S Korea becomes Gemini's no. 2 revenue market globally

South Korea has become the second-largest revenue market for Google’s AI service Gemini, generating about US$21 million, according to Sensor Tower.

Korea accounts for over 11% of Gemini’s global revenue, second only to the US.

The launch of Gemini 3, which improved reasoning and multimodal capabilities, has led to a sharp increase in Korean daily active users, rising by over 103% recently.

ChatGPT remains the leading service in daily active users, with Gemini in second place.

Since Gemini 3’s release, the gap in daily active users between ChatGPT and Gemini has narrowed from seven to four times.

Additionally, the share of users switching between ChatGPT and Gemini has increased, with more Gemini users also trying ChatGPT after the update.

🔗 Source: The Korea Times

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Gemini’s Korean success on iOS needs more context

The 11.4% revenue share is calculated only from Apple’s App Store. Gemini’s overall position in Korea cannot be judged until the iOS and Android usage split in Korea is established.
The reasons Korea generates high revenue per download have not been examined. It remains unclear whether this comes from user willingness to pay, Google’s pricing and subscription plan, or common Korean use cases such as research, writing, and problem-solving.
The impact of payment infrastructure on subscriptions is not explored. The availability of local options, such as carrier billing, should be considered for a fuller view of Google Play earnings in Korea 1.

Korea’s high-value users present an opening for AI apps beyond Google

AI app developers and investors can treat high App Store revenue per download as a sign that many Korean users pay for premium generative AI services.
That makes Korea a strong market for paid growth on Android. Reduce checkout hassle by adding local payment systems.
Google Play supports carrier billing in Korea, yet the participating carriers are not listed in the provided source material 1. Mobile app publishers can pursue carrier partnerships to use this channel, which can lift subscription conversion rates 2.