The Most Visited Place by MZ Generation is 'Seongsu-dong'... Instagram 2022 Review

Seongsu-dong Ranked No.1 Most Tagged Area
Study and Exercise Tags Dominate Top Ranks, Focus on Self-Development

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Social networking service (SNS) Instagram's year-end review based on user data for 2022 revealed that the place most visited by the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) was 'Seongsu-dong.' The hashtags frequently used with photos were related to 'studying' and 'exercise,' indicating that the self-development craze that began after the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing.

On the 13th, Instagram held the ‘2022 Year-End Review Press Conference through Instagram.’ This event was organized to highlight the new trends that appeared on Instagram this year and the changes in the Instagram community in response. Jinah Kim, Korea Representative of Meta (Facebook Korea), and Nayoung Kim, Head of Meta Creator Partnerships, served as presenters.

Representative Kim introduced the ‘Trend Hashtags of the Year’ and ‘Popular Tagged Locations’ that received the most attention among Instagram users this year. Among domestic hashtags with many followers, study-related hashtags such as #Gongstagram, #Gongsta, #StudyPlanner, #StudyProof, #StudyMotivationalQuotes, and #NoteTaking ranked high. The hashtags showing the greatest growth were exercise-related ones like #Ounwan (Today’s Workout Complete) and #ManboWalking (10,000 Steps Walking).

Representative Kim mentioned the newly coined term ‘Gat-saeng,’ meaning ‘productive life,’ explaining that “the continuous self-development efforts of Instagram users made for an impressive year.”

The most tagged location this year was Seongsu-dong in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. The transition to the COVID-19 endemic phase led to various brand pop-up stores being held in Seongsu-dong, which seems to have attracted the MZ generation (Millennials + Gen Z). Additionally, several domestic regions such as Busan, Jeju Island, Daegu, Gwangju, Gangneung, and Gyeongju also ranked high, indicating strong interest in domestic travel.

With short-form content becoming a major trend recently, various marketing activities through Instagram Reels also continued. Representative Kim introduced cases where global beer brand Tiger Beer and global multivitamin brand Centrum effectively imprinted their brand images on viewers using audiovisual elements without famous celebrities or elaborate explanations.

Nayoung Kim, who introduced the popular Reels content and trends of 2022, analyzed that “the influence of Korean music and dance is growing day by day.”

This year, notable K-pop stars’ activities included the ‘Rush Hour’ dance challenge video filmed by singer Crush with Yeonjun of the group Tomorrow X Together, and behind-the-scenes Reels of singer BIBI’s performance at the U.S. Coachella festival. Unique Reels by creator Jungwook, filmed with a 360-degree camera held in his mouth, and Reels by creators Sejin and Mindong performing the moonwalk in hanbok at Gyeongbokgung Palace also attracted high view counts and generated buzz.

Representative Kim stated, “In 2022, Instagram confirmed trends and socio-cultural phenomena changing according to the new content consumption pattern of ‘short-form.’ We will continue to actively strive to make Instagram a space where users can enjoy themselves, inspire each other, and freely express themselves.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.