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At 12:30 p.m. on the 5th, episode 9 of ArirangTV global talk program ‘The Agenda’ will feature discussions on diverse themes including ‘Korean Subways and Transportation’, ‘Loneliness’, and ‘North Korean Propaganda and Agitation’, with Professor Haena Kim of Sogang University Graduate School of International Studies, Professor Joeun Kim of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management, UK-born broadcaster Peter Bint, and US-born model and broadcaster Brandon Jones.

In episode 9 of the global talk series that unpacks our complex world through comfortable conversation, we look at three faces of the cities we confront every day. The ways of living in a city differ for each of us, yet we experience the same difficulties amid the same changes.

A city of transportation that connects people, a city of isolation cut off from people, and yet another city that is both near and far. Together, we examine how the diverse landscapes of the city are changing our lives, and what forms emerge in the unique space that is the Korean Peninsula.

‘1st Agenda’ “Where is the subway station?”

“I check the last train time before I look up a hot restaurant!”

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The talk about Seoul public transportation began with a remark from Professor Joeun Kim that when arranging an evening plan, the first thing she checks is the last train time.

The panel rated Seoul as “a city where you can live without a car,” and introduced strengths of Seoul transportation as felt by foreigners. Representative examples included transfer discounts between bus·subway, apps that tell arrival times accurately, bus stop benches that change temperature by season, and civic awareness that naturally gives priority to seats for pregnant women and seniors.

Peter expressed surprise, saying, “The scene that continues inside subway stations from cafes to convenience stores to underground shopping arcades is completely different from the UK,” and Brandon evaluated, “With transfer discounts extending across bus·subway·rail, the burden of transport costs is far lower than in Western countries.”

The panel also discussed directions for further development of Seoul transportation. Peter suggested, “Underground stations in London each have their own history and character,” adding, “Korea also needs attempts to create a ‘face for each station’.”

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‘2nd Agenda’ “Loneliness grows lighter the more it is shared”

The world is suffering from the invisible pandemic of ‘loneliness’. With about 100 people losing their lives every hour due to loneliness and one in six people globally experiencing isolation, WHO has defined it as an ‘urgent global health threat’.

Brandon, referring to these figures, stressed, “This is no longer an individual issue but a social crisis,” adding, “Loneliness needs to be solved together.”

Various analyses followed on why contemporary society has become so lonely.

Professor Haena Kim explained, “As people have become able to handle most tasks without moving, they have in fact come to remain more deeply within their own worlds,” and Peter pointed out, “As the traditional structure that cared for family together has weakened, isolation is deepening further.”

Warnings were also raised that loneliness can shake democracy as well as the stability of politics and the economy.

Peter said, “The lonelier a person is, the greater the distrust toward government, the economy, and society overall, and this distrust can snowball and rattle democracy.”

Professor Joeun Kim expressed concern about social extremization, saying, “In searching for a space where someone will listen to their story, it is easy to drift toward extreme forces or radical communities.”

The panel agreed that the solution lies not in treating it merely as a problem of certain ‘at-risk groups’, but in redesigning the entire city into a less lonely structure.

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‘3rd Agenda’ “There is no place for a ‘hermit kingdom’”

Videos featuring North Korean residents, such as the street cheering for the U-17 Women World Cup final and promotional clips for the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Area, feel unnatural in some way. This is because North Korean residents have long been mobilized as part of propaganda stages.

Peter noted, “Watching a recorded rebroadcast of a soccer match is fine in itself, but even just seeing people gather in the same place and cheer in the same way as instructed by the state makes the ‘staging’ apparent.”

Viewing the tourism promotion video, Brandon compared, “Seeing the same people wearing the same clothes and repeating the same actions all day is almost like a real-life ‘The Truman Show’.”

Professor Joeun Kim explained, “Because in North Korea the message that one must contribute ‘for the state and the leader’ is repeatedly implanted from a young age, collective staging can be accepted like an ‘assigned role’.”

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Nevertheless, noting that North Korea is still consumed as “the most closed travel product,” the panel emphasized, “The more closed a world is, the more it stimulates human curiosity.”

Cities connect us, and at times they isolate us. Episode 9, which examined the three faces of the city that Korean society faces, can be watched at 12:30 p.m. on December 5 on ArirangTV and on the official YouTube channel.