[Review] AI Translator Installed at Department Store: "Answering English Questions in Korean"

Transtalker Interpreter Installed at Jamsil Lotte World Mall Information Desk
Foreign Visitors: "Wide Language Selection and Easy to Use"
SKT: "Continuous Data Training... Accuracy Expected to Improve"

"Where is the entrance of Lotte World?"

"If you go straight after exiting the gate, you will see a fountain. From there, take the road on the right and you will find the entrance."

On April 26, a foreign tourist visiting Lotte World Mall in Jamsil is using the AI simultaneous interpretation service 'Transtalker'.
Photo by Seoyul Hwang chestnut@

On April 26, at the information desk in front of Gate 15 on the basement level 1 of Lotte World Mall in Jamsil, a foreign visitor approached the desk. Information desk manager Lee Yebin guided the visitor to a transparent monitor on the desk. Moury Corinne (60, female), who was traveling from Paris, France, had her daughter select English from the various languages displayed on the monitor, and then approached the microphone. When Corinne asked in English where the entrance to Lotte World was, Lee responded in Korean. Corinne read the real-time English translation of the response on the screen, then said, "Thank you," and headed toward Lotte World.

Lotte Department Store has installed SK Telecom's AI simultaneous interpretation service 'Transtalker' at the AvenueL Jamsil branch on the first floor and at the information desk on the basement level 1 of Lotte World Mall, providing the service to customers. Transtalker supports a total of 13 languages, including English, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish. According to Lotte Department Store, an average of 200 foreign visitors at Jamsil Lotte Mall make inquiries through Transtalker. An SKT representative stated, "Inquiries are coming in not only from the retail sector but also from industries that serve foreigners, such as universities, casinos, banks, insurance companies, resorts, and hotels. Some are even in concrete contract discussions."

SKT's AI simultaneous interpretation service 'Transtalker' installed at the Jamsil Lotte World Mall information desk / Photo by Seoyul Hwang chestnut@

The usage method is simple. Foreign visitors select their preferred language on the transparent monitor and speak into the microphone in that language. The information desk staff can view the translated question in Korean on a connected laptop monitor. Conversely, when the staff responds in Korean, visitors can see the answer translated into their chosen language on the transparent monitor. For AI simultaneous interpretation, SKT collaborated with Konan Technology, a member of the K-AI Alliance, to integrate features such as speech-to-text (STT), natural language processing (NLP), translation engines, and large language models (LLM).

Foreign visitors have responded positively to Transtalker. Corinne said, "I was impressed by the wide selection of languages and found it easy to use." Mendez (70, male), an American looking for a Chinese restaurant inside Lotte World Mall, also received directions smoothly through Transtalker. Mendez commented, "I needed a bit of help from the information desk staff, but it was great to be able to communicate clearly."

A foreign visitor is asking in English about the location of a Chinese restaurant, and a staff member at Jamsil Lotte World Mall is responding in Korean. Photo by Hwang Seoyul chestnut@

The information desk staff also noted that responding in Korean allows them to convey information more kindly than when communicating in other languages. Lee said, "Now, we can communicate not only in English, Chinese, and Japanese, but also in other languages. Previously, when someone asked about a location, we could only explain the floor and a rough position, but now we can provide additional details, such as which elevator next to a certain store to use."

However, there were cases where the staff had to ask again about proper nouns or brand names at the information desk. Diane (27, female), who was traveling from Malaysia with a friend, asked in English about the location of 'Lotte World,' but the system failed to recognize it and converted it to the Korean phrase 'Yeotaewol.' Diane said, "It was disappointing that the translation was different from what I said."

An SKT representative explained, "Various factors such as proper nouns, background noise, and pronunciation can affect recognition. We are continuously training the data, and as more customers use the service, the accuracy will further improve."