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South Korea’s real-time Google searches on Sept. 25, 2026, reflected a mix of celebrity updates, military and security news, a young gymnastics champion and late-season professional baseball.
Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi ranked No. 1, followed by actor Lee Si-young. The rest of the top 10 were “explosion,” “stealth aircraft,” Japanese dancer Ria Yamada, gymnast Hwang Seo-hyeon, the Kookmin Ilbo newspaper, “doctor,” Hanwha vs. NC and Lotte vs. Doosan.
Google’s ranking and its approximate search-volume figures measure different things. Hwang ranked sixth with more than 10,000 estimated searches, for example, while the third-ranked term “explosion” had more than 1,000.
Celebrity Updates and a Young Champion
Lee Seung-gi drew attention after launching a YouTube channel called “Lee Seung-gi 2” and posting its first video Wednesday. He said his 31-month-old daughter boasts about her father at kindergarten. His comment that he tries to save money on gasoline after marriage prompted mixed reactions because he has been described in Korean media as holding assets worth more than 40 billion won. Some viewers praised his frugality, while others said they could not relate.
Lee Si-young shared photos of herself and her two children wearing hanbok, Korea’s traditional clothing, ahead of her younger daughter Luna’s first birthday. A child’s first birthday, known in Korea as “dol,” is traditionally an important family milestone. Lee wrote that she still sometimes could not believe she had “two baby angels” beside her. She also recently said several family members had fallen ill over the past year.
Ria Yamada, a Japanese dancer who competed on Mnet’s “Street Dance Girls Fighter 2” as a member of the winning Jam Republic team, also drew searches after her family announced her death. Yamada died Sept. 18 following an illness lasting more than a year, her family said in a social media notice posted Wednesday.
High school gymnast Hwang Seo-hyeon recorded the largest estimated search volume among the entertainment and sports figures on the list. Hwang won a balance beam gold medal, becoming the first Korean athlete in 40 years to achieve the feat at the competition. She competed at a height of 133.8 centimeters, or about 4 feet, 5 inches.
Military and Public Safety News
The term “explosion” was linked to several unrelated stories, most prominently a suspected land mine blast in the western section of the Demilitarized Zone separating South and North Korea. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said an injured service member was transported by a military medical evacuation helicopter. Joint Chiefs Chairman Jin Young-sung visited the Army’s 25th Division on Thursday to review safety measures. The incident also fueled a political dispute in the National Assembly over DMZ issues.
The same search term appeared in coverage of another explosion that killed one person and injured six after authorities received a report that someone was spreading gasoline. Korean sports coverage also repeatedly used the word figuratively to describe the women’s national basketball team at the Asian Games.
U.S.-Korea Defense Connections
Searches for “stealth aircraft” followed reports about both American and South Korean military aviation. A flight display involving 22 aircraft, including U.S. B-2 stealth bombers and F-22 Raptors, accompanied a U.S.-China summit at the White House on Wednesday.
In South Korea, the Air Force received the first mass-produced KF-21 fighter after 11 years of development. The country also secured Meteor missiles for the aircraft.
Doctors, Advertising Claims and Baseball
Searches for “doctor” were associated with a physician identified as Alhasani, a graduate of Dankook University’s medical school who treats intensive care patients. The term also rose after Seoul Asan Medical Center warned consumers about a product promoted online as “natural Wegovy.” An advertisement used the phrase “Seoul Asan Medical Center Professor Woo Chang-yoon’s natural Mounjaro recipe,” but the hospital confirmed that no such professor currently works there.
Baseball searches focused on the Hanwha Eagles’ game against the NC Dinos and the Lotte Giants’ matchup with the Doosan Bears. Hanwha entered Thursday on a nine-game losing streak, with its elimination from postseason contention confirmed. The Lotte-Doosan game at Seoul’s Jamsil Baseball Stadium was canceled because of rain during the Chuseok holiday period. Lotte now has four postponed games without reserve dates.
Kookmin Ilbo, a Korean newspaper, exceeded 1,000 estimated searches, though the trend was not tied to a confirmed news development. The rankings and approximate volumes were drawn from Google Trends’ real-time South Korea data for Sept. 25.
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