KT said on Aug. 21 it held the '2026 Y Trend Conference & Customer Listening Forum' on Aug. 20 at the Onmadang venue in KT’s Gwanghwamun building WEST and selected 'NetWHATking', 'Scroll Pick', 'Balansheim', 'Present-in-Progress Power' and 'Try-ator' as Gen Z trend keywords.

'NetWHATking' refers to a new networking culture in which people form relationships based on tastes and experiences rather than affiliation or existing connections. It means that what people experience and enjoy together is becoming the standard for building relationships, rather than belonging to a specific group.

'Scroll Pick' refers to a consumption pattern in which people buy products discovered while browsing content recommended by algorithms. It reflects a flow in which people come across products by chance during content consumption and proceed to purchase, rather than directly searching for what they need.

'Balansheim' refers to a self-management approach that goes beyond simply resting, restoring balance in body and mind through rest and managing day-to-day condition. 'Present-in-Progress Power' refers to an attitude of revealing the growth process, including success and failure, rather than finished results, and steadily taking on challenges while building experience.

'Try-ator' is a new type of creator who uses AI to implement ideas and takes on a range of creative activities. It captures a trend in which, as barriers to using AI fall, users without professional production skills also begin producing content themselves.

Now in its fourth year, the Y Trend Conference is an event in which KT’s student marketing supporters, the 'Y Futurist', and the Univ20s Lab jointly discover and share Gen Z trend keywords and business ideas.

KT is also using the identified trend keywords in actual marketing and customer experience improvements. The 'Nnolreo' keyword selected last year was applied to Y Box baseball and basketball ticket events and a YouTube collaboration campaign, while 'Deutpolteu' was applied to iPhone 17 marketing.

This year’s event also held the 'Customer-Changing KT, Visiting Customer Listening Forum'. Participants shared real experiences related to each trend and opinions on service improvements, and KT plans to reflect them in future product and service and customer experience (CX) improvements.

Young-geol Kim (김영걸), a managing executive and head of KT’s Customer Business Division, said, "We were able to vividly confirm changes in Gen Z interests and lifestyles through trends directly discovered by university students." He added, "We will continue to actively reflect customer voices and trend insights to provide a differentiated customer experience that Gen Z customers can feel."