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Meta's AI agent Muse was the fastest riser in Japan this week: it launched there on October 23 and by October 26, 2026 it was #1 on both Japan's App Store free chart and Japan's Google Play free chart (Apple App Store; Apptica; Meta). In Korea the two stores pulled in different directions. Fashion-retail apps led the App Store, where TOPTEN10 entered at #5 and SPAO climbed from #33 to #9, while on Google Play the entire top five were games that had been outside the Top 30 a week earlier. In the US, Muse slipped from #1 to #3 on iOS and Capital One rose on both stores.
Data: Apple App Store Top Free 50 and Google Play Top Free 30 (all categories) for Korea, Japan and the US, October 26 vs. October 19, 2026. The US App Store feed is from October 25. Google Play ranks via Apptica. Rankings change daily; these are free-download charts, not revenue.
Which apps rose fastest in Korea and Japan this week?
| App | Market | iOS (Oct 19 → Oct 26) | Google Play (Oct 19 → Oct 26) | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Muse from Meta | 🇯🇵 Japan | Out of Top 50 → #1 | Out of Top 30 → #1 | Meta Platforms (US) |
 MUJI app (MUJI アプリ) | 🇯🇵 Japan | Out of Top 50 → #2 | Out of Top 30 → #12 | Ryohin Keikaku (JP) |
 Galactic Outlaw: Tower Defense (총잡이 디펜스) | 🇰🇷 Korea | Not in Top 50 | Out of Top 30 → #1 | PurpleCow Games (KR) |
 TOPTEN10 | 🇰🇷 Korea | Out of Top 50 → #5 | Out of Top 30 → #23 | Shinsung Tongsang (KR) |
 Survivor: Ace (탕탕에이스) | 🇰🇷🇯🇵 Both | Not in Top 50 | KR #5, JP #10 (both new) | Gorilla Entertainment |
 SPAO | 🇰🇷 Korea | #33 → #9 | Not in Top 30 | E-Land World (KR) |
1. Muse from Meta: #1 in Japan on both stores within three days
Meta made Muse available in Japan on October 23, 2026, its first region outside North America (Meta Japan newsroom, October 23, 2026).
It was outside Japan’s iOS Top 50 and Google Play Top 30 on October 19, and #1 on both by October 26 (Apple App Store; Apptica, 2026).
Muse is a personal AI agent: users describe a goal and it plans and carries out tasks such as sending emails and booking travel, asking for approval before key actions (Mynavi News, October 23, 2026).
In the US, where it has been on the App Store since September 8, 2026, it moved from #1 to #3 on iOS while holding #1 on Google Play (Apple App Store; Apptica, 2026). It is not in Korea’s Top 50 or Top 30.
2. Korea's two stores split: fashion on iOS, new games on Google Play
This is the clearest pattern of the week, and it only shows up when both stores are read together.
App Store — fashion and retail. TOPTEN10, the official app of Shinsung Tongsang’s SPA brand TOPTEN, entered at #5. SPAO (E-Land World) rose #33 to #9. UNIQLO (#28 to #17), ABC-CAMP (#29 to #18), MUJI KOREA (#27 to #21) and Musinsa (#44 to #32) all climbed in the same week, and resale app KREAM entered at #48 (Apple App Store, October 26 vs. October 19, 2026).
TOPTEN10#5 new
SPAO#33 → #9
UNIQLO#28 → #17
ABC-CAMP#29 → #18
MUJI KR#27 → #21
Musinsa#44 → #32
KREAM#48 new
Google Play — games. All five of Korea’s top five were outside the Top 30 a week earlier (Apptica, October 26 vs. October 19, 2026).
| # | App | Publisher | App Store release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galactic Outlaw: Tower Defense (총잡이 디펜스) | PurpleCow Games (KR) | August 19, 2026 |
| 2 |  왓더뼈킹 : 20000뽑기 FLEX! | TeamQuest | — |
| 3 |  세피루스 키우기 | DREAMIDEASOFT (KR) | — |
| 5 | Survivor: Ace (탕탕에이스) | Gorilla Entertainment | October 23, 2026 |
| 15 |  Seal M2 (씰M2) | PLAYWITH (KR) | October 19, 2026 |
Galactic Outlaw is not a new release. It has been on Korea’s App Store since August 19, 2026 (App Store listing) and reached #1 on Google Play only this week. We could not confirm what drove the jump, so we are not attributing a cause.
