Jeju Rookie Announcer Who Surprises Three Times: Appearance, 600,000 Won Salary, and the Real Truth

Starting Jeju Provincial Government Policy Video News on YouTube
Hiring Virtual Human 'Jaina' Due to Cost and Expertise Issues

A 'virtual human' announcer has joined the spokesperson office of Jeju Province. A virtual human refers to a 3D virtual person created based on artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced graphic technology. On the 11th, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced that it introduced an AI announcer to 'Weekly JEJU,' a provincial policy video news program that informs about Jeju's administrative policies and news. The AI announcer's name is ‘Jaina (J-NA·JEJU NEWS AI)’. The name is derived from the first letters of each word in Jeju News AI.

The name of the I announcer is 'Jaina' (J-NA, JEJU NEWS AI). It is derived from the first letter of each word in Jeju News AI.
[Photo by Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Office]

Until now, Jeju Province focused on providing policy videos to media outlets, but starting from the 4th, it began directly delivering policy information through Weekly JEJU (YouTube channel 'Binnaneun JejuTV'). In the process, they sought announcers and provincial government employees to present the news, but faced setbacks due to cost and expertise issues. Consequently, Jeju Province searched for a virtual human announcer and signed a contract to feature Jaina, developed by a certain company, on Weekly JEJU.

Since this month, Jaina has been delivering various policy information to residents and public officials. It does not have AI learning capabilities but reads predetermined scripts. Jaina’s appearance was not created directly by the province but uses a sample provided by the service company. Jaina’s salary is approximately 600,000 KRW per month as a usage fee. The province explained that by utilizing Jaina, they can significantly reduce costs without being constrained by time and place.

A provincial official stated, "During the spokesperson office’s work report, a plan was proposed to produce news that informs about provincial policies internally," adding, "Since the cost burden of an actual announcer was high, we sought efficiency and thus decided to use Jaina." Weekly JEJU featuring ‘Jaina’ can be viewed every Friday on the provincial website and the official YouTube channel 'Binnaneun JejuTV.'