Trends

5 Things Trending in Korea (First Week of September 2026): From AI Dramas to a Fry Holder

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Illustrated title card: 5 Things Trending in Korea Right Now, first week of September 2026.

AT A GLANCE

Snapshot
First week of September 2026 (rechecked Oct 7)
Verified
Fry holder (release date, price, sales terms), mascot debut timing

Trends in Korea move fast. Here are five that caught our eye in the first week of September: AI-made short dramas, tastes that ignore age, a comment meme, baseball mascots and a drive-thru-only goodie. This post records that week, so the mood may have changed since. Checked on 2026-10-07.

The hero image is an illustrated title card.

1. AI-made “romance fantasy” short dramas

Short dramas made with AI, often 5 to 10 minutes long, are spreading on YouTube and Instagram. Romance fantasy stands out, partly because European-style palaces and lavish interiors are expensive to film but easy to generate. Overseas, romance and fantasy are also popular genres for AI short dramas (SocialPeta analysis).

Reactions are mixed. Some say results depend heavily on writing and direction, and others worry about actors’ faces and voices being used as AI training data. An earlier version of this post quoted a view count for one channel.

2. “Multi-age”: tastes that ignore age

People in their 20s and 30s enjoy teen play like squishy toys and Roblox, while new hires look into retirement pensions early. The trend outlet Careet reportedly calls this “multi-age.” Careet has also covered the Roblox boom among adults in their 20s and 30s (Careet).

3. The comment meme: “[X] info”

The meme grew out of posts like “comment ‘makeup info’ and I’ll send the links.” Now people drop “OO 정보” under any post. Under “my sibling came back from a trip and bought me my favorite figure,” someone writes “#siblinginfo.” They are not asking who the sibling is. It means “I want a sibling like that.” This item also relies on a trend outlet’s report.

4. Baseball mascots as content

Pro baseball teams keep introducing mascots and even run social accounts for them. What I could confirm:

  • KIA Tigers’ Harang: Introduced in February 2024 as a baby white tiger, with social accounts alongside the older mascots Hogeol and Hoyeon.
  • SSG Landers’ Betty: A bone-themed mascot revealed in July 2025 together with Puri.
  • Kiwoom Heroes’ Donggeuri: Introduced back in the Nexen days alongside Turkdori. It is not a new mascot.

An earlier version of this post called Donggeuri new and Turkdori’s younger sister. You can go to a ballpark for the mascots even if you don’t know the rules.

5. The drive-thru-only fry holder

McDonald’s Korea released a french fry holder on August 27 for ₩11,500, sold only at drive-thru lanes. It holds fries in a car’s cup holder so you can eat while driving. It was not sold at counters, kiosks, mobile orders or delivery, and drive-thru hours were 10:30 am to 4 am (Wikitree, in Korean).

It sold out at many stores soon after launch, and sealed units appeared on resale sites at ₩40,000, more than triple the price. Reports say the car requirement boosted the buzz. Stock varies by store.

What the five share

Things you can try, photograph and share do well. This is a snapshot of the first week of September, and other trends may have taken over since.

More to read: five keywords of Korean Gen Z and Roblox as an adult playground.

Sources

Checked on 2026-10-07.