세피루스 키우기 and 왓더뼈킹 both appeared in Korea’s Google Play New Free Top 15 on October 19 (Apptica), one week before entering the main chart.
Meanwhile 2026 Pro Baseball GO!, last week’s Google Play #1, left the Top 30 entirely, as did Dokkaebi World (#10) and Naver Webtoon (#17).
3. Survivor: Ace: the same new game entered both countries in one week
Survivor: Ace (Korean title 탕탕에이스) entered Korea’s Google Play chart at #5 and Japan’s at #10 in the same week (Apptica, October 26, 2026).
It was released on Korea’s App Store on October 23, 2026, three days before the chart date (App Store listing). The seller is Gorilla Entertainment Pte. Ltd.
Simultaneous Korea-and-Japan entries are uncommon in this series. Most cross-market apps we track reach one country first and the other weeks later.
4. MUJI app: #2 on iOS and #12 on Google Play during MUJI Week
The app of Japanese retailer MUJI (Ryohin Keikaku) went from outside both charts to #2 on iOS and #12 on Google Play in Japan (Apple App Store; Apptica, October 26 vs. October 19, 2026).
Its climb lines up with the autumn MUJI Week sale, held October 23 to November 3, 2026, when members get 10% off by showing a member card in the app, LINE, or a MUJI Card (pricey.jp, 2026).
The Korean MUJI app also rose, from #27 to #21 in Korea’s App Store (Apple App Store, 2026).
5. For Reel: a one-person app in Korea's iOS top 10
For Reel turns photos and clips from a trip or a day into a short vlog automatically, picking shots and adding music, with processing done on the device (App Store listing).
It launched on September 16, 2026, and has shipped 15 updates since (App Store version history).
It entered Korea’s iOS free chart at #6 on October 26, 2026 (Apple App Store). The seller is an individual developer, Dongwoo Ha.
What do Korea and Japan share, and how does the US differ?
| Pattern | 🇰🇷 Korea | 🇯🇵 Japan | 🇺🇸 US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fashion & lifestyle retail (iOS) | TOPTEN10 #5, SPAO #9, UNIQLO #17, ABC-CAMP #18, MUJI KR #21, Musinsa #32 | MUJI #2, PAL CLOSET #18, GU #22, Shimamura #27 | Depop #22 (resale) |
| Short drama (iOS) | NetShort #2, ReelShort #8, Vigloo #13, DramaWave #37 | ReelShort #3, GoodShort #12 (new) | PineDrama #10, StoryReel #16 (new), ReelShort #23, BlinkDrama #26 |
| Short drama (Google Play) | ReelShort #22 (was #11), DramaBox #30 (was #19) | ReelShort #7 (new) | FreeReels #15, FreeDrama #18, PineDrama #21, BlinkDrama #29 (new) |
| Muse from Meta | Not charting | #1 iOS, #1 Google Play | #3 iOS, #1 Google Play |
| Korean apps in Japan | — | setlog #4 iOS, Rocket Now #13 iOS, zeta #15 iOS / #22 Google Play | None in Top 50 |
All ranks: October 26, 2026 (US App Store: October 25); moves vs. October 19.
Short drama is consolidating around ReelShort, not growing. ReelShort climbed on iOS in all three countries (Japan #8 to #3, Korea #10 to #8, US #36 to #23) and entered Japan’s Google Play chart at #7. Over the same week DramaWave fell from #5 to #37 on Korea’s iOS chart and left Japan’s charts on both stores, DramaBox left Korea’s iOS Top 50 from #6, and FreeReels left Japan’s Google Play Top 30 from #22 (Apple App Store; Apptica, 2026).
