Soaring in the 'Untact' Era... Woongjin ThinkBig's 'Smart Education'

Surpassing 500,000 Smart Members Within the Year
Launching Additional New AI Education Services

Number of Members of Woongjin ThinkBig Smart Digital Education (Unit: Persons) / Source = Woongjin ThinkBig

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] Woongjin ThinkBig's smart digital education membership is expected to surpass 500,000 for the first time in six years. The enhancement of content incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the increase in non-face-to-face demand due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have influenced this growth. Woongjin ThinkBig plans to launch new AI education services in line with the growth trend of the elementary school digital education market.

According to Woongjin ThinkBig on the 23rd, the cumulative number of smart digital education members reached 460,000 as of the end of last month. Compared to the membership of about 32,787 in 2014 when the smart digital education content 'Woongjin Book Club' was first launched, it has increased approximately 14 times.

Woongjin ThinkBig's smart digital education membership increased from 255,089 in 2015 to 437,080 last year. With smart digital education gaining more attention due to COVID-19 this year, the number of members is expected to exceed 500,000 by the end of the year.

Jung Yunho, Head of Management Planning at Woongjin ThinkBig, said, "In 2014, when learning was mainly paper-based, we launched Woongjin Book Club, the industry's first smart digital education, and now we hold the number one position in membership in the industry. With smart digital education gaining attention due to COVID-19, we will additionally launch education services incorporating AI technology and enhance synergy effects with existing face-to-face education."

Woongjin ThinkBig's smart digital education is divided into 'Smart Learning' and 'Smart Reading' content. After launching Woongjin Book Club Smart Reading in August 2014, they introduced 'Book Club Study' Smart Learning in October the following year. As of the end of last month, Smart Learning and Smart Reading memberships recorded 320,000 and 140,000 respectively.

Smart Learning is digital education based on curriculum subjects such as math, science, and English. Smart Reading is a method of reading various books such as classics, science books, biographies, and novels using smart devices. It creates an environment for extensive reading of quality books through diagnosis, interest stimulation, and reading coaching, promoting creativity and thinking skills.

A child using Woongjin Thinkbig's 'AI Math' smart learning service is checking the learning goals and difficulty level.

Woongjin ThinkBig estimates that the total number of smart digital education members in the industry has exceeded 1 million. Considering that there are 2.6 million elementary school students in Korea, the company explains that already 40% of elementary students are using smart digital education. The smart digital education market is expected to grow significantly in the future.

Woongjin ThinkBig is also actively developing smart digital education services applying AI technology. Through its own AI research institute, it acquired four AI education patents in the first half of this year and has filed six patents currently under review. Various AI education projects targeting kindergarten students are also being considered. Among Woongjin ThinkBig's smart digital education members, 110,000 are members of AI-related services.

Choi Samrak, Head of IT Development at Woongjin ThinkBig, said, "The AI learning model we developed was verified by KAIST professors, confirming a 15.7 percentage point improvement in accuracy compared to the same exposure time. Through continuous research and development, we will introduce various AI learning models that achieve great efficiency even with less study time."