Trend Korea 2026 in English

The best trend books that immediately become the number one bestseller every year upon publication, the Trend Korea series, are now available in English.
With the world paying attention to K-Pop, K-Beauty, K-Food, and K-Contents, we are now leading the world in K-Trends.
This book will be a welcome addition to foreign executives at major domestic and international corporations, foreign businesspeople and correspondents stationed in Korea, and overseas investors, as well as Korean English learners thirsting for trendy English expressions that can be used in business settings both domestically and internationally.

It's now meaningless to discuss trends without considering AI, as it engulfs the world like a tsunami. The time has come to explore ways for AI to complement and enhance human growth, rather than replace or eliminate humans.
As always, it comes down to people.
2026, the Year of the Red Horse, embodies the role and capabilities of humans who can harness the power of the powerful horse.

In this era of AI transformation, this year's English version was specially created with the help of AI translation and was finally reviewed by a native speaker.
This was not simply a conflict between AI and humans, but a process of confirming a new dialectical order that unites within that conflict.
The keyword of the 2026 edition is the living example of the 'Power of the Centaur', a half-human, half-horse creature that combines the lower body of artificial intelligence and the upper body of human wisdom.

Once confined to limited functions, AI now intrudes even into marital disputes, raising the fear: “Soon, there will be no work left for humans.”
But is this really true? At least for the foreseeable future, we don't need to worry. AI' results remain imperfect and can cause serious side effects, which is why human involvement is essential.
This idea is called “human-in-the-loop” (HITL).
Here, “loop” refers to the full process of a task, and HITL is the commitment that humans must intervene at some stage to enhance accuracy, add context, and inject ethical or creative judgment.
It is not a passive notion of control but an active collaborative system where humans and AI combine strengths to achieve optimal results.

--- p.18

This leads to the concept of “centaur talent,” a hybrid human-AI archetype.
Inspired by chess champion Garry Kasparov, a centaur combines the uniquely human upper body - creativity, critical thinking, ethical judgment, empathy, and communication - with AI's powerful lower body - fast, large-scale data processing, pattern recognition, and idea generation.
The upper human defines “what to do” and “why,” while the lower horse handles “how to execute.”
--- p.34

Food delivery is following the same trend.
According to a Baedal Minjok survey, 32% of users open delivery apps without knowing what they want to eat, mirroring the “Netflix syndrome” where viewers endlessly scroll without choosing.
To address this, Baedal Minjok launched a ChatGPT-based recommendation service in March 2024.
By analyzing user reviews, it suggests menus that fit particular moods or situations.
For instance, if many users write: “I was stressed at work, so I ordered spicy tteokbokki on my way home,” the system learns this pattern and recommends spicy tteokbokki to others in similarly stressed-out situations.

--- p.42

The rise of expressions like “microaggression” shows how easily modern people are unsettled by even the slightest unpleasant feelings.
They are not only sensitive to negative emotions but also reluctant to express things that might provoke emotional discomfort in others.
Instead, they prefer indirect expression, often through non-human subjects.
For instance, social media has popularized videos where cute animals embody the everyday frustrations and anger people feel.
--- p.45-46

In contrast, AI-driven shopping shows no trace of this funnel model.
When consumers purchase products directly recommended by AI, the step-by-step process from awareness to purchase disappears.
The zero-click approach eliminates search, comparison, and selection stages.
The moment a consumer feels a need (or sometimes even before) they are presented with an optimal alternative handpicked by AI.
Platforms and companies predict what consumers want and deliver it first, shifting the center of consumption from the consumer's “search capability” to the platform's “suggestion ability.”
--- p.60