Fewer apps are shared across all three countries. Six apps are in the iOS Top 50 of Korea, Japan and the US this week: ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude, Threads, Spotify and ReelShort. Last week there were nine. On Google Play only five apps are in all three Top 30s: ChatGPT, Instagram, Block Blast!, Meowdoku and Rotate Rings (Apple App Store; Apptica, 2026).
Korean apps held on Japan’s App Store but thinned on Google Play. setlog (New Chat) moved from #1 to #4 and zeta (Scatter Lab) from #9 to #15 on iOS, while Coupang’s Rocket Now rose from #15 to #13. On Google Play, setlog left Japan’s Top 30 from #19 and only zeta remained, at #22 (Apple App Store; Apptica, 2026).
Which apps are big in the US but missing in Korea and Japan?
| App | 🇺🇸 US | 🇰🇷 Korea | 🇯🇵 Japan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinted | #1 iOS, #14 Google Play | Not charting | Not charting |
| Capital One Mobile | #2 iOS (was #40), #4 Google Play (new) | Not charting | Not charting |
| Kalshi | #6 iOS, #22 Google Play | Not charting | Not charting |
| FOX One | #9 iOS (new) | Not charting | Not charting |
| Partiful | #18 iOS (new) | Not charting | Not charting |
Banking. Capital One rose on both US stores in the same week: #40 to #2 on iOS and into Google Play at #4 (Apple App Store; Apptica, 2026). Korea’s chart also carries bank apps, but local ones: Hana 1Q (#10 iOS, #11 Google Play) and Shinhan SOL (#40 iOS, #19 Google Play, up from #28).
Live TV and sports streaming. FOX One entered the US iOS chart at #9. In Japan the streaming slots go to local services: TVer (#7 iOS, #20 Google Play) and U-NEXT (#11 iOS).
Prediction markets and event invites (Kalshi, Partiful) still have no counterpart in the Korea or Japan charts on either store.
Which local apps should North American readers know?
HigherKR #12 iOS
YOASOBI LIGHTJP #10 iOS
Mabinogi MobileJP #29 GP
応援naviJP #24 iOS
Higher (하이어) — Korea, #12 iOS, new this week. A K-pop fan app where fans vote for artists, including SBS Inkigayo votes, and watch stage clips from the show (App Store listing). The closest US idea is fan voting for music awards, but as a standalone app.
YOASOBI LIGHT “SUPER PLANET” — Japan, #10 iOS, new this week. The companion app for the light stick used at YOASOBI’s 2026–2027 “SUPER PLANET” tour; it pairs over Bluetooth and syncs light effects with the show (App Store listing). Released October 16, 2026 (App Store); the tour starts in October (KAI-YOU, 2026).
Mabinogi Mobile — Japan, #29 Google Play, new this week. The Japanese release of Nexon’s mobile version of the Korean MMORPG Mabinogi, which began service in Japan on October 7, 2026 (Denfaminicogamer, 2026). It topped Japan’s Google Play New Free list on October 12 and has now reached the main chart.
応援navi (Ouen navi) — Japan, #24 iOS, new this week. A marathon spectator app that maps runners’ predicted positions from official timing data so friends can cheer at the right spot (App Store listing). It supports about 100 races a year.
Summary
Meta’s Muse reached #1 on both of Japan’s free charts within three days of its October 23 launch, while slipping to #3 on the US App Store (Apple App Store; Apptica, October 26, 2026).
Korea’s two stores diverged: fashion-retail apps led the App Store, with TOPTEN10 entering at #5 and SPAO climbing 24 places, while all five of Google Play’s top five were games that were outside the Top 30 a week earlier.
Survivor: Ace, released on October 23, entered both Korea’s (#5) and Japan’s (#10) Google Play charts in the same week.
Short drama consolidated rather than grew: ReelShort rose in all three countries while DramaWave, DramaBox and FreeReels lost ground, and the number of apps shared by all three iOS Top 50s fell from nine to six.
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