Apps for single-person households

In a country where nearly one-third of all households consist of just one person, products and services tailored to the need of those living alone keep growing their presence in the market.

Mobile applications are no exception. Apps are springing up to cater to solo life. 

The King of Honjok

Studies have shown that people living alone are more likely to experience a lower quality of life, and men living alone more so.

The King of Honjok aims to help by providing services that enable users to form good housekeeping habits.

Users can set weekly schedules for things they would like to achieve such as getting up early, having dinner before 8 p.m., regular cleaning, saving habits and living an eco-friendly life.

For each mission a user completes, the app’s developer makes a donation toward a charitable cause.

The app also has a section with useful information and living tips for single-person households.

Half of Thing

Fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s food delivery market has seen exponential growth.

The size of the market was estimated at 25.7 trillion won ($20.4 billion) in 2021, up over 165 percent from 9.7 trillion won in 2019, according to Statistics of Korea.

Fierce competition among food delivery firms has pushed up delivery fees and order minimums required by sellers.

Half of Thing is an app for those who want to share the cost of food delivery with another person living in their neighborhood. The app, initially designed for one-person households in cities, has recently found a more specific target customer group: college students in dormitories.

Here’s how it works. A user posts on the app about his or her plan to order food from a certain restaurant. Then other users who have the same need discuss placing a joint order. They designate a meeting point to collect their items and wire money to the person who paid the restaurant.

The app also works as a platform for account sharing among users of popular subscription-based services like YouTube Premium, Netflix, Coupang and Melon.

Zim Car 

One of the challenges those who live alone face is on moving day.

They usually don’t have much baggage to move, but still need help to carry a heavy desk or bed.

To make moving easier, this application provides practical options that single-person households need. For example, users can choose whether they want to pack or unpack by themselves or do it with removal workers.

If users share thow much they have to move, multiple moving companies will send a quote without the user having to shop around.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)