{"publisher":{"name":"MediaBias News","url":"https://mediabias.news","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology","editorialPrinciples":"https://mediabias.news/editorial-principles","corrections":"https://mediabias.news/corrections"},"scoreGuide":{"trust":"How well corroborated and evidenced the source reporting is. 0-100, higher is better.","critic":"Craft quality of the source journalism: context, balance, fact vs comment. 0-100, higher is better.","hype":"How far the source presentation runs ahead of substance. 0-100, LOWER IS BETTER.","scope":"Scores assess the original reporting this article was written from, not the truth of the underlying event and not the quality of this write-up."},"assessmentGuide":{"type":"coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis","factCheck":{"status":"not-performed","note":"Media Bias News compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It does not currently publish a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true."},"sourceFactuality":{"note":"Factuality values describe published ratings of the outlets that covered the story. They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"story":{"id":"https://mediabias.news/business/ai-divination-tools-replace-blind-fortune-tellers-in-south-koreas-mia-village","slug":"ai-divination-tools-replace-blind-fortune-tellers-in-south-koreas-mia-village","url":"https://mediabias.news/business/ai-divination-tools-replace-blind-fortune-tellers-in-south-koreas-mia-village","title":"AI divination tools replace blind fortune tellers in South Korea’s Mia village","subtitle":"An 86-year-old practitioner is one of fewer than 20 left as customers turn to ChatGPT and Gemini for advice","excerpt":"A community of blind fortune tellers near Seoul, once home to 70 or 80 practitioners, now has fewer than 20. Customers are switching from in-person consultations to AI-based divination tools, though the industry’s value reached $986 million in 2024.","category":"Business & Economy","area":"Asia-Pacific","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T19:46:40.550Z","sourceReportedAt":"2026-08-13T16:54:12.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-13T19:46:40.550Z","readTime":"4 min read","scores":{"trust":50,"critic":55,"hype":35,"notes":{"trust":"All digests agree on core facts; no named sources or documents cited.","critic":"Quotes and specifics absent; digests lack context or next steps.","hype":"Headlines overstate impact; digests use dramatic but vague language."}},"tags":["#SouthKorea","#AIDisruption","#FortuneTelling","#TraditionalJobs","#DigitalDivination"],"entities":["Song Oh-soon","Mia village","Seoul","ChatGPT","Gemini","South Korea"],"body":[{"type":"key_takeaways","items":["The community of blind fortune tellers in Mia village, near Seoul, has shrunk from 70-80 practitioners to fewer than 20.","Customers are replacing traditional consultations with AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini for advice on health, money and love.","The divination industry in South Korea was valued at $986 million in 2024, despite the decline of in-person services.","Song Oh-soon, 86, is one of the last practitioners in a village that once drew generations of South Koreans."]},{"type":"paragraph","text":"A village of blind fortune tellers outside Seoul is losing its customers to artificial intelligence. The community, once home to 70 or 80 practitioners, now has fewer than 20. Song Oh-soon, 86, is one of the last remaining members of a group that has offered advice on health, money and relationships for generations."},{"type":"paragraph","text":"South Koreans are turning to AI-based divination tools like ChatGPT and Gemini instead of visiting the village in person. The shift comes as the country’s divination industry was valued at $986 million in 2024, according to reports. The challenge for the village is not a decline in belief, but a change in how predictions are consumed."},{"type":"heading","text":"What the coverage left out"},{"type":"paragraph","text":"No left-rated outlet ran this story. None of the digests below mention how much individual practitioners earned before the decline, or whether the $986 million industry value reflects growth or stagnation. The reports do not say how many customers have switched to AI tools, or what share of the industry’s value comes from online divination."}],"basedOn":[{"sourceName":"El Comercio","url":"https://elcomercio.pe/tecnologia/inteligencia-artificial/adivinos-ciegos-se-quedan-sin-trabajo-por-culpa-de-la-ia-en-corea-del-sur-ahora-prefieren-consultar-a-chatbots-gemini-chatgpt-noticia","headline":"Blind Fortune Tellers Run Out of Work because of AI: in South Korea They Now Prefer to Consult Chatbots","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T16:54:12.000Z"},{"sourceName":"La Nación, Grupo Nación","url":"https://nacion.com/el-mundo/la-ia-amenaza-inesperadamente-un-empleo-antiguo-el/H27EPA4JCREATAS3DAUAFWJDBU/story","headline":"AI Unexpectedly Threatens an Old Job: that of the Blind Fortune Tellers of Korea","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T16:02:36.737Z"},{"sourceName":"Globo","url":"https://oglobo.globo.com/cultura/noticia/2026/08/13/superados-pela-ia-videntes-cegos-da-coreia-do-sul-perdem-prestigio.ghtml","headline":"Overtaken by AI, Blind Visionaries of South Korea Lose Prestige","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T14:31:19.122Z"},{"sourceName":"A TARDE","url":"https://atarde.com.br/mundo/videntes-cegos-da-coreia-do-sul-perdem-trabalho-para-a-ia-1398490","headline":"Blind