The Korea Times

ON FAKE NEWS Problem of combating fake news in a globalized world

Korea has engineered some of the most stringent anti-fake news measures among the world's democracies. Recent revisions to election laws impose severe fines and prison terms on those who create or distribute political deepfakes during election campaigns. Other legislation allows courts to impose substantial punitive damages on those who deliberately spread false information. In addition, Korea's long-standing defamation laws punish individuals who disseminate false information that harms others' reputations and, in some cases, even truthful statements deemed damaging. These laws target not only organizations but also individual creators and distributors of misinformation. Together, they reflect Korea's broader willingness to regulate harmful information that threatens the healthy functioning of democracy. Given the seriousness of misinformation in modern society, such laws are understandable and, in many respects, necessary. During elections, false information can distort public understanding, manipulate voters and undermine trust in democratic institutions. Yet these measures have al

Jun 17, 2026By Min Seong-jae

[ON FAKE NEWS] Problem of combating fake news in a globalized world

Min Seong-jae

Politics of naming

A recent report suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump wants to rename New York’s Penn Station, the busiest transportation hub in the Western Hemisphere, as “Trump Station.” Another leaked document reportedly outlined plans to rebuild the station adorned with a seal featuring Trump’s name. This comes after proposals such as the “Trump Passport,” a commemorative passport featuring his portrait, “TrumpRx,” a government-run prescription drug platform, the “Trump Gold Card,” an immigrant investor program, and “Trump Accounts,” tax-advantaged investment accounts, to name a few. And of course, there are already Trump hotels and resorts across the world. Naming schools, hospitals, companies, streets, towns and institutions after someone is a very common practice in Western cultures, especially in the United States. Many private universities in the U.S. are named after their founders or major donors. From JFK Airport to the George Washington Bridge and Carnegie Hall, it would be difficult not to notice places named after individuals if you live in America. Trump, h

Jun 1, 2026By Min Seong-jae

Min Seong-jae

Deepfake regulations

With Korea’s local elections just weeks away, campaign rhetoric is reaching a peak. Alongside it, another force is surging just as quickly: fake news. False claims, manipulated images and artificial intelligence (AI)-generated deepfakes are spreading across social media at a remarkable speed, blurring the line between reality and fabrication. What was once a problem of rumor has evolved into something far more sophisticated and difficult to detect. The problem of misinformation and disinformation has become probably the most serious threat to the health of modern democracies across the world. Especially during elections, a toxic mix of false narratives and AI-generated deepfakes can seriously undermine the integrity of elections. Fabricated videos or audios that depict candidates saying or doing things that never happened can influence votes. They are engineered to spark outrage and spread propaganda, circulating faster than the speed with which fact-checkers can respond. They erode shared reality and harden partisan divides. They are a threat that may put the very legitimacy of dem

May 4, 2026By Min Seong-jae

Min Seong-jae

'Gukppong' reality check

I watched, with admiration, the recent comeback performance of BTS on Netflix, which drew global attention. I also enjoyed, with a dose of Korean national pride, K-pop acts and the Korean-themed performances taking center stage at the recent Oscars and other international award shows. By most measures, Korea’s cultural influence is blazing across the global stage. Yet, if you spend time consuming Korean media — whether legacy outlets or YouTube and social platforms — it seems as if every single one in the world is fixated on outside perspectives on Korea. Korean media is saturated with what might be called “reaction stories,” showcasing how foreigners are supposedly astonished by K-pop, K-beauty and K-whatever. At one point, I even encountered a flood of stories about K-defense, highlighting foreign praise of Korean military technologies used in the ongoing war between the United States, Israel and Iran. These stories typically arrive wrapped in familiar, clickable packaging such as “Why foreigners are envious of Korea,” “Americans crying over K-drama,” and “This i

Apr 6, 2026By Min Seong-jae

Min Seong-jae

Staying sane in AI race

Artificial intelligence (AI), especially the generative kind, has taken society by storm. Across the globe, surveys show that AI use is spreading rapidly and widely. People are scrambling to keep up as new tools and platforms appear almost by the minute. Businesses are on high alert to deploy AI quickly to remain productive and competitive. Schools are unsure what to teach students who can outsource their thinking and writing to AI systems. Workers worry about job security. Indeed, some of the most dominant public conversations today revolve around AI: how it is changing the world, and whether it will ultimately transform humanity for the better or undermine it. I am not immune to this AI wave. My own use of AI has increased dramatically over the past year, and these tools have quietly become part of my daily routine. I find myself constantly searching for new applications that promise greater efficiency and productivity. Yet alongside these benefits, I have also noticed something else creeping in: anxiety, pressure and even burnout. The faster the tools evolve, the stronger the feeli

