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South Korea’s real-time Google search trends on Sept. 19 reflected a broad mix of gaming, professional baseball, the Asian Games, television entertainment and public affairs. Nexon ranked No. 1 with more than 100 searches, while Korean professional baseball placed second with more than 200, according to Google Trends Korea.
Gaming and the Asian Games
Interest in Nexon surged during the public day of Tokyo Game Show 2026. Visitors faced waits of more than two hours to try the Korean game company’s new title “Pareidolia” at a booth modeled after Tasogare Hall, the game’s setting. Nexon also showcased “Mabinogi Mobile.”
Roblox ranked fourth with more than 100 searches as the platform marked its 20th anniversary with “The Hunt: Roblox 20,” an event running from Sept. 17-28. At its RDC 2026 developer conference on Sept. 11, Roblox also announced plans to expand features for playing, creating and monetizing content. Separately, reports emerged of a film adaptation of the survival game “99 Nights in the Forest,” with Sam Raimi producing and “Toy Story 4” director Josh Cooley writing the screenplay.
The Korean search term for “game,” which ranked third with more than 5,000 searches, was driven by the opening ceremony of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan. Table tennis player Shin Yu-bin and Kim Dong-yong carried South Korea’s flag as the delegation entered 16th. Attention also turned to baseball captain Noh Si-hwan’s team uniform after the red-and-blue taegeuk symbol from the South Korean flag was found to have been printed upside down.
Baseball Race Draws Attention
Samsung defeated Hanwha 10-4 behind five RBIs from Koo Ja-wook, handing Hanwha its fifth consecutive loss. Samsung moved within 1.5 games of first place, making its two-game weekend series against Lotte potentially decisive in the standings.
Other games included Hanwha-LG, KT-Doosan and KIA-NC matchups. KT tied a single-season record for the most sellouts after drawing a capacity crowd for its game against Doosan.
Variety Shows Enter the Rankings
KBS variety program “Mr. House Husband” ranked fifth with more than 200 searches. Singer Park Seo-jin’s mother drew attention for enjoying fashion and outings, as well as for an unspecified unexpected hobby. Park and his sister, Park Hyo-jung, also surprised entertainer Eun Ji-won with their aptitude for park golf, a simplified form of golf popular in South Korea.
Actor Ji Jin-hee ranked 10th after appearing on the third season of “Fresh Off the Sea.” He visited actress Yum Jung-ah but ended up joining a demanding fishing operation that caught nearly 4 tons of wild eel. Another scene showed Ji becoming upset before laughing when actress Roh Yoon-seo said she had not brought underwear. The episode posted a 3.1% rating and peaked at 4.2%, ranking first in its time slot.
Public Affairs and the Economy
The Korean term for wedding gift money ranked sixth after six people were referred to prosecutors on allegations that they falsely claimed to have made cash gifts at a wedding, then collected meal tickets and thank-you gifts. One account said they were admitted as guests based solely on the word of a person in their 70s. Cash gifts are a standard part of Korean wedding etiquette and commonly help hosts cover reception costs.
“Fundamentals” ranked seventh amid projections that the dollar-won exchange rate could rebound in the short term before declining into the 1,200-won range as economic fundamentals reassert themselves. Analysts also forecast short-term weakness in the South Korean won alongside continued strength in the Japanese yen, while noting that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decisions directly affect exchange rates and Bank of Korea policy.
Naver drew more than 10,000 searches and ranked eighth as debate intensified over artificial intelligence in national defense. Reports raised questions about sovereign control of an AI “kill switch” and said Samsung was targeting a next-generation military command-and-control project valued at 300 billion won. Former Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho visited Naver and emphasized that AI is transforming the battlefield.
The search term “South Korea’s justice minister” ranked ninth with more than 200 searches. Lawmaker Kim Nam-hee raised concerns about children who were born but never assigned resident registration numbers. Discussion also addressed children born to fathers who later left South Korea, sometimes described with the controversial term “Kopino,” and a column asked the justice minister nominee to state a position on those issues.
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