After launching its official account in June 2014, the number of Seoul's Instagram followers exceeded 100,000 in 2017 and 450,000 in September 2023. Currently, the capital city has the largest number of followers among state-ruin Instagram accounts in South Korea including ministries and local governments.
According to data released by Seoul, the capital city had the largest number of Instagram followers with over 454,000 among the top 10 global cities. Melbourne took second place with about 367,000, followed by Paris with 330,000, and New York with 210,000. The five most-viewed Instagram updates from Seoul are short video clips known as "Reels." The most viewed content was the video clip for Seoul Tower lit up in purple uploaded ahead of a festival held in June to celebrate BTS' 10th debut anniversary. The content gained more than 1.1 million views.
Seoul said its video content highlighting the city's tourist spots and drone footage has also played a significant role in attracting more followers. "We will develop our platform to provide useful information about the city's administration and enhance the experience by fostering enjoyment and emotional intimacy," Seoul's public relations planning bureau director Choi Won-seok said in a statement on November 5.
The top 10 cities were selected by the Mori Memorial Foundation's Institute for Urban Strategies, a Tokyo-based institute specializing in the evaluation of global cities. Seoul ranked seventh in terms of the Global Power City Index (GPCI), a comprehensive assessment that considers factors such as economic strength, research and development capabilities, cultural interaction, and environmental aspects to determine a city's overall influence.
