[Education Industry in the AI Era] Edutech and Generative AI Rapid Transition... Dreaming of 1 Trillion Won in Sales

②Woongjin ThinkBig, Rapid Growth in Performance with 'SmartAll' Success
Collaboration with Naver 'HyperCLOVA X' for Educational Content
Providing Personalized Learning Opportunities

Editor's NoteTraditional education companies, which have grown centered on workbooks, are pouring company-wide efforts into digital transformation using the know-how they have accumulated to respond to 'Edutech.' Emerging edutech companies are threatening existing companies with their unique technological capabilities. We looked into what changes education companies are making in the edutech era.

[Education Industry in the AI Era] Edutech and Generative AI Rapid Transition... Dreaming of 1 Trillion Won in Sales

Lee Jae-jin, CEO of Woongjin ThinkBig, presented the business strategy under the theme "The Next Edutech, Adding Generative AI" last March at The Westin Chosun Seoul in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul.

Woongjin ThinkBig is regarded as the most successful traditional education company in transitioning to edutech. Since declaring digital transformation in 2014 and establishing an IT development office in 2016, it has expanded from an offline-centered business to the online domain. It was also during this period that they introduced 'Woongjin Book Club,' Korea's first tablet-based learning program.

The swift digital transformation shone during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales, which were 652.2 billion KRW in 2019, rose to 933.2 billion KRW last year, bringing them close to joining the '1 trillion KRW club.' In 2020, they pushed Daekyo to third place in workbook industry sales and are currently even threatening the leading company, Kyowon.

The representative edutech brand that led Woongjin ThinkBig's rapid growth is 'SmartAll.' Starting with the 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) Learning Coaching' service in 2018, they launched SmartAll in 2019, which offers AI customized smart learning for all subjects targeting elementary school students. As the product gained popularity, Woongjin ThinkBig expanded the service target from infants to middle school students the following year. This strategy proved effective. The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a boom in non-face-to-face education, boosting performance. Last year, SmartAll's sales increased by 40% compared to the previous year, reaching 234.1 billion KRW, and cumulative members surpassed 230,000 as of the second quarter.

As the COVID-19 outbreak ended, SmartAll's performance growth slowed, resulting in an operating loss of 5.3 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year. Although they returned to profitability in the second quarter, operating profit decreased by 51.8% compared to the same period last year, recording 4.722 billion KRW. The tablet-based Smart ThinkBig and Book Club businesses suffered significant performance hits. Increased investment in facility-based learning channels such as study rooms and academies to respond to offline learning due to the COVID-19 endemic also negatively affected financial conditions. At the beginning of the year, securities firms predicted that Woongjin ThinkBig would achieve sales of 1 trillion KRW for the first time this year, but recent reports suggest it will fall short.

Advertisement for Woongjin ThinkBig's edutech educational product 'SmartAll'. (Photo by Woongjin ThinkBig)

Woongjin ThinkBig has started efforts to turn the tide. With the strong wave of generative AI such as 'ChatGPT' this year, their strategy is to integrate this technology into educational products and launch new services. As they quickly transitioned to edutech in the past, they have moved relatively earlier than other traditional education companies this time as well. The core is hyper-personalized customized content. They plan to analyze big data secured from existing users with generative AI to provide personalized educational content.

In this regard, Woongjin ThinkBig is currently developing a learning service integrated with Naver's massive AI model 'HyperCLOVA X.' They plan to launch the Korean language subject by the end of the year and sequentially release other subjects such as English in the first half of next year. For English, they are developing a concept where users can freely converse with NPC (Non Player Character) characters within the metaverse (extended virtual world). For Korean and reading, they are considering recommending content suitable for students' levels and introducing chatbots that allow students to freely converse. A Woongjin ThinkBig official said, "The launch of services integrated with HyperCLOVA X was somewhat delayed due to the postponement of the enterprise API (Application Programming Interface) release," adding, "We will build a more detailed personalized education system than before through various solutions."

They have also started a project to preempt the 'AI Digital Textbook' market, which will be officially introduced into public education from 2025 by utilizing edutech and AI technology. The government plans to first introduce AI digital textbooks in subjects such as math, English, information, and Korean (special education) from March 2025, and expand to all subjects including Korean, social studies, history, science, technology, and home economics by 2028. Woongjin ThinkBig is currently developing an AI digital textbook for the math subject. In this regard, on the 10th, Woongjin ThinkBig signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly develop an 'AI Customized Learning Service' for AI digital textbooks with game company NCSoft and AI education company TutorUs Labs. These companies plan to build an education-dedicated large language model (LLM), which is the foundation of generative AI, through technological cooperation. Jeong Jin-hwan, head of Woongjin ThinkBig's Edutech Research Institute, said, "We will build a highly complete proprietary educational LLM through continuous cooperation and research and development," and added, "Through this, we will further enhance learning coaching and chatbot functions to provide a more advanced learning experience."