Korea's media literacy week to challenge how citizens read the news

South Korea's culture ministry said Thursday it will hold a three-week media literacy festival with the Korea Press Foundation, built around the idea that the same facts look different depending on where the viewer stands.

The 2026 Media Literacy Week, branded ME:LI WEEK, runs from Oct. 23 to Nov. 16, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said. Most of the hands-on programming is concentrated in Seongsu-dong in eastern Seoul, where organizers want visitors to test how they weigh evidence rather than accept information as given.

The centerpiece is a new exhibition, "But Seriously, What If," open from Oct. 24 to Nov. 8 at a pop-up space on Seongsu-i-ro 18-gil. Visitors spend a day in 2046, when artificial intelligence is woven into daily life, and are meant to come away sensing that an AI's judgment is itself just one perspective.

At the same venue, an upgraded escape-room game called "Jump x Cut 2.0" sends participants chasing clues from a single news story. The play "Jump x Cut" premieres at the Wooran Foundation's Wooran Second Theater from Nov. 7 to 15, drawing on the conflicting statements and memories of six people caught up in one incident.

Organizers describe the through-line as "360 degrees," borrowed from the notion that the view of the Earth depends on which tower you observe it from. The concept is drawn from W. James Potter's book "Media Literacy."

Three linked events run alongside the experiences. A national media education conference opens the program on Oct. 23 at the Korea Press Center, themed on charting a path for media education for an AI-native generation. On Nov. 14, the ME:LI Awards at Cube Convention Center will honor winners of the seventh News Reading News Diary contest and the eighth Youth Checkathon. The festival closes on Nov. 16 with the foundation's Journalism Conference at the Korea Press Center.

All programs are free and open to anyone aged 12 or older. Organizers take a 5,000 won deposit for the escape game and 10,000 won ($8) for the play, refunded in full after participation. Booking details and schedules are posted at www.meliweek.com.

"This ME:LI Week will be a good opportunity to develop the ability to look at information from various perspectives and accept it critically in the AI era," Culture Minister Choe Hwi-young said. He added that the government plans to keep expanding media literacy education and hands-on programs so that the public can respond actively to changes in the media environment.