I’m Narumi.SBT, from Wikimedians of Japan User Group. I attended WikiConference Seoul 2025, held in South Korea, at the end of October 2025. A month and a half passed in no time, but I would like to share it with you because there have been various learning through the practice and discussion of the neighboring Korean community.
The organizing team, Wikimedia Korea, has already released a detailed report on this event, so please take a look at it as well.
How I ended up participating in WikiConference Seoul 2025
As a Japanese Wikimedian living in Japan, I was able to participate because Wikimedia Korea contacted Wikimedians of Japan User Group. Due to my various connections, I was invited to join the conference as a member of the User Group. Previously, I had an interest in Korean society and culture, and I studied the language for a while. I still can’t speak Korean at all, but I thought it was a valuable opportunity to learn about the Wikimedia movement in Korea, so I decided to participate.
Conference day: Participation and Presentation from Japan
On the conference day, when I arrived at the Seoul Global Center, the conference venue, members of Wikimedia Korea were there. As one of the country-specific affiliate organizations (‘Chapter’), Wikimedia Korea promotes Wikimedia movements in South Korea through organizing various activities such as edit-a-thons, photowalks, and meetups. I was relieved to see everyone since we also met at Wikimania.
In addition to myself, Eugene Ormandy from Toumon Wikipedian Club also attended WikiConference Seoul 2025. At the beginning of the conference, Eugene reported the general overview of the Japanese Wikimedia community, and then I introduced about Wikimedians of Japan User Group and suggested the possibility of continuous collaborative human exchanges, edit-a-thons, and photo contests between Japan and Korea.
After presentations from Japanese Wikimedians, as well as ESEAP Hub, there was a comprehensive Q&A session. I felt a high level of interest in Japan when I received various questions from Korean participants about the management of the open source community and the Wikimedia community in Japan. I also received a variety of collaboration ideas from the Korean community, including fieldwork at historical sites on both sides of Japan and Korea, and even on-Ship edit-a-thons!
Practice inside the Korean Community and Overall Summary
The conference continued with presentations from the Korean community and the Wikimedia Foundation. Innovative examples were shared, including efforts to collaborate with neurodivergent people, and reports on the efficient AI-based tool called “WikiVault“, developed independently by the Korean community. There was also a lively discussion about the need for ‘Koreanization’, the localization of content in Korean Wikimedia projects. I couldn’t understand everything in detail, but I was able to catch the trend of the Korean Wikimedia Movement, which was very helpful.
During lunch and break time, I had a chance to interact directly with Wikimedians in Korea. Among them, I was surprised to hear that South Korea is estimated to have the world’s second-largest paid user of ChatGPT after the U.S. In the conference, AI and AI-related keywords were mentioned many times. AI is also widespread in Japan, but in Korea, AI is penetrating society more rapidly than in Japan, and I felt that the question of how Wikipedia should be is a very important topic.
At the end of the conference, there were active discussions with online participants. The format of the so-called Open Fish Ball, in which participants alternate and speak on the stage, felt very fresh because I’ve never seen it before. Various discussions were eventually sorted into topics such as international cooperation, technology, and diversity, and many of the keywords common to the Japanese Wikimedia community were presented.
A glimpse of “Open Knowledge” in practice inside Korean society
After the conference, I had the opportunity to exchange various opinions with members of Wikimedia Korea while having meals and tea. I was also able to experience Korean history and culture, including a visit to Gyeongbokgung Palace, accompanied by the chairman of Wikimedia Korea.
While walking around Seoul, the particularly impressive scene of the city was the attempt of Seoul Outdoor Library. Public libraries were traveling outdoors in various parts of the city, allowing citizens to freely read library books along riversides, squares, and station buildings. It was a very enriching experience to see people relaxing and reading books from the library while watching the river flow. I also felt that there was something in common with Wikimedia’s philosophy in the sense that it is about expanding access to knowledge to a diverse range of people without being bound by the physical space of a library.
In addition, I visited various museums, art galleries, and exhibitions. In particular, the rich materials of the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History were very helpful in learning the flow of modern and contemporary Korean history. I feel that knowing and talking about contemporary history is very important in pondering the society in which we live.
Conclusion
This was my summarization of attending WikiConference Seoul 2025 as a Japanese Wikimedian, about things I learned and impressions I received. I do feel the same for other International conferences, such as Wikimania, but interacting with Wikimedians outside the country gives me a lot of energy.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Wikimedia Korea for welcoming me warmly, and Wikimedians of Japan User Group for sending me as their representative.
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