Testbed for innovation

Korea's rapid adoption of new technologies makes it a key market for testing new products and business models. Starbucks Korea, for instance, introduced its mobile ordering system in 2011, and after its success, the feature was adopted worldwide.

Emerging trend detection

Korean users engage deeply with digital platforms, making the market ideal for identifying emerging behaviors. For example, LINE Stickers, which began as a cultural phenomenon in Korea and Japan, evolved into a major global revenue stream, influencing how messaging apps worldwide monetize engagement.

Global Influence Beyond Its Size

Despite its small population, Korea’s digital culture shapes global tech trends. From social commerce innovations to AI-powered services, Korean platforms often set the stage for what’s next in digital experiences worldwide.

Foundational Research: Deep Insights into Korean Users

We uncover the motivations, behaviors, and cultural contexts that shape how Korean users engage with products and services. Our in-depth research provides a solid foundation for product innovation, helping you understand what truly matters to your users and why.

Evaluative Research: Test, Refine, and Optimize

We help you validate and improve your concepts, designs, and products through rigorous testing with Korean users. Our evaluative research ensures your offerings resonate in the market, minimizing risk and maximizing impact.

Immersion Trips: Inspire Innovation with On-the-Ground Insights from Korea

We design and lead immersive research trips to Korea, giving your team firsthand exposure to the country’s dynamic digital culture. These experiences spark new ideas and provide invaluable insights that drive innovation and global product strategy.

Background

A North American product incubator was dispatched to South Korea to develop a new offering for Korean elderly users—a demographic vastly different from the product builders. The team needed to bridge the cultural, linguistic, and generational gap to build with empathy and relevance.

Our Approach

We designed a one-day immersion trip to provide North American builders with a crash course on the lived experiences of Korean elderly users.The experience included: Visiting a modern history museum to understand Korea’s transformation; Observing elderly users at Tapgol Park; Conducting focus group interviews with elderly users; Holding an empathy map workshop to translate insights into product considerations

Key Learnings & Impact

The team gained firsthand exposure to the sociohistorical factors shaping elderly users' behaviors. Direct observation revealed unexpected usability challenges, fostering empathy and leading to more user-centered design decisions. Immersing themselves in the users' world shifted the team from assumption-based design to building with cultural awareness and real user needs in mind.

Background

A VR fishing game company based in South Korea saw unexpected popularity among elderly North Americans. The game studio wanted to understand why these users loved the game and how to shape their next release. Additionally, they needed a strategy to sustain revenue from the first game until their second release.

Our Approach

Using a jobs-to-be-done framework, we conducted 12 in-depth interviews with engaged players. The research uncovered players' motivations, discovery journey, and community dynamics to guide key decisions such as marketing language to resonate with players and the direction for the next release based on core engagement drivers.

Key Learnings & Impact

Our findings informed marketing adjustments and design direction for the sequel, leading to strong investor interest. Research insights were featured in the Financial Times. This study helped the studio refine its strategy, preserving the game’s core appeal while exploring broader engagement opportunities.

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