EduTech Leader Woongjin ThinkBig... Oversees R&D at IT Development Office
31 Domestic Patents, 3 US Patents... 80% of New Products Pass Through
2019 Launch of 'Interactive Book'... Sold About 83,000 Copies
First Korean Education Company to Win CES Innovation Award... Metaverse Also 'Starting Up'
Choi Sam-rak, Head of IT Development at Woongjin ThinkBig, is holding the stand-type camera 'Sparty' for augmented reality (AR) services. [Photo by Lee Jun-hyung]
[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] Woongjin ThinkBig is a strong player in the Edutech market. The Edutech services launched by the company come with the label "industry first." A representative example is the membership service "Woongjin Book Club," introduced in 2014. Woongjin Book Club is a service that combines mobile devices and books. The company has also taken the lead over competitors in developing advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR). In September this year, it partnered with the world's largest online education platform, Udemy, to launch a Korean version of the service. The app for toddlers, Noriui Balgyeon, which started as an in-house venture, recently surpassed 1 million members just two and a half years after its launch.
The IT Development Office at Woongjin ThinkBig is the department responsible for overseeing research and development (R&D) related to Edutech. Although the AI specialized research organization was separated into the "Edutech Research Institute" in March this year, the IT Development Office still plays a central role in developing new technologies. As of last month, the IT Development Office holds 31 domestic patents related to Edutech. There are also 3 U.S. patents. Choi Samrak, head of the IT Development Office at Woongjin ThinkBig, explained, "In the past five years, the number of employees in the IT Development Office has more than doubled," adding, "80% of the new products launched by the company go through our hands."
Interactive Book Selling 83,000 Copies... Winner of CES Innovation Award
The new products developed by the IT Development Office have become the company's "cash cows." The "Interactive Book," launched in August 2019, is a service that links book content with a tablet PC using AR technology. The camera at the top of the tablet PC, developed in-house by the company, recognizes the opened book and displays graphics corresponding to the content. For example, the Interactive Book series "AR Science Encyclopedia" offers a service where users can perform frog dissection experiments by touching the tablet PC. It also allows users to try experiments that cannot be experienced in schools due to dangers such as sodium explosions. By last month, about 83,000 copies of the Interactive Book had been sold. Through the Interactive Book, Woongjin ThinkBig became the first Korean education company to receive the Innovation Award at CES, the world's largest electronics and information technology (IT) exhibition.
The development process was not easy. Head Choi said, "During the development of the Interactive Book, we visited at least dozens of daycare centers to receive feedback tailored to the users' perspectives," adding, "We even postponed the release schedule by about four months to improve the service's completeness through user testing."
A Woongjin ThinkBig representative is demonstrating the augmented reality (AR) service 'ARpedia'. [Photo by Joonhyung Lee]
Targeting Overseas Markets... Accelerating Metaverse Development
The company refined the content of the Interactive Book and launched the global version "ARpedia" in January this year. Unlike the Interactive Book, ARpedia provides a giraffe-shaped stand camera called "Spati" instead of its own tablet PC. This change in service delivery was made considering the high tablet PC penetration rate centered on Apple's iPad in the U.S. market. Additionally, the content was localized to fit the social backgrounds of the U.S., such as its multiethnic and multicultural characteristics. The company plans to continuously expand global content through ARpedia, offering up to 200 science experiments as early as the end of the year.
The next destination for the IT Development Office is the metaverse. The global metaverse market began to rapidly expand starting from the COVID-19 pandemic. As the importance of non-face-to-face services has grown more than ever, the education industry is also paying attention to metaverse technology. The IT Development Office started metaverse development in early last year and began providing services this month to about 490,000 Edutech members, including those of SmartAll. Existing members can communicate with other members in virtual classrooms and participate in educational games. Head Choi said, "The metaverse is the path the education industry must take to expand children's learning experiences," adding, "We are preparing a service where users can receive rewards based on their learning achievements in virtual spaces."
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