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How to Use QR Code Registration on Kakao Talk and Naver

As people in Korea were getting ready to go back to a normal life, the country is again forced to face another emergency situation with a mounting number of new Covid-19 cases spreading quickly across the nation. In its fight against coronavirus, the Korean government has been using technology in a bid to contain potential cluster infections at an early stage. As part of the government policy, residents and travellers in Seoul are required to complete a QR code-based registration when they visit entertainment facilities and other places like bars and PC cafes (PC방). And with stricter anti-coronavirus measures being placed, places like Starbucks now ask customers to present their QR code entry log, too. In order to generate your personal QR code, you have to follow a few easy steps by using either Kakao Talk or NAVER on your mobile phone. In this short article, Expat Guide Korea will take you through instructions on how to use the QR code registration.  

Kakao Talk 

Step 1:  Open your Kakao Talk app on your mobile phone. At the bottom of your screen, you will see a few icons. Click on ‘#’ (①), and you will be taken to the Kakao Talk news page. On this page, click on ‘코로나 19’ (②), found on the top left-hand corner.

Step 2: At this stage, you should have real-time statistics of coronavirus cases in Korea with a bar graph. This page, which usually gets updated daily, comes handy even when you are not using the QR code entry log as it summarises the current situation of your region and the number of new cases in the past week. On this page, all you have to do is tap ‘QR 체크인’ (③), which literally means ‘QR check-in.’

Step 3: This stage asks you to consent to terms regarding the use of personal information. All the four boxes must be ticked (‘필수’ means required) in order for you to access your personal QR code to enter places. You can just click on ‘모두 동의합니다’ (④), which translates to something like ‘agree to all.’ 

Step 4: The red rectangle in the photo should have your mobile phone number that is registered with your Kakao Talk account. If the phone number is correct, tap ‘인증 요청’ (⑤), which means ‘authentication request’, and you will receive a text message with a 6-digit number. Type the number and click ‘다음’ (next) to get your personal QR code. 

“인증 요청” (Authentication Request)

All you have to do is to present your QR code to one of the workers to scan for you. That way, they can reach you should there be a coronavirus case related to the place you are visiting. A QR code only lasts for 15 seconds, and you will have to renew after it expires to get a new one, so be quick when presenting it.

NAVER 

Step 1: Steps you need to take on NAVER are pretty similar to the ones on Kakao Talk. First, open your NAVER app or webpage on your mobile phone and click on your personal account, which can be found on the top right-hand corner on your screen, right next to the NAVER Pay icon (①). Depending on whether you have personal settings on your NAVER account, your personal icon may have different images. 

Step 2: You will be taken to a page in which you are asked to agree to terms and conditions regarding the use of personal information. As with the case of Kakao Talk, you have to tick all the boxes in order to move forward and generate your QR code.  Choose the top one (②) to autofill the rest and click on ‘확인’ (confirm) at the bottom to move to the next page.

Step 3: 

You will be taken to another page that requests you to confirm your identification - Korean online activities seem to ask you to confirm and double-check your identification many times. Here in the red oval, type in your Korean mobile phone number (③), click on 인증 요청’ (authentication request), and a 6-digit confirmation number will be sent to your phone number shortly. Once you have received the number, type it in and press ‘확인' on the bottom right to get your personal QR code. As with Kakao Talk, you can only use this QR code for 15 seconds and will be required to renew it once it has expired, so please make sure you present it to one of the workers right away. It takes a while to get used to this new system, but once you get the hang of it, you can log in and generate your personal QR code in a matter of seconds.