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Soccer and transit disruptions drive online interest
South Korean internet users turned their attention to professional soccer, subway delays and social issues on Nov. 2, 2026, according to Google Trends’ real-time rankings for the country.
The K League, South Korea’s professional soccer system, ranked first among the fastest-rising search terms. Suwon Samsung was one point away from returning to the top-tier K League 1 after four years, while Suwon FC also remained in contention for promotion. Interest also followed a coaching change at Pohang Steelers and the conclusion of Chungbuk Cheongju FC’s season.
Seoul Subway Line 7 ranked third after a train malfunction delayed northbound service for more than an hour and forced passengers to leave their trains. A power outage also temporarily disrupted part of Line 2 between Seocho and Sports Complex stations.
Korean baseball draws major league attention
Baseball player Kim Do-young ranked seventh as speculation grew about a possible move to Major League Baseball. The New York Mets, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels were mentioned as potential destinations. One assessment suggested Kim could hit 20 to 25 home runs in the United States. Fellow Korean player Noh Si-hwan was described as having major league-caliber power but needing improvement on defense.
Another baseball-related term, ticket scalping, ranked ninth after authorities arrested a group accused of using automated software to buy Korean Series tickets and resell them for as much as 110 times face value. One ticket reportedly sold for 8.93 million won, and the group allegedly collected 2.2 billion won from the scheme. South Korea’s prime minister cited the case in warning that illegal ticket sellers would be caught.
Crime, weather and industry searches
The Korean word for “corpse” recorded the largest approximate search volume among the top 10 terms, with more than 20,000 searches. The interest followed reports about fetal remains found at a wastewater treatment facility in Asan. Police located the mother but closed the case after finding no indication of a crime.
Other trending terms included a jet crash in a Florida residential neighborhood that killed everyone aboard, and yellow dust, the windblown pollution that periodically reaches South Korea. Yellow dust was observed in Seoul, while air quality briefly reached “bad” levels along the western coast and on Jeju Island. Seoul’s morning temperature was forecast to fall to 39 degrees Fahrenheit, with lows near freezing in parts of Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.
A term related to ships also rose after Korea Maritime and Ocean University led work on standards for situational-awareness systems used by autonomous vessels, while the Busan Port Authority discussed international cooperation on artificial intelligence for ports. Aging and electronic monitoring bracelets — location-tracking devices used to supervise wearers — rounded out the list.
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