maintained a range of 1,488만명 to 1,520만명, while KakaoMap stayed between 1,329만명 and 1,349만명 users.
This stability has solidified a four-player landscape featuring Naver Map at the top, flanked by Tmap, KakaoMap, and Google Maps each securing upward of 10 million regular users. Industry observers suggest that outbound international travel demand heavily influenced Google’s rising usage numbers, as travelers rely on the application for global navigation and place discovery.
Limits to Rapid Market Disruption
Questions remain over whether Google Maps can challenge the dominant domestic trio beyond its current footprint. Domestic navigation and mapping platforms possess deep technological advantages built over decades.
An industry insider noted that local tech companies have spent many years accumulating detailed spatial data, operational know-how, and exhaustive local point-of-interest databases that outside firms cannot easily replicate in a short timeframe, making an aggressive upending of established market positions unlikely.
