How the formatting works

Users can apply text styling in KakaoTalk chats by wrapping text with markdown-style markers: asterisks on both sides of a phrase render it in bold, while tildes apply a strikethrough line. The formatting appears once the message is sent.

The feature works in regular chat rooms and requires no separate settings change, according to guidance circulated via Kakao's own channels. Images referenced in the reporting include assets hosted on Kakao's official content and news servers.

A lesser-known messenger feature

Despite KakaoTalk's ubiquity in Korea, text formatting remains little known among many users, who often rely on quoting or emoji for emphasis instead. The bold and strikethrough options give users a way to highlight key words or indicate deleted jokes and corrections without third-party tools.

The claim that KakaoTalk messages can carry bold and strikethrough formatting is True.