Kim Beom-su

🇰🇷 Kim Beom-su

🎮 From Online Games to Korea’s Digital Connector

Raised in poverty, Kim Beom-su revolutionized digital communication in South Korea as the founder of Kakao, building a fortune of around USD 4.7 billion. After starting his career as a developer at Samsung, he launched Hangame in 1998, Korea’s first major online gaming portal—laying the foundation for his entrepreneurial journey.

With KakaoTalk, now installed on 90% of Korean smartphones, he achieved his breakthrough. Kakao quickly evolved from a simple messenger into a digital ecosystem encompassing games, e-commerce, music streaming, and more. The biggest milestone came in 2014 with the acquisition of Daum, then South Korea’s second-largest search engine, for USD 3.3 billion—cementing Kakao’s status as a true digital super app.

👉 Takeaway

Kim’s story shows that success is not just about having a brilliant idea, but about the ability to strategically combine past experiences and build a product deeply rooted in the behavior of the local market. By understanding local needs better than global competitors, it is possible to achieve market leadership even in highly saturated industries.