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title: Korean app store visual design applies_to: [app-icon, app-store-screenshots, korean-app-store, ios, android] version: 1.0.0 last_updated: 2026-05 stability: stable

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Korean app store visual design

The visual assets that get your app into the Korean App Store + Google Play Korea + ONE store: app icon and screenshots. This is design work distinct from in-app UI — it's marketing in a constrained, very-public surface.

For submission requirements (sizes, copy, age ratings): knowledge/i18n/korean-publishing.md. This file covers the design side.

App icon

The single most-seen brand asset. On a phone home screen, your icon competes with 50 others.

Conventions for Korean apps

• Hangul letter inside icon is acceptable and common. KakaoTalk uses "톡", Naver Pay uses "N", Toss uses "T". Single character or 2-char compounds.
• English letter or wordmark also common (KakaoBank uses dark blue with bird, Toss uses just "T" + dot).
• Photo or detailed illustration rare in Korean apps — most use flat geometric or single character.
• Square corners — iOS and Android both round corners automatically. Don't pre-round your icon.

iOS icon spec

• Master at 1024×1024 PNG.
• No transparency (PNG-24 with solid bg).
• No padding — fill to the edges (iOS adds the rounded mask).
• Submit one icon — iOS handles all the @2x / @3x sizes.
• Color profile: sRGB.

Android icon spec

• Master at 512×512 PNG (Play Console requires this).
• Adaptive icon: 108×108 dp foreground + 108×108 dp background, with the central 72×72 dp safe area.
• Provide foreground + background separately for adaptive icons.

Test at thumbnail size

The first sign of a bad icon: it's unreadable at 60×60. Test at:

• 60px (iOS home screen at thumbnail density)
• 24px (notification, mini-icon contexts)
• 16px (favicon — if also used as web favicon)

If your icon is unreadable at 60: simplify. Drop fine details.

Don't

• Don't put fine text (smaller than ~50px height in the master image) — illegible at thumbnail.
• Don't use photos.
• Don't use rounded corners pre-applied (iOS / Android apply their own mask).
• Don't use excessive gradients — read flat at thumbnail.
• Don't change icon between updates without warning users — recognition loss.

Korean fintech / consumer icon trends

• Bold, single Hangul letter on solid bg (Toss "T", KakaoBank "tt").
• Brand color dominant.
• Often slight gradient OR flat solid.
• Rarely photo / illustration / 3D.

Screenshots

Korean app stores reward screenshots that sell the app, not show it.

Spec (App Store iOS)

Device	Size	Required?
iPhone 6.9" (Pro Max)	1290 × 2796	required
iPhone 6.5" / 6.7"	1284 × 2778 / 1290 × 2796	required
iPhone 6.1"	1170 × 2532	optional
iPad Pro 12.9"	2048 × 2732	required if iPad supported
iPad Pro 11"	1668 × 2388	required if iPad supported

Submit one set; iOS scales for older devices.

Spec (Google Play)

Field	Spec
Phone screenshots	16:9 to 9:16 ratio. 1080 × 1920 minimum.
7-inch tablet	1024 × 600 minimum
10-inch tablet	1280 × 800 minimum
Count	2–8 (3+ recommended)

Korean screenshot conventions

Korean storefront expects much higher density than Western apps. Typical structure per screenshot:

┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│                                       │
│    LARGE BENEFIT COPY (1-2 lines)    │  ← top 30%, bold, Korean
│    Sub-line                           │
│                                       │
│  ┌─────────────────┐                  │
│  │                  │                  │
│  │  [Phone frame    │                  │
│  │   with screen]   │                  │  ← center, mockup of in-app screen
│  │                  │                  │
│  │                  │                  │
│  └─────────────────┘                  │
│                                       │
│       Background color                │  ← brand color or gradient
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

Slot	Notes
Benefit copy	"30초만에 완료" / "은행 따로 안 가요" — sells the value, not the feature
Phone mockup	App screen inside a phone frame for "this is how it looks" credibility
Background	Brand color or simple gradient — never plain white (looks unfinished)

Western "minimal screenshot" (just the app screen on white) is uncommon and underperforms in the Korean storefront. Add the marketing layer.