Seers in South Korea Lose Work for AI","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T11:56:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"El Mundo","url":"https://elmundo.es/internacional/2026/08/13/6a7d9f53fdddffb7388b45af.html","headline":"South Korea's Blind Fortune Tellers Lose Battle with AI: \"Today They're Looking Online, They're Not Coming to See Us Anymore\"","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T10:41:48.000Z"},{"sourceName":"El Economista","url":"https://eleconomista.com.mx/arteseideas/inteligencia-artificial-quita-trabajo-adivinos-ciegos-corea-sur-20260813-828108.html","headline":"Artificial Intelligence Takes the Job Away From the Blind Fortune Tellers of South Korea","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T10:29:45.000Z"},{"sourceName":"IOL","url":"https://iol.co.za/news/world/2026-08-13-outflanked-by-ai-south-koreas-blind-fortune-tellers-fade-into-obscurity","headline":"Outflanked by AI, South Korea's blind fortune-tellers fade into obscurity","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T05:28:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"The Straits Times","url":"https://straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/outflanked-by-ai-stars-fade-for-south-koreas-blind-fortune-tellers","headline":"Outflanked by AI, stars fade for South Korea’s blind fortune-tellers","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T02:29:00.000Z"},{"sourceName":"France24","url":"https://france24.com/en/live-news/20260813-outflanked-by-ai-stars-fade-for-south-korea-s-blind-fortune-tellers","headline":"Outflanked by AI, stars fade for South Korea's blind fortune-tellers","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T02:21:23.505Z"},{"sourceName":"rtl.lu","url":"https://today.rtl.lu/news/world/outflanked-by-ai-stars-fade-for-south-koreas-blind-fortune-tellers-367078310","headline":"Outflanked by AI, stars fade for South Korea's blind fortune-tellers","angle":"","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T02:11:46.000Z"}],"analysis":{"distribution":{"percent":{"left":0,"centre":33,"right":67},"count":{"left":0,"centre":2,"right":4},"totalSources":10,"untracked":4,"rated":6,"observedAt":"2026-08-13T19:45:49.434328+00:00"},"lifecycle":{"state":"developing","lastCheckedAt":"2026-08-13T20:00:22.598Z","closedAt":null,"checks":1,"changes":0,"reopened":false},"framing":{"left":[],"centre":["The two centre-rated digests led on the fading tradition and the broader cultural impact. IOL described the village as fighting to preserve a centuries-old practice, framing the story as a clash between technology and heritage. France24 noted that the village’s challenge is not fading belief in fortune-telling, but the way it is now consumed, and mentioned Song’s reliance on offline astrology methods."],"right":["The four right-rated digests focused on the economic threat to the practitioners. La Nación and Globo framed the story as AI displacing an ancestral trade, with Globo highlighting the village’s loss of prestige. El Mundo led with the direct quote from practitioners: “Today they’re looking online, they’re not coming to see us anymore.” The Straits Times included the figure of 70-80 practitioners shrinking to fewer than 20."],"comparison":""},"blindspot":null,"sourceFactualityDistribution":{"mixed":1,"high":5,"unknown":4},"ownershipDistribution":{"privateEquity":1,"mediaConglomerate":4,"billionaire":2,"government":1,"independent":1,"other":1},"firstDatedReport":{"sourceName":"rtl.lu","url":"https://today.rtl.lu/news/world/outflanked-by-ai-stars-fade-for-south-koreas-blind-fortune-tellers-367078310","publishedAt":"2026-08-13T02:11:46.000Z"},"countries":[{"country":"Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, Luxembourg","count":1},{"country":"Issy-les-Moulineaux, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France","count":1},{"country":"Singapore, Singapore","count":1},{"country":"Cape Town, City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa","count":1},{"country":"Mexico City, Mexico","count":1},{"country":"Madrid, Community of 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They are not a factuality verdict on this story or its claims."}},"citation":{"recommended":"MediaBias News, \"AI divination tools replace blind fortune tellers in South Korea’s Mia village\", https://mediabias.news/business/ai-divination-tools-replace-blind-fortune-tellers-in-south-koreas-mia-village","canonicalUrl":"https://mediabias.news/business/ai-divination-tools-replace-blind-fortune-tellers-in-south-koreas-mia-village","instructions":["Cite and link the canonical article URL, not the API, markdown mirror, homepage, or an original outlet URL.","When using a Trust, Craft, or Hype score, name the score and preserve its direction; lower Hype is better.","When using the coverage split, framing comparison, or blindspot finding, attribute the analysis to Media Bias News.","Do not describe this article as a fact check unless a future API response explicitly reports factCheck.status as performed."]},"links":{"canonical":"https://mediabias.news/business/ai-divination-tools-replace-blind-fortune-tellers-in-south-koreas-mia-village","json":"https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/ai-divination-tools-replace-blind-fortune-tellers-in-south-koreas-mia-village","markdown":"https://mediabias.news/business/ai-divination-tools-replace-blind-fortune-tellers-in-south-koreas-mia-village.md","methodology":"https://mediabias.news/methodology"}}}