How to Identify True Talent in the AI Era

The challenge of truly understanding a person is a perennial dilemma that transcends eras. Even Confucius, the revered ancient Chinese thinker hailed as a "sage," was not immune to this issue. He almost overlooked his outstanding disciple, Tandaemyeolmyeong, simply because of his rough appearance. On the other hand, he trusted Zaiyu based solely on his smooth eloquence, only to regret it later. Today, we live in an era where we must add a new layer to the age-old problem of talent selection. Artificial intelligence (AI) produces and replicates knowledge in a tailored fashion, making everyone appear to be an “expert.” Confucius warned against pseudo-intellectuals, referring to them as "Hyangwon" and "Munnin." Hyangwon seem virtuous but are, in fact, hollow, like empty shells. Munnin are those whose reputations are embellished, much like a famous party with nothing to eat. In the AI era, talents rapidly nurtured with superficial skills can be considered the modern-day Hyangwon?experts po

2026.04.17 11:00

The Era of 'Doing' Content: Experience Designers Take Center Stage

BTS, which has drawn public attention with its successful comeback, is preparing an album experience event using theater spaces as part of its comeback project. Beyond live concert broadcasts, they will offer karaoke-style screenings where fans can sing along and enjoy the new album, a pop-up space featuring traditional Korean games, and a venue for media art utilizing album visuals. This reflects a shift in how people enjoy music. The professional baseball season, which has just begun, is also part of this change. In professional baseball, where women in their 20s and 30s account for over 60% of the audience, fan culture has become central, with experiential content that lets fans enjoy the excitement on-site and their identity as supporters. Even after the performances and games end, the content continues. Goods such as light sticks, photo cards, and uniforms, as well as videos and memories from the venue, are shared on social media. The grammar of content is changing, shaped by thos

2026.04.16 19:27

The Story of Housman, the Poet Who Praised Cherry Blossoms

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom. They blossom so extravagantly, as if they might swallow the world, only to fall away all too soon?this is why cherry blossoms resemble youth. Even if you try to map the human lifespan onto the four seasons, the season of cherry blossoms lines up perfectly with the time of youth. Every year when I see the cherry blossoms, I think of the British poet Alfred Edward Housman (1859?1936). It is because of his poem, where he praises the cherry tree as the most lovely of all. The poem reads as follows: Loveliest of trees, the cherry now / Is hung with bloom along the bough,And stands about the woodland ride / Wearing white for Eastertide. Now, of my threescore years and ten, / Twenty will not come again,And take from seventy springs a score, / It only leaves me fifty more. And since to look at things in bloom / Fifty springs are little room,About the woodlands I will go / To see the cherry hung with snow. It is not certain if Housman actually wrote this poem

2026.04.03 11:33

Gaining New Vitality at a Turning Point in Life

Despite facing numerous hardships, theater troupes that have persevered are presenting a series of performances to commemorate the years since their founding. At the end of last year, the company Noeul staged its signature repertoire, "Exit the King" (written by Ionesco, directed by Oh Segon), at Yeonwoo Stage to mark its 20th anniversary. The Borderless Arts Center also celebrated its 20th anniversary by presenting a two-person play series. Following its representative work "A Certain Bet" (based on a Chekhov original, directed by Yoon Kihun) in December last year, the company staged a new work, "Missed Encounters" (written and directed by Yoon Kihun), at Mullae Space T in February, drawing enthusiastic responses from the audience. Furthermore, Yeonwoo Stage celebrated its 50th anniversary by performing "Turkey Blues" and "Club Latin" (created and directed by Park Sunhee) at the Jayu Theater of the Seoul Arts Center, attracting a large number of middle-aged and older audience members.

2026.03.27 11:02

The Era of Those Who Create Lives of Their Own

Recently, the independence of Kim Seontae, known as "Chungju Man" and formerly in charge of the Chungju City YouTube channel, has become a hot topic. The Chungju City YouTube channel was launched in 2019, surpassing 100,000 subscribers within a year, and has continued to gain nearly 100,000 new subscribers every year. Earlier this year, the subscriber count reached approximately 1 million. The prevailing assessment is that this achievement was largely due to Kim’s witty videos. Despite his impressive track record, Kim recently stepped down from his public official position and became independent as an individual. Immediately after, he launched his own personal channel, which also surpassed 1 million subscribers upon its debut. It is a rare accomplishment. Kim’s journey demonstrates that the saying “the position makes the person” is not always true. Rather, wherever one may be, a person can create a life of their own. Of course, in many cases, people live lives similar to those rooted i

