KT Corp unveils 2026 Generation Z trend keywords with student marketers

Five keywords selected with 20s Lab at Daehak Naeil

Young customer insights to shape products, services

Members of Y Futurist, KT Corp's official college student marketing supporters, introduce trend keywords at the Y Trend Conference. [KT Corp]

KT Corp has unveiled its "2026 Generation Z Trend Keywords," an analysis of shifting daily life and lifestyle patterns among Generation Z developed together with college students.

KT Corp said Friday it held the "2026 Y Trend Conference & Customer Listening Forum" on Thursday at the KT Gwanghwamun Building West in Seoul, where Generation Z participants announced five trend keywords they had selected themselves.

Now in its fourth year, the Y Trend Conference is an event co-organized by KT Corp's college student marketing supporters, Y Futurist, and the 20s Lab at Daehak Naeil, a youth research institute, to identify and share Generation Z trends and business ideas.

The five keywords selected this year are NetWHATking, Scroll Pick, Balanceshim, Hyeonjae Jinhaengnyeok and Try-ator.

NetWHATking describes the way Generation Z builds relationships centered on shared tastes and experiences rather than institutional ties or personal connections. Scroll Pick refers to a consumption pattern in which products discovered while browsing algorithm-recommended content lead directly to impulse purchases.

Participants at the Y Trend Conference pose for a group photo. [KT Corp]

Balanceshim is a self-care approach focused on restoring physical and mental balance through rest and managing one's everyday condition. Hyeonjae Jinhaengnyeok describes an attitude of consistently pursuing challenges and accumulating experience by sharing not only successes but also failures and the broader process of growth.

Try-ator refers to a new type of creator who uses AI to turn ideas into tangible outputs and takes on a wide range of creative endeavors.

The selected keywords broadly reflect the evolving lifestyles and interests of Generation Z.

KT Corp is already applying the trend keywords to marketing and customer experience improvement efforts. Last year's keyword "N Nolleo" was used in Y Box baseball and basketball ticket events and a YouTube collaboration campaign, while "Deutpoldeu" was applied to iPhone 17 marketing.

The event also featured a "Customer Listening Forum" session in which participants shared personal experiences related to each trend and offered suggestions for service improvements. KT Corp plans to incorporate the feedback and trend analysis findings into future product, service and customer experience enhancements.

Full details on the 2026 trend keywords are available on KT Corp's official YouTube channel and the 20s Lab at Daehak Naeil's online channels.

"Through the trends identified directly by college students, we were able to get a vivid sense of what Generation Z cares about and how their lifestyles are changing," said Kim Yeong-geol, executive vice president and head of KT Corp's Customer Business Division. "We will continue to actively reflect customer voices and trend insights in our products and services to deliver a differentiated customer experience that Generation Z can truly feel."

woo@heraldcorp.com