Low-spec PC

Microsoft Edge

Chromium browser built into Windows

Brave

Chromium browser that blocks ads and trackers by default

Google Chrome

The most widely used web browser

Mozilla Firefox

Open-source browser focused on privacy

Naver Whale

Korean browser built around Naver services

Opera

Chromium browser with a free VPN and a built-in sidebar

7-Zip

Open-source archiver with no ads at all

Bandizip

Fast, lightweight Korean archiver

ALZip

Long-standing Korean archiver

CubeICE

Japanese archiver, widely used there and good with the lzh format

KakaoTalk

Desktop client for Korea’s most used messenger

Zoom Workplace

The video meeting tool used widely for classes and calls

Discord

Voice and text chat for gaming and communities

LINE

Messenger widely used in Japan and Southeast Asia

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft’s meeting and collaboration tool for work and school

NateOn

Korean messenger still used at work

Notepad++

Lightweight text and code editor

SumatraPDF

Very light PDF and e-book viewer that opens instantly

Hancom Office (Hangul)

Opens and edits HWP, the format used by Korean government and schools

Microsoft 365

Genuine Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Needs a subscription or a licence key

Notion

Notes, coursework and schedules in one place — part document, part database

Adobe Acrobat Reader

The standard PDF reader

PotPlayer

Lightweight video player popular in Korea

VLC media player

Open-source player that handles almost any codec

1Gram Player

Lightweight Korean video player aimed at older PCs

Bandicam

Korean screen recorder widely used for games and lectures

Bandicut

Korean tool for cutting, joining and splitting video

GOM Player

Korean video player with strong subtitle handling

Spotify

The most widely used music streaming service

Audacity

Free audio recorder and editor

foobar2000

Lightweight music player with fine-grained audio settings

GoldWave

Audio editor and restoration tool running since 1993

Honeyview

Korean image viewer that opens images inside archives directly

ShareX

Open-source tool for capturing, recording and sharing your screen

ALCapture

Korean screen capture tool

GIMP

Free image editing program

IrfanView

Fast, lightweight image viewer

Krita

Open-source painting program built for digital drawing

Visual Studio Code

The most widely used code editor

Figma

Interface design tool built for several people working at once

Git for Windows

Version control system

Java (Temurin JDK)

Free Java development kit with no licence strings attached (LTS 21)

Node.js LTS

JavaScript runtime (LTS)

Python

Programming language widely used for data work and automation

ChatGPT

OpenAI’s desktop app, with Codex built in

Claude

Anthropic’s desktop app — Claude Code runs inside it

Cursor

VS Code–based editor where AI edits the code directly

Google Antigravity

Google’s desktop app for handing work to several AI agents and watching them run

LM Studio

Download and run AI models on your PC — through a window, not a command line

Ollama

Run AI models on your own PC, offline

Battle.net

Blizzard’s launcher for Overwatch, Diablo and StarCraft

League of Legends

The 5v5 MOBA that has topped Korean PC-bang charts for years

Steam

PC gaming platform

VALORANT

Riot’s 5v5 tactical shooter

Epic Games Launcher

Game store that gives away a free game every week

Minecraft Launcher

Official launcher for the build-and-explore sandbox game

Everything

Instant filename search

3DP Chip

Korean tool that identifies your hardware and finds matching drivers

CPU-Z

Checks CPU, motherboard and memory specifications

CrystalDiskInfo

Checks SSD and HDD health and remaining life

GoClean

Korean tool that cleans up startup programs and unused services

Google Japanese Input

Input method for typing Japanese, with conversion accurate enough to be the default choice in Japan

AnyDesk

Fast, lightweight remote desktop

RustDesk

Open-source remote desktop

SoftEther VPN Client

Open-source VPN client from the University of Tsukuba

TeamViewer

The best-known remote support tool

Dropbox

Cloud storage that syncs a folder as-is

FileZilla Client

FTP client for uploading and downloading files

Google Drive

Mounts Google cloud storage as a drive in Explorer

qBittorrent

Open-source torrent client with no ads

µTorrent

Long-standing BitTorrent client. The free build carries ads

AhnLab V3 Lite

Korean free antivirus

ALYac

Free antivirus widely used in Korea

Bitwarden

Open-source password manager that keeps every login in one place

Malware Zero

On-demand scanner that sweeps out malware and adware