Trend forecaster highlights ‘horse power’ as key to survival
About 10 years ago in March 2016, millions watched as South Korean Go player Lee Se-dol leaned over a wooden board to face off against Google’s AlphaGo. Lee lost four matches — but in one, the fourth — he stunned the world with his legendary 78th move, a play that artificial intelligence could not predict, defeating the AI at its own game.
A decade later, that moment hangs over "Trend Korea 2026," the latest edition of the bestselling annual forecast of consumer lifestyle trends in Korea. For Kim Rando, a former Seoul National University professor of consumer studies and the lead author of the annual report, Lee’s victory embodies the challenge of the present decade: In a world increasingly run by AI, what is the uniquely human move?
“The true winners of the AI era will not be those with the fastest or most powerful machines,” Kim said at a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. “It will be those who can think deeply on top of the machine — and ask the wisest questions.”
'Horse power' in AI transformation
Kim, who has issued the annual trend report for 18 years, declared “the age of AI transformation” the most decisive consumer force of 2026.
“In 2024, economic recession weighed most heavily. But in 2025, AI was the one overwhelming power shaping everything,” he said. “It wasn’t deliberate — when we traced and analyzed the trends, AI kept appearing at the root of them all.”
Each year, the report presents 10 key trends using terms based on zodiac animals. For the Year of the Horse in 2026, the research team has employed “Horse Power” as the theme, symbolizing the endurance and strength needed to navigate upheaval.
The first key term, “Human in the Loop,” sets the tone. However advanced AI becomes, Kim insisted, human intervention remains essential.
“At least once, a human must step in — that is the philosophical principle of employing AI,” he said. More important than mastering AI tools, he explained, is professional expertise: the ability to make judgments that machines cannot. “It’s not enough to ride the machine — we must become centaurs, blending human wisdom with AI’s strength.”
New consumer order: prepared, pixelated, decoded
The trends for 2026 fall into two broad currents: those shaped by AI and those reflecting a human counterweight.
On the AI-driven side, consumers are entering a “Zero Click” world, where systems anticipate needs before users act, while “Ready-Core” lifestyles reflect a drive to plan and rehearse amid uncertainty.
“Even if you want to live spontaneously, you can’t,” Kim said, noting that survival now means minimizing wasted time, money and emotion.
Life itself is becoming “Pixelated” — consumed in smaller, faster, more disposable fragments — and spending patterns are shifting toward “Price Decoding,” where buyers treat costs as codes to be cracked rather than absolutes.
Meanwhile, “Efficient Organizations Through AI” signals the breakdown of rigid hierarchies in favor of flexible, project-oriented teams where autonomy thrives.
Human countercurrent
The countercurrents, however, are deeply human.
The “Feelconomy” puts mood and emotion at the center of consumption, with products promising happiness, calm or excitement rather than speed or efficiency. “Health Intelligence” expands wellness from simply extending life to ensuring quality of life. A new household form, “1.5 households,” acknowledges both solitude and flexible connection. And “Returning to the Fundamentals” underscores a thirst for authenticity and timeless values.
"Trend Korea 2026" is on sale in bookstores, with an English edition coming soon.
hwangdh@heraldcorp.com
