The Model Index
World/Asia
AI access, cost and use · Eastern Asia · Asia · data read 1 Oct 2026

South Korea

In South Korea, a $20-a-month AI plan costs 1.6% of the median living standard, 2.0 times the share it takes in the United States; for 1% of people it is over a tenth of what they live on. Claude, OpenAI's API and Gemini are all officially offered. 98% of people use the internet, and Claude use per working-age person is 3.78 times the world average.

1.6%of the median living standard for a $20 planAsia median 13% · United States 0.79%
1%of people for whom the plan is over a tenth of their living standardabout 310k people
3of 3leading services officially offeredClaude · OpenAI · Gemini
98%of people use the internetworld 74% · 52 m people

The figuresSouth Korea

People52 m
Median living standard$14,941a year per person · income
A $20 plan takes1.6%of that · 2.0× the US share
For whom it is over a tenth1%of people
Survey2021revalued at 2025 prices
GNI per person$37,880plan is 0.63% of it
Claude use per person3.78×world average = 1
Notable AI models built here2816 since 2023

Officially offered here3 of 3

Run it yourself →
Claude · claude.ai appYes
OpenAI · APIYes
Gemini · web appYes

From each lab's own published list: Anthropic's Claude.ai countries, OpenAI's API countries and Google's Gemini web app countries. Not listed means not officially served; open-weight models can be run anywhere.

Against Asia and the worldregional figures are medians or population-weighted

MeasureSouth KoreaAsiaWorld
A $20 plan ÷ median living standard1.6%13%9.9%
People for whom it is over a tenth1%72%63%
Plan price ÷ GNI per person0.63%3.9%2.9%
People using the internet98%76%74%
Claude use per working-age person3.78×0.43×1.00×
Notable AI models built282831,256

What it is used forSouth Korea against the world

Report ↗
South Korea
Work 47%
Personal 38%
Coursework 15%
The world
Work 42%
Personal 41%
Coursework 17%
Share of the world's Claude use3.2%0.63% of the world's people
Work47%world 42%
Personal38%world 41%
Coursework15%world 17%
Handed over to the model (automation)44%world 48%

Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026: Claude.ai conversations by country. One product from one lab, so read it as a signal of who is using frontier models, not a census.

What people make with itshare of conversations

Explanation or answer18%
Document or report17%
Analysis or summary9%
Advice or recommendation8%

The most common things people in South Korea ask Claude to produce.

NeighboursEastern Asia · lightest burden first

CountryPeopleOnline$20 plan ÷ median living standardOver a tenthClaude use per personOfficial lists
South Korea52 m98%1.6%1%3.78×3 of 3
Japan123 m86%1.9%3%1.91×3 of 3
China1.41 bn92%8.8%42%not reported0 of 3
Mongolia3.6 m85%14%72%1.37×3 of 3
North Korea27 m0%no estimate–not reported0 of 3
Hong Kong7.5 m96%no estimate–not reported1 of 3
Macao686k90%no estimate–not reported1 of 3
All countries →

The foundationsSouth Korea against the world

World Bank ↗
People using the internet
98%world 74%
People with electricity
100%world 92%
Mobile subscriptions per 100 people
173world 112
Fixed broadband lines per 100 people
47.8world 20.1
Enrolled in university-level education
112%world 44%
Research spending, share of GDP
4.94%world 2.6%
Researchers per million people
9,472world 1,652
Secure internet servers per million people
11,902world 16,381

The latest World Bank figure for each measure. The tick marks the world figure.

A $20-a-month plan ($240 a year, US list price) against the median household living standard per person in each country. The median is from the latest national household survey (World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform), revalued from 2021 purchasing-power dollars into US dollars at recent prices and official exchange rates, assuming real living standards have not changed since the survey. Some surveys measure income and others consumption, which includes food people grow and housing they own, so this is a living standard, not cash to spare. Countries with no survey since 2015 or no defensible exchange rate are left blank.

World Bank household surveys ↗Anthropic countries ↗OpenAI countries ↗Gemini countries ↗Anthropic Economic Index ↗Epoch AI notable models ↗