First 3 screenshots are critical

The Korean storefront shows 3 screenshots without scrolling. Front-load:

1. Hero benefit — the #1 reason to install ("가계부 자동 입력")
2. Differentiation — what's different from competitors ("연동 은행 30곳, 1초 동기화")
3. Trust signal — proof point ("100만 사용자, 평점 4.8")

Subsequent screenshots dive into specific features.

Screenshot copy

Korean	English equivalent	Use
30초만에 완료	"Done in 30 seconds"	Speed
한 번에 보는	"All in one view"	Comprehensiveness
자동으로 분류	"Auto-categorized"	Effort-saving
매일 알려드려요	"Daily updates"	Habit
계좌 연동 N개	"N banks connected"	Coverage
★★★★★ 평점 4.8	"★★★★★ 4.8 rating"	Social proof
비밀번호 없이	"No password"	Convenience
모든 카드 한 곳에	"All cards in one place"	Aggregation

Voice: short, declarative, action-led. Avoid hedging ("쉽게", "편리하게" alone — be specific).

Localization

For multi-locale apps: - Submit Korean screenshots for KR storefront. - Submit English screenshots for US storefront. - Don't send English to KR — instant rejection on App Store.

This is non-trivial work. Plan in your release timeline.

Promo / featured assets

For App Store featuring (the "Today" tab): - Hero image: 1920 × 1080 or 1242 × 2688 - Promo text: 170 chars max - Different from regular store listing — submit if you're chasing featured slots.

For Google Play featured: similar but spec varies by promo type.

Trends in Korean app store design

Korean App Store + Play KR converge on a few visual languages:

Toss-style

Minimalist, single-color background, big bold Korean text, clean phone mockup. Feels modern, finance-coded.

Kakao-style

Yellow + black palette, friendly illustrations alongside mockups. Warmer, consumer-coded.

Naver-style

Green palette, more dense (more text per screenshot), portal-coded.

Government / 공공기관

Blue palette, formal sans-serif, screenshot-heavy with conservative copy. Government apps are visually distinct.

Pick one direction; stay consistent across all 3+ screenshots.

Don't

• Don't ship English screenshots to Korean storefront.
• Don't ship plain "screenshot of in-app UI on white" — looks unfinished.
• Don't use stock illustrations of people pointing at phones.
• Don't have 4+ benefit lines on one screenshot — cluttered.
• Don't use brand colors that fail dark/light contrast tests in store search results.
• Don't promise features that aren't in the app (App Store rejects, users 1-star).
• Don't update only screenshots without updating the app description / version notes.

Tools

Tool	Use
Figma	Design screenshots; phone-frame templates
Screenshot.rocks	Quick mockup generator
AppLaunchpad	Korean storefront-aware templates
fastlane snapshot	Auto-generate iOS screenshots from UI tests
Screenshot Studio	Sketch/Figma-friendly mockup

For consistency: design screenshots in Figma with brand tokens (per design-ai's color/type tokens).

Iteration / A/B testing

Apple App Store + Google Play both support screenshot A/B tests. Test: - First-screenshot benefit copy. - Whether to include phone frame. - Brand color saturation.

20–30% changes in install conversion are not unusual. Worth testing.

Cross-reference

• knowledge/i18n/korean-publishing.md — submission requirements + age ratings
• knowledge/i18n/korean-product-conventions.md — broader KR app conventions
• knowledge/patterns/brand-identity.md — logo + brand applied to icon design
• knowledge/patterns/slide-deck-design.md — similar headline-led visual strategy
• App Store / Play Store official guidelines (linked from korean-publishing.md)