What Caused the Kakao ChatGPT Pro Frenzy?

In Korea lately, people have been using the phrase “the Kakao ChatGPT Pro frenzy.” The expression refers to a promotion in which Kakao offered ChatGPT Pro through KakaoTalk Gift at a price roughly 90 percent below the usual cost, only for the entire allotment to sell out within a matter of days. Because a premium AI subscription was suddenly available at a far more approachable price, and because so many users had been curious to try high-end AI features for themselves, word spread almost instantly.

ChatGPT Pro is OpenAI’s highest-tier paid subscription service. It is designed for users who want near-unlimited access to the latest GPT models and more stable performance for demanding tasks such as advanced data analysis, long-form writing, coding, and technical verification. That has made it especially attractive to professionals, developers, and power users. But at around $200 a month, or roughly 290,000 to 310,000 won depending on exchange rates and payment method, it has remained expensive enough to feel out of reach for many ordinary consumers. That pricing gap is exactly why Kakao’s promotion generated so much buzz.

Starting on February 12, Kakao began selling one-month ChatGPT Pro passes through KakaoTalk Gift for 29,000 won. Once people realized the offer was priced at about one-tenth of the normal monthly cost and that each person could buy up to five passes, Korean tech communities and social media quickly filled with posts encouraging others to finally try a premium AI tool while it was affordable. Even without a major ad campaign, developers and college students began posting purchase screenshots and reviews, and broader public interest followed soon after.

The event had originally been expected to run until mid-August, but the prepared inventory sold out in just three days. Kakao later said it was reviewing whether additional sales might be possible. In Korea, the episode was widely seen as a symbolic sign that premium AI subscriptions can attract mass demand if the price barrier drops far enough. Around the same time, a separate ChatGPT Plus 1+1 promotion also sold out, reinforcing the sense that Korea’s AI subscription market is heating up quickly.

The excitement also brought problems. Some buyers tried to resell their discounted passes on secondhand marketplaces for prices ranging from around 50,000 to 200,000 won. In response, Kakao announced that only products purchased directly through KakaoTalk Gift or officially received as gifts from friends could be registered. The company said passes obtained through unofficial routes would be blocked from activation, reflecting concern that speculative reselling could create consumer harm.

The promotion has also been interpreted as part of a broader strategy to deepen Kakao’s partnership around AI services. Kakao previously launched “ChatGPT for Kakao,” a service designed to make AI features easier to use within the Kakao ecosystem, and the user base reportedly grew from around 2 million at launch to roughly 8 million more recently. From that perspective, offering a dramatically discounted Pro pass can be seen as a way to bring in more trial users first, with the longer-term goal of converting some of them into paid subscribers.

One point that may confuse overseas readers is the difference between ChatGPT Pro and ChatGPT Plus. Plus is a lower-tier paid plan, usually priced around $20 a month, and offers access to core premium features but with more limits on model usage and performance. Pro sits above that, with broader access to the newest models and more advanced capabilities. Kakao’s headline promotion focused on the Pro product, while Plus was handled through a separate 1+1 event.

Another practical point concerns validity and redemption rules. The discounted passes had to be registered within 93 days of purchase, and users who were already on another paid plan had to cancel first before activating the new one. The code could be checked in KakaoTalk’s gift inbox, and once activated, it allowed one month of service. Codes purchased outside Korea or through unofficial resellers could not be redeemed, which became an important issue once resale listings began appearing.

In the end, the Kakao ChatGPT Pro frenzy says something larger about how AI subscriptions are entering the mainstream. It showed that even an expensive AI product can generate mass enthusiasm when the price barrier is temporarily lowered, and that platforms can use this kind of event to pull in a wave of new users. At the same time, the resale problem and the need for registration restrictions highlighted the importance of consumer protection and tighter platform controls. Seen that way, this was more than a one-off discount event. It was a revealing moment in how Korea’s digital ecosystem is absorbing AI, testing price sensitivity, and discovering just how large the market for premium AI services could become.