It is amazing to watch how rapidly language-based artificial intelligence (AI) has seeped into everyday life. People now turn to AI for almost everything, from summarizing reports to planning their weekend. Some seek help with deeply personal issues, including health or relationships.
This shift is now beginning to appear in Korean drama narratives.
In the second episode of Tving’s 16-part romantic comedy “Nice to Not Meet You,” Lim Hyun-joon (Lee Jung-jae), a middle-aged actor facing an identity crisis, consults an AI chatbot for career advice.
The series follows Hyun-joon, who has played only one role throughout his career — a detective. The character makes him both famous and wealthy, but has also left him creatively stagnant. His failed attempts to branch out into new roles leave him frustrated, anxious and increasingly depressed.
In the third episode, the AI reappears as Hyun-joon seeks guidance on what to wear and how to style his hair for a blind date with journalist Wi Jeong-shin.
“Nice to Not Meet You” isn’t the only drama featuring interactions with AI. Netflix’s original fantasy romance, “Genie, Make A Wish” (2025), starring Kim Woo-bin and Suzy, includes a scene in which the lamp genie (Kim Woo-bin) consults AI regarding human wishes.
For AI advocates and everyday users, these scenes may feel ordinary. But for more skeptical viewers, they raise intriguing questions. What are writers trying to say? Are these moments simply reflecting a new reality in which everyone relies on AI? Or are they subtle product placements for AI companies?
Critics say the trend reflects how quickly AI has become a fixture of modern life.
“It’s hard to imagine life without AI now,” cultural critic Kim Kyo-seok said. “Its presence in dramas is simply mirroring the world we live in. You’ll see more of that coming.”
Actor Lee Jung-jae talks to language-based artificial intelligence in a scene from “Nice to Not Meet You.” Courtesy of Tving
Another critic, Jung Duk-hyun, agreed. “Literally everyone uses generative AI to ask random questions or even to consult about personal problems. That reality is naturally being reflected in dramas.”
However, Jung noted that the use of AI in these series may serve more than one purpose.
“It can also function as marketing,” he said, pointing out that Perplexity Korea participated in production support for the dramas.
He added that in “Nice to Not Meet You,” AI also plays a narrative role. “Lim Hyun-joon is portrayed as lonely,” Jung said. “He doesn’t have many people around him to talk to. The writer may have used AI to emphasize that loneliness.”