During an inquiry meeting of the National Assembly Defense Committee regarding the emergency martial law on the evening of the 10th, an Air Force officer was criticized for enjoying mobile games on his smartphone. It has been confirmed that the game is 'Friends Pop,' a puzzle game developed by NHN and serviced by Kakao Games.
On that day, a figure captured on screen during a broadcast of the National Assembly was seen engrossed in a smartphone game while comfortably seated with shoes off. He is reported to be a major general in the Defense Intelligence Command, but it is said that he has no direct connection to the emergency martial law situation.
'Friends Pop,' confirmed to be played by the major general, is a puzzle game developed by NHN in 2015 through the Kakao Friends intellectual property (IP). As the game approaches its 10th anniversary next year, it is currently serviced by Kakao Games. Featuring cute visuals with Kakao Friends characters and a unique hexagonal block puzzle format, the game gained popularity shortly after its release and has established itself as a representative casual game in the domestic mobile game market.
'Friends Pop' has been loved by a wide age range due to its social features through KakaoTalk, score competition with friends, and a system for exchanging hearts. Within less than a year of its release, it surpassed 10 million downloads, earning the title of a national game.
According to mobile index, an app statistics analysis platform, the monthly active users (MAU) of 'Friends Pop' last month were estimated at around 18,000. The main user base for 'Friends Pop' has shifted from those in their 20s and 30s to those in their 40s and 50s. Last month's MAU figures showed 18,647 users in their 20s, 42,216 in their 30s, 68,576 in their 40s, and 36,286 in their 50s.
Those in their 40s and 50s often show a preference for games with relatively simple rules, and 'Friends Pop' is analyzed to be suitable in this regard. The puzzle game's nature does not require a complex learning process, allowing for easy access through its simple block-matching method.
Meanwhile, the utilization of the navigation app 'T Map' during the emergency martial law situation along with 'Friends Pop' has recently become a topic of discussion. At a press conference held on the 9th, Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, commander of the 707th Special Mission Group, noted, 'I received instructions to enter the National Assembly, but I used T Map because I didn't know the building's layout.' He explained the situation at that time, saying, 'I got off the helicopter, but the National Assembly building was so large that I turned on T Map to check the layout.'
'T Map' is the number one navigation service in the domestic navigation market, and according to Consumer Insight, 74% of smartphone navigation users reported using T Map, reflecting a high market share compared to Naver Maps (12%) and Kakao Map (7%).