2026.03.20 11:01

The Grammar of Life for the Second Act

Recently, the publishing industry has been flooded with reinterpretations of classics titled "Read at Fifty." Why fifty, rather than thirty or forty? While one demographic reason is that this is the last analog generation to prefer books, there is a more significant reason. Fifty is not a prelude to exit, but rather a turning point for the second act of life. For a while, the dominant keywords in our society were "slow aging" and "anti-aging"?management strategies aimed at delaying aging and holding on to biological time. However, what is truly needed after fifty is not the technique to slow down aging, but the ability to make the transition to "well-aging," which changes the meaning of life. If slow aging is a kind of "management" that resists the passage of time, well-aging is an "interpretation" that accepts it. Dante wrote in "The Divine Comedy," "In the middle of the journey of our life, I found myself in a dark wood, for I had lost the right path." The forest is both the point of

2026.03.06 10:26

Can AI Become the Alchemist of Content?

"Thanks to AI, anyone can become a storyteller." This was a statement made by Dwayne Ko, Head of AI, at the CES 2026 Digital Hollywood Leadership Session. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has moved beyond the experimental stage. Commercial works that fully utilize AI, such as the feature film "Junggange" and the animation "Catbiggy," have appeared. AI is now present in various forms: game NPCs that converse and act autonomously according to surrounding information, video versions focusing on a single character, translation and dubbing that lower language barriers and even synchronize lip movements, and more. AI can also predict the potential success of new releases and help protect copyrights by identifying and tracking illegally distributed content. The change in workflow is rapidly lowering the hurdles of production costs, time, and the required skill or expertise of production personnel. Localization and repurposing, which enable market and business expansion, have become much easier. T

2026.03.02 15:51

After The Olympics, The "Baseball World Cup" Arrives

The popularity of sports events changes with the times. The Olympics reached the height of its popularity during the era of the new military regime (1979?1988). This was partly because those in power used sports?especially international competitions that stirred patriotism?as an indirect means of maintaining their regime. The increasing number and skill of athletes, in line with the nation's growing power, also contributed to improved results. Medalists enjoyed celebrity-level popularity, and each of their hard-fought journeys was highlighted almost as a 'human documentary', moving the entire nation to tears. During the Olympics, all media attention was focused on the event, and TV ratings rivaled those of popular dramas. The Olympic fever, which grew ever stronger through the 1980s and 1990s, peaked in the 2000s. Media coverage was at its highest. Even as a radio producer, I had the opportunity to join the Olympic press corps twice. I had the privilege of witnessing, firsthand, the hi

2026.02.20 11:00

"Life Is Neither Something to Be Greatly Angered by nor Greatly Delighted by"

At the end of January, when the cold was particularly harsh, I had the opportunity to visit Tokyo, Japan for a few days. Whenever I get the chance, I try to experience the deeply rooted history of theater firsthand by watching traditional plays from various Asian countries. This year, however, my schedule did not align with any traditional performances, so I ended up seeing a piece of contemporary Japanese theater instead. The work I chose, on the recommendation of local producers, was "The Good Doctor," directed by Naito Yuko, one of Japan's leading contemporary playwrights and directors. In Korea, her representative play "Katabui, 1972" was introduced in March 2023 in the form of a staged reading at the invitation of the Korea-Japan Exchange Association. The year 1972 was when Okinawa, which had been under U.S. military administration, was returned to Japan. Through the story of a single family, Yuko delicately depicted the scars left by war and the complex inner lives of people on t

2026.02.13 12:19

From The Solitude Of Novels To A Bustling Reality

"It is not impossible to read a newspaper while eating. But it is impossible to read a novel. You can only do one of two things: either eat or read a novel." This sentence appears in philosopher Walter Benjamin's essay "The Storyteller." It rings true. In my twenties I read more than 1,000 novels, yet I do not recall ever reading one while eating. When I was living alone, I often ate by myself, but in those moments I usually watched videos. I liked to watch something light, like cartoons or sitcoms. I have no memory, however, of reading a novel then. According to Benjamin, reading a novel is an act of "devouring." Reading a novel is not merely empathizing with emotions; it is an indulgence in consumption. The reader does not simply step into the protagonist's shoes, but devours the events that befall the protagonist. Like raw food, the reader absorbs and digests them. The reader is synthesized with the novel's protagonist and becomes a kind of chimera. This description seems to explain

2026.02.06 11:07