Artificial intelligence and robots are becoming a part of everyday life in South Korea. Families are using AI to resurrect dead loved ones, robot baristas are serving coffee without human staff, semiconductor engineers have become some of the country’s most in-demand professionals, and students are reshaping their career choices around AI. At the same time, Seoul is investing trillions of won in chips, robotics and AI infrastructure to become a global leader.
Here’s how AI is reshaping entire society
Helping families hear the voices of lost loved ones againOne of the most emotional uses of AI in South Korea is helping families reconnect with loved ones who have passed away. Seoul-based startups like Vice create lifelike videos of deceased parents and grandparents using just a few photographs and short voice recordings, the Associated Press reports. Customers typically write personalized scripts, in which an AI avatar delivers messages of love, forgiveness, or encouragement during family gatherings and memorial ceremonies.The service is seeing a growing audience, especially among people in their 40s and 50s who want to preserve memories of their parents or surprise family members with messages from relatives they miss dearly. A basic three- to five-minute video costs about 600,000 won (about $390).One customer, Lee Geon Hui, commissioned an AI video of his grandfather—who died before Lee was born—as a gift for his father. The digital entertainer apologized for past regrets and told his son that he was proud of him, bringing Lee’s father to tears.While many users describe the experience as relaxing, experts say the technology sits at the intersection of memory, grief, and morality. “It’s a double-edged sword, because it deals with human emotions,” said Yong Man Ro of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. He warned that AI is creating experiences that society has never encountered before.The AI boom has redefined careers and even the marriage marketThe global AI race has turned semiconductor workers into some of South Korea’s most desirable professionals. Employees at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, whose advanced memory chips power AI systems around the world, are being viewed on par with doctors and lawyers because of rising wages, generous bonuses and strong job security.Matchmaking agencies say the social status of the industry has changed dramatically in just a few years. “If employees at SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics used to be classified as B+ or A-grade candidates, today they are closer to A+,” Son Dong-gyu, CEO of matchmaking agency Bien Aller, was quoted as saying by Reuters.This change is also affecting education. Universities are reporting record demand for semiconductor engineering programs, while vocational high schools that send graduates straight to chip factories have become increasingly popular. Career consultants say the competition for AI-related jobs has now resembled South Korea’s notoriously competitive university admissions race.Students cited stability as a major attraction amid rising youth unemployment. “Compared with my friends, I feel relatively secure about employment prospects,” said Koo Bon-ho, a semiconductor student at Korea University.Robot baristas and unstaffed shops are part of daily lifeMany cafes in South Korea are without baristas, ramen restaurants without chefs, flower shops without cashiers, and convenience stores without any employees.Thousands of unmanned businesses have emerged as owners turn to robotics, AI-powered ordering systems and self-service technology to deal with labor shortages and rising wage costs, Reuters reports. LoungeBusiness owners say this model works because the level of petty crime in South Korea is relatively low and customers generally follow the rules.The economics are also compelling. According to Lounge“The population of baristas in their early twenties is declining drastically,” said Kim Dongjin, CEO of LoungeThe answer to the aging population?Behind many of these AI-driven changes is a deeper demographic challenge. South Korea has one of the world’s lowest birth rates and fastest aging population, creating a severe shortage of workers in industries.Government projections suggest the country’s population could decline from 51.8 million today to about 36.2 million by 2072, making automation increasingly important to sustain economic growth.For many business owners, AI and robotics are no longer optional upgrades but practical solutions. Operators of unmanned restaurants say automation allows them to run businesses while balancing child care or other responsibilities, without the need to recruit an increasingly depleted workforce.Customers are also adopting it rapidly. Some say they also prefer the quieter atmosphere of staff-free stores, viewing occasional technical glitches as a reasonable trade-off for convenience and 24-hour access.national economic strategyArtificial intelligence is now at the center of South Korea’s long-term economic planning. The government recently unveiled three major AI initiatives covering semiconductors, physical AI and AI data centers backed by some of the country’s largest corporations.Samsung Electronics announced plans for hundreds of trillions of dollars in semiconductor investment, while SK Group outlined massive long-term spending on chip production and AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, SK, Naver and GS Group plan to jointly develop an AI data center capable of supporting the country’s next-generation computing needs.Beyond infrastructure, Seoul also wants to nurture talent, announcing plans to train 10,000 AI robotics experts over five years while supporting the development of the Korean AI Foundation model and the expansion of robotics manufacturing.The goal is not only to adopt AI technologies but also to establish South Korea as one of the world’s leading AI powers.humanoid robot revolutionSouth Korea’s AI ambitions extend far beyond software. The government aims to become one of the world’s top three AI robotics powers by 2030, with plans to commercialize humanoid robots tailored to key industries. According to Goldman Sachs Research, the country already has several structural advantages. Its globally competitive automotive supply chain produces electric motors, sensors and precision components that closely resemble the actuators needed for humanoid robots. Korean companies have also become major suppliers of robot hardware outside China.It is estimated that Korean companies could account for about 30 percent of global humanoid production by 2035 through robot manufacturing or supplying critical components.The report also highlights South Korea’s status as the world’s most robot-intensive manufacturing economy and its strong culture of early technology adoption, both of which could accelerate deployment.Biggest Challenge: DataDespite rapid progress, experts say humanoid robots still struggle with basic real-world reasoning because they lack sufficient physical training data.Goldman Sachs identifies this lack of real-world experience as the industry’s biggest hurdle, noting that robots only improve by interacting with their environments. China is currently at an advantage as it already has 10,000-15,000 humanoid robots deployed, while the US and South Korea only have hundreds of robots deployed.“The bottleneck remains the lack of physical AI training data,” wrote analyst Do Hyeong Kim, arguing that widespread deployment would create a self-reinforcing cycle in which more robots generate more data, leading to smarter robots.From temples to fashion runways, humanoid robots are finding new rolesHumanoid robots are beginning to appear in places that were once considered exclusively human, from places of worship to cultural events. In a first for South Korea, a 130 cm tall humanoid named Gabby took part in a Buddhist preaching ceremony at Seoul’s Jogesa Temple ahead of the Buddha’s birthday last month. The robot, dressed in traditional garb, bowed before the monks and nuns and replied, “Yes, I will dedicate myself,” when asked if he would commit to the Buddha’s teachings. The ceremony is the first instance of a non-human formally participating in a ritual in the country.Then, humanoid robots shared the runway with human models at the Seoul Fashion Show in late May, wearing custom-made garments ranging from cowboy-inspired ensembles to futuristic designs. Organizers said the event explored how humans and robots can co-exist, arguing that robots, like people, should have their own identity. These appearances reflect a broader shift in South Korea, where humanoid robots are being displayed not just as industrial machines but as participants in religion, culture and entertainment.