Social Media Minute

1. High school students head to the Arctic for hands-on climate science in Korea’s only polar exploration program 2. Offline messaging Is emerging as a lifeline during Internet shutdowns 3. A handwritten message on the rear end of a car turns a newborn’s first ride home into a viral moment

1. BTS sets April launch for record-breaking world tour, spanning five continents 2. New subtitle glasses help open Korean musicals to global audiences 3. China’s Olive Young look-alike beauty retail store sparks copycat concerns

1. The end of an era: BoA leaves SM entertainment after 25 years 2. Image of Iranian women using a burning Khamenei portrait to light a cigarette becomes protest symbol 3. A simple act of kindness that gave one woman a reason to keep on living

1. EJAE gets emotional at the Golden Globes after ‘Golden’ wins best original song 2. Washington National Opera cuts ties with the Kennedy Center after longstanding partnership 3. Why Bali wants to check tourists’ bank balances – and the challenges of making it work

1. Top honors go to Stray Kids, G-Dragon, and Jennie at the 40th Golden Disc Awards 2. Why big-money legal defenses can backfire for Korean celebrities

1. The man who gave Korea sweet-and-spicy fried chicken and pickled radish leaves a lasting legacy 2. When a missed deadline turns an entire class into F students

1. Why Gwangju’s Uchi(우치) Zoo is suddenly in the spotlight 2. From ramyeon to sunbae: Korean culture enters the Oxford Dictionary 3. A bundled chocolate order that arrived in 15 separate boxes

1. Arctic cold wave paralyzes travel across Europe 2. YouTuber who exposed seafood scams says he faced threats from vendors 3. Pizza outlets witness unusual late-night spike in orders near Pentagon again

1. South Korea mourns Ahn Sung-ki, a beloved Icon of Korean film 2. A music legend mourns a lifelong friend 3. Lee takes Xiaomi phone selfies with Xi, gifts painting of mythical beast at Korea-China state banquet

1. Should Korea bring back older men as guard forces? A controversial idea gains quiet support 2. BTS builds momentum ahead of March comeback as fans push “Run BTS” back to No. 1 3. Kenya mourns Craig, one of Africa’s last “super tusker” elephants

1. Deadly New Year’s fire rips through Swiss ski resort bar, killing dozens 2. Warren Buffett steps aside after six decades at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway 3. Pope Leo the 14th sends a blessing to a beloved Korean bakery

1. Korea’s next social shift moves from recovery to adaptation, with people at the center 2. South Korea moves to designate the original handwritten manuscript of Yeolha Ilgi as a national treasure 3. OpenAI sets new record for highest employee pay in tech startup history

1. East coast of Gangwon-do braces for New Year rush as sunrise crowds and traffic surge 2. New AI platform aims to support emergency care from ambulance to ER

1. Seoul’s Jongno-gu district plans New Year countdown at Gwanghwamun Square and sunrise festival on Inwangsan Mountain 2. Scientists are arguing over whether Van Gogh’s Starry Night Shows real turbulence 3. ADOR escalates legal battle with NewJeans’ Danielle as group moves forward without her

1. Brigitte Bardot, a defining symbol of modern celebrity and freedom, dies at 91 2. More young adults are turning to AI to reflect on their lives and plan the year ahead 3. Heavy snow after Christmas disrupts travel across the U.S. Northeast

1. Korea braces for the coldest cold snap of the season as temperatures plunge nationwide 2. Large-scale speed-dating-style parties are gaining popularity among young singles in Korea 3. Why complete strangers are meeting up to play the childhood game of cops and robbers

1. President Donald Trump presents South Korean President Lee Jae-myung with rare gold key to the White House 2. Parents are using AI to make it look like Santa actually visited their homes 3. A once-in-a-century numerical coincidence arrives this Christmas

1. A Joseon-era pavilion comes home: ‘Gwanwoldang(관월당)’ returns after a century abroad 2. Mariah Carey makes Billboard history with 100 weeks at No. 1 3. UK moves to ban boiling lobsters alive in major animal welfare push

1. Seoul named the world’s most expensive city for everyday living — even without rent 2. Mystery donor in Gyeongsangnam-do(경상남도) Province quietly returns with another major year-end gift 3. Seoul’s Jung-gu(중구) District steps up safety measures in Myeongdong(명동) in anticipation of Christmas and New Year crowds

1. Actress Yoon Seok-hwa(윤석화), pioneer of Korean theatre, dies at 69 2. Elon Musk nears trillionaire status as wealth enters uncharted territory

1. Largest Korean art exhibition in 40 years draws big crowds to the Lee Kun-hee Collection 2. Finnish prime minister apologizes after ‘slanted eyes’ social media post by Miss Finland and lawmakers 3. Rare moment in the wild: polar bear mother adopts an orphaned cub

1. New Korean airline Sum Air to focus on connecting remote and underserved regions 2. Rome’s subway turns into a museum — all for the price of a metro ticket 3. Ancient dinosaur footprints discovered near future winter Olympics site in Italy

1. Rob Reiner and wife found dead in Los Angeles as son Nick is arrested in shocking case 2. From hashtags to homerooms, makeup becomes part of youth culture in Korea

1. Bondi who who disarmed gunman and shot twice identified as Ahmed al Ahmed 2. Korean Air warns of zero tolerance for emergency exit tampering 3. Japan’s last pandas set to leave as diplomatic tensions with China deepen

1. As presidential office prepares to return to Cheong Wa Dae, nearby neighborhoods feel both hope and unease 2. “Like reading an ancient script”: BBC highlights backlash over Korea’s exceptionally difficult English exam 3. More than 1,400 couples kiss under giant mistletoe in Washington, D.C., setting new world record