Mar 9, 2026By Min Seong-jae

Min Seong-jae

Protests in Korea, US

A little more than a year ago, I witnessed one of the most remarkable moments in Korean politics. A sitting president declared martial law, triggering a massive wave of public outrage and protest. What followed was not merely a political confrontation but a collective struggle over the survival of democracy itself. For Koreans, martial law isn't some abstract constitutional theory; it’s the smell of tear gas in the 1980s and the memory of tanks in the street. That’s why the reaction was so surgical and so total. People didn't wait for a "call to action" — they just went. They went as grandfathers, as students and as office workers, effectively firing the government in a single weekend. Today, across the Pacific, I am watching another historic protest moment unfold. The U.S. Donald Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown has been overreaching, harsh and violent, resulting in civilian deaths and widespread fear. In Minneapolis, ground zero of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, people have been putting their lives on the line in front of ICE vans

Feb 9, 2026By Min Seong-jae

Min Seong-jae

Asian masculinity

Netflix recently began airing a reality show titled "My Korean Boyfriend," which follows a group of single Brazilian women traveling to Korea to live out their K-drama fantasies in hopes of finding romance. The show itself is low in production quality, filled with awkward moments and more than a few cringeworthy scenes. Yet its very existence is revealing. A program like this would have been almost unthinkable not long ago. Its appearance speaks volumes about the global reach of the Korean wave and the shifting racial and gender dynamics of our time. It also serves as a reminder of media’s powerful role in shaping how we see one another and ourselves. Until relatively recently — and to a considerable extent still today — global dating and marriage patterns could be often understood through the lens of "Orientalism." The term refers to a Western worldview that casts Eastern societies as exotic, backward and inferior. In romantic and sexual contexts, Orientalism can manifest in the fetishization of Asian women as submissive, delicate and compliant. Countless operas, novels, films

Jan 12, 2026By Min Seong-jae

Min Seong-jae

Apartment living, conflict over noise

I grew up in Korea, surrounded by tall apartment complexes. Whenever I return, I once again find myself living in an apartment — whether rented or borrowed from my sister. That is the Korean way of living. Government statistics suggest that nearly two-thirds of Koreans live in apartment buildings five stories or higher. Korea’s overwhelming preference for apartments is the product of rapid urbanization, limited buildable land and government-led housing policies that pushed cities to expand vertically rather than horizontally. Over time, high-rise apartments became the standard middle-class home: safe, convenient, modern and a powerful financial asset around which one could build a stable life. Yet there is one aspect of apartment life in Korea that stands out: the inter-floor noise issue. Noise between floors is taken extremely seriously. Children running indoors is a major no-no. Even a low-decibel vacuum cleaner or the gentle spin of a washing machine can rub neighbors the wrong way and trigger an unwelcome knock on your door, urging you to be more considerate. More commonly thes

Dec 8, 2025By Min Seong-jae

Min Seong-jae

Mamdani's election

New York City’s election of Zohran Mamdani — a 34-year-old community organizer born in Uganda to Indian parents — symbolizes many things. He is the first Muslim, the first South Asian and the youngest mayor in the city’s modern history. He is also a democratic socialist in the world’s capital of capitalism. While each of these identities marks a milestone, the deeper story lies in what his victory represents: a new model of urban politics that redefines what a great city should value and whom it should serve. It is also a vision that other megacities, including Seoul, may also pursue. New York — my adopted home for the past two decades — has long celebrated its economic dynamism while quietly tolerating some of the deepest inequality in the developed world. Housing costs have soared beyond reach, public transit has eroded and younger generations have grown disillusioned with politics that seem to serve landlords and financiers more than residents. There are many reasons Mamdani won, but the central one is that his campaign transformed widespread frustration into a cohere

Nov 10, 2025By MIn Seong-jae

Min Seong-jae

Hallyu from Korean diaspora

When a K-pop girl group defeats a demonic boy band with killer dance moves and songs, you know it’s not your typical music drama. That’s the premise of "KPop Demon Hunters," a Netflix animated hit whose catchy soundtrack still lingers in my head weeks after watching. I’m not even a big K-pop fan, but the movie’s blend of Korean tradition, Hollywood spectacle and beautiful tunes pulled me in, just as it has audiences around the world. Increasingly, some of the most exciting hallyu, or Korean wave, stories are being created not in Seoul, but by Koreans or those with Korean heritage outside the peninsula, a kind of cultural production from the Korean diaspora. Broadly speaking, the Korean diaspora refers to ethnic Koreans living outside the Korean Peninsula. Their numbers exceed 7 million worldwide, from the bustling streets of Los Angeles’ Koreatown to the quiet suburbs of São Paulo and the thriving Korean enclaves in Tashkent. These communities carry their own local stories, languages infused with Korean words and layered identities. In creating music, films, cuisine and digi

Sep 1, 2025By Min Seong-jae

Min Seong-jae

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ON FAKE NEWS Problem of combating fake news in a globalized world

Politics of naming

Deepfake regulations

'Gukppong' reality check

Staying sane in AI race

Protests in Korea, US

Asian masculinity

Apartment living, conflict over noise

Mamdani's election

Hallyu from Korean diaspora

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