When one introduces oneself as an “AI artist,” the question almost always follows: Who is the true creator -- the machine or the human behind it? The recent boom in AI-generated images, particularly those mimicking the look of Studio Ghibli, has made this question become even more widely asked. Yoon Seok-kwan, an "AI artist" who works under the pseudonym Keepkwan, shares this concern. While he believes originality is still possible when working with AI, he worries that much of what is being prod

Have you ever thought about whether you'd get cancer? We all know someone who has. But many of us walk through life unprepared. Choi Seung-ih, a 59-year-old senior model, was no different. "Never,” she said when asked if the thought had ever crossed her mind. “There was no family history. I exercised regularly. I even trained for a body profile photoshoot. I was strict with my diet. I thought I’d never get cancer. Then, about a year ago, Choi was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Her wor

If you’re a BTS fan, you might recall the floating house in J-Hope’s recent music video, “Sweet Dreams (Feat. Miguel).” That surreal vision wasn't crafted by a veteran artist with decades of experience, but by Kim Onew, a 20-year-old 3D visual effects artist already making waves in the K-pop industry. Kim has already built an impressive resume at a young age. In addition to J-Hope, he’s created visuals for aespa, NewJeans and Stray Kids. His path is all the more remarkable in South Korea, where

Early-bird Youn Jin proved that the quietest hours can be the most impactful At 4 a.m., when most of New York was still asleep, Youn Jin was already awake. She blogged. She practiced yoga. She made breakfast. By the time her coworkers shuffled into the office, she already had accomplished a lot. Early mornings have long been considered a secret weapon of successful people, and stories like Youn’s might seem familiar — until you hear what happened next. Her mornings didn’t just set the tone for h

For disability activist Jang Ik-sun, hope isn't just a feeling — it’s the eye-tracking software he has mastered to draft policy proposals, the half-million blinks that earned him a master’s degree, and the gaming system he engineered to keep playing despite being almost completely paralyzed GWANGJU --- Jang Ik-sun wrote his master’s thesis one blink at a time. About half a million times, to be exact. For most people, blinking is an unconscious act — something they do effortlessly 20,000 times a

From traditional 'seoye' to commercial branding, Lee Sang-hyun transforms calligraphy into modern art form As a child, Lee Sang-hyun had no interest in sitting down and holding a pen. At the age of 11, his mother, hoping to nurture focus and discipline in him, enrolled him in an after-school program that teaches “seoye,” or traditional calligraphy. Instead of grabbing a pen, he spent his days grinding an inkstick on a slab to make ink. When the teacher was not looking, he would scribble on the w

Kim Hye-mi, Samsung IT developer with disability, shares TV drama-like love story with colleague, viral wedding performance In June last year, a South Korean couple’s wedding video went viral as a real-life version of a love story that had just aired in the hit TV drama “Lovely Runner.” In the video, the groom shields his bride, who uses a wheelchair, with a yellow umbrella after serenading her, re-creating one of the most memorable scenes from the drama series. "I never expected the video to bl

More than you’d expect, says Kim Won-rae, warranty service provider of Hi Shapa sharpeners ICHEON, Gyeonggi Province — How much can a pencil sharpener mean to its owner? In Kim Won-rae’s world, it means a lot. At his workshop in Icheon, outside Seoul, where he fixes sharpeners as old as 30-plus years, Kim has every reason to believe so. As the sole warranty service provider for TiTi’s Hi Shapa pencil sharpeners, Kim keeps a binder full of heartfelt letters — cherished memories from users sent al

Mom of 1-year-old son, Anastasiia Novikova extols Korea's postpartum care center, vibrant online communities for new moms, but questions no outings for newborns in first 100 days Anastasiia Novikova, a Ukrainian who has been living in South Korea for nearly a decade, is discovering a side of the country she wouldn’t have known if she hadn’t become a mother a year ago. At a "joriwon," a Korean postpartum care center, she experienced firsthand the support and healing period granted to Korean women

Kim Ye-byeol, recovering from partial paralysis due to a brain hemorrhage, embraces a delayed beginning to life with her devoted husband When Kim Ye-byeol opened her eyes after three weeks lost in the void of unconsciousness, she found herself lying in a hospital bed, with a strange man by her side. The man was calling her name, his voice choked with tears. “He kept talking to me, but I couldn’t hear him clearly and his face appeared to be split in two,” said Kim, now 29 years old, recalling the