Instagram vs. Facebook: Where Should We Focus Social Media Marketing in South Korea?

    In social media marketing, the most important first step is identifying where your target audience spends time and choosing the right platform. In South Korea, Facebook and Instagram — both Meta platforms — have long dominated the market. Although they share a powerful advertising system, the two differ sharply in user demographics and content consumption habits. As mentioned in an earlier post, maximizing marketing efficiency requires a precise understanding of each platform’s characteristics. This article looks specifically at Facebook and Instagram marketing in my home country, South Korea. 

    Facebook’s organic reach dropped sharply after its 2018 Facebook Zero policy. In practical terms, it is now extremely difficult for brand or business pages to appear in users’ feeds without paid promotion. Today, Facebook’s strength lies in paid advertising with precise targeting and data-driven conversions. Under Facebook’s massive name recognition, marketers can tap vast user data and custom targeting to find prospects and drive purchases.

    Instagram, by contrast, excels at visual content and younger audiences. Its mix of feed posts, Stories and Reels is optimized for building a stylish brand image and prompting quick reactions. In South Korea, Instagram is the preferred platform for consumers in their 20s and 30s — the primary spending demographic — making it essential for any brand targeting that age group. Instagram’s reach also stands out in influencer marketing and trend diffusion.

    Because South Koreans in their 20s and 30s overwhelmingly favor Instagram (myself included), brands focused on younger customers may wonder who still prioritizes Facebook marketing. In my view, for campaigns aimed at the 20-30 age bracket, Facebook should no longer be the top priority. Its data are still powerful, but marketing budgets belong where audiences actually engage. South Koreans in this demographic now spend most of their everyday communication and content-consumption time on Instagram. Facebook has largely become a place to maintain old accounts or find old friends. Given its limited organic reach, pouring significant ad spend into a platform that younger users have left is inefficient.

    Instead, I recommend focusing social media marketing on Instagram. The platform’s core is Reels — short, high-engagement videos. Through Reels, brands can showcase trendy aesthetics and product appeal in seconds, leading to viral exposure and stronger brand awareness. Facebook’s longer, more complex feed content no longer suits the fast consumption habits of younger audiences. To win South Korea’s 20-30 demographic, brands should channel their energy into Instagram’s quick, visually driven formats.

From Uno No Mercy to Yutnori: Our International Board Game Night

    How did you spend your weekend? Last Saturday, Sept. 20, I had a very special evening with friends. Two friends from Ohio, one friend from Taiwan and another Korean friend joined me at Honors House for a Board Game Night. It was my first time playing board games with friends from so many different countries, so I was excited even before we started. 

 

    We began with a board game called Uno No Mercy. I’ve played plenty of regular Uno, but this was my first time trying this version. Uno No Mercy has a variety of draw cards, and if you end up with more than 25 cards you’re eliminated. It also adds new rules like stacking, swapping and passing. It took me a while to get used to them, and I came in last, but the game was still a lot of fun.

    Next we played some traditional Korean board games. My Korean friend and I had brought Yutnori and Gonggi from Korea. Have you ever heard of Yutnori? The game uses four wooden sticks called yut that are rounded on one side and flat on the other. In simple terms, they act like dice. You throw the sticks, move your pieces according to the result and score a point by bringing all your pieces back to the starting point.

Basic rules of Yutnori

• One flat side is Do, two is Gae, three is Geol, four is Yut and zero is Mo.

• You move your pieces according to the number of flat sides, but mo lets you move five spaces.

• You get an extra throw if you roll Yut or Mo or if your piece lands on a square already occupied by an opponent’s piece, which sends their piece back to the start.

    Our friends listened carefully as we explained the rules and asked lots of questions, which we were happy to answer. Even though none of them except the two of us had ever played before, our international friends turned out to be surprisingly good at it.

    We ended the night with Clue, a mystery-based board game. It’s popular in Korea, so my board-game-loving friends play it almost every day. I had only played it once back home, so even though I tried hard I didn’t fully understand what was happening. Still, the process of solving the mystery was so entertaining that we ended up playing Clue for nearly three hours.

    Playing different board games with friends from several countries gave me more than just fun. It was also a chance to share our cultures and gaming styles. I hope to host more board game nights like this, learn new games and create even more special memories with my friends.