This phenomenon transcends personal inclinations.
A popular observation captures this perfectly: “These days, even P-types make plans.” The Perceiving personality types in MBTI ─ traditionally spontaneous individuals who adapt to circumstances as they unfold now embrace systematic planning.
Contemporary life demands this transformation: securing reservations at trendy restaurants requires weeks of advance booking, while accessing festivals or performances necessitates strategic ticket battles.
In this “reservation economy” where spontaneity becomes practically impossible, even naturally flexible P-types must cultivate preparatory habits.
If such meticulousness applies to leisure activities, how much more critical does it become for life's pivotal moments, like career development, marriage, and childrearing? The drive to minimize “failure costs” squandered time, emotional investment, and financial resources has evolved into a universal survival mechanism.
--- p.78

Ready-core's planning imperative extends beyond productivity into leisure itself.
Contemporary “experience competition” has rendered spontaneous enjoyment nearly obsolete.
Summer festivals like Waterbomb, Psy Summer Swag, and Pentaport Rock Festival epitomize “bloody ticketing” - intense rushes to nab tickets that crash servers.
Autumn's Seoul World Fireworks Festival triggers immediate hotel bookings at premium viewing locations, while winter's Christmas markets operate exclusively through reservation systems.
For the ready-core generation, these aren't mere entertainment options but essential tasks that require strategic preparation.
Missing an event means waiting an entire year - a cost no one will accept.

--- p.81

A hallmark of AX organizations is that work boundaries are deliberately loose.
Instead of belonging to a single department, members can participate in multiple teams at once and perform diverse roles.
This cross-departmental move can be called “cross-positioning,” where individuals move across functions and projects.
Affiliations are no longer defined narrowly as “someone from development” or “a marketer.” Instead, a person might divide time and capabilities across several initiatives - for example, 60% in core product operations, 30% in a new business task force, 10% in future design projects.
This allows organizations to tap into one member's expertise from multiple angles.

--- p.101

Modern consumers' lives mirror this.
Their pixelated life is built not on a single grand narrative, but on countless fragments of consumption, taste, travel, and even emptiness that eventually form a unique picture.
In an age where everything is recorded, stored, and shared, each small pixel gains meaning.

Consumers in the pixelated life era are restless wanderers of experience.
To meet them, brands must not aim to be destinations that end the journey, but flexible transit points within it.
The challenge is to offer clear, attractive, and memorable “pixels” that consumers can carry with them, enriching the resolution of their lives.

--- p.137

In the past, if a product cost 1 million won, people simply considered whether they could afford it.
Today's consumers, however, dismantle the price structure, looking into production costs, distribution margins, and brand premiums, before deciding if it is reasonable and aligns with their values.
Rational consumers once focused mainly on cost-effectiveness; now they are evolving into hyper-rational buyers who analyze what's behind prices.
This new behavior, known as “price decoding,” reflects the trend of consumers breaking down prices as if solving codes and using that analysis to guide their purchase decisions.

--- p.140

Raising HQ is also seen as a personal investment in a competitive society.
A Korea Research survey found that 9 in 10 adults believe “physical health plays an important role in improving individual competitiveness.” Health management is no longer viewed as self-sacrifice for others, but as a personal capacity that maximizes productivity and safeguards one's assets for retirement.
In this sense, health is both a lifestyle orientation and a strategic form of self-management.

--- p.175

New household forms that can no longer be explained by the old dichotomy of a blood-bound family on one side and a completely independent individual on the other are quietly but rapidly spreading.
This new way of living “lone together, together alone” is the 1.5 household.
Healthy relationships balance individual autonomy (1) and social connectedness (0.5).
Research shows wellbeing is highest when autonomy and connection coexist, and this is exactly the balance 1.5 households pursue: solidarity that supports, yet does not compromise, independent living.
In this sense, 1 + 0.5 is a social equation for our time: more stable than being completely alone, lighter than a full community.

--- p.181-182

The National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is crowded like never before.
On weekends, visitors often wait about an hour and a half for parking.
By the end of July 2025, cumulative visitors reached 3.41 million - a 72% increase over the previous year - with foreign visitors rising from 130,000 to 200,000.
For the first time in 80 years, the museum is expected to surpass 5 million visitors.
Sales of museum souvenirs, called “Mu:ds” (a Korean portmanteau of “museum” and “goods”), are also breaking records.

--- p.200