A New Way of Reading with AI Integration
Create a Narrator with Just One Minute of Data
Apply Your Own Voice to Audiobooks
Even Converse with Characters from Books
"These days, I've become completely absorbed in the joy of listening to audiobooks while driving from my home in Gyeonggi-do to work in Seoul. When I used public transportation, I mostly read e-books, but you can't read a book while driving. Lately, I'm discovering the unique appeal of 'reading by listening.'" - Office worker Kim Changmin (40)
Recently, the concept of reading has expanded from "reading with your eyes" to "reading with your ears." As people can now listen to books even in situations where their eyes and hands are occupied, accessibility to reading has significantly improved. In particular, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have made it possible to select a preferred voice or quickly find and listen to specific book content, which is increasing the utility of audiobooks.
According to the Korea Publishing and Culture Industry Promotion Agency on June 23, the estimated size of the domestic audio content market grew rapidly from 30 billion won in 2020 to 108 billion won last year. This trend is also seen worldwide. According to market research firm Grand View Research, the global audiobook market was valued at approximately $8.07 billion (about 11 trillion won) last year, with an average annual growth rate of 26%. This growth is expected to continue through 2030.
In the past, audiobooks were regarded as an auxiliary tool for the visually impaired, but they are now drawing attention as a new form of reading combined with AI technology. The technology has moved beyond simply reading text with a mechanical voice, with immersive AI audiobooks now widely used. Thanks to vivid expressions reminiscent of radio dramas, readers report that reading fatigue has decreased and enjoyment has increased.
In fact, the audiobook platform Wela introduced an AI-based high-quality accelerated playback technology through industry-academic cooperation with the Hanyang University Convergence Electronic Engineering Department's Industrial Technology Center (Professor Jang Junhyeok). This technology is characterized by significantly reducing sound quality degradation and pronunciation inaccuracies even when playing at more than twice the normal speed.
Furthermore, advances in AI technology have made it possible to set a desired voice as the narrator of a book. Polish voice AI startup Elevenlabs can create a unique narrator with just one minute of voice recording. Users can apply not only their own voice, but also the voices of emotionally close people such as parents or grandmothers to audiobooks.
LG Uplus has introduced a "Dreaming AI Audiobook" service that uses its AI "ixi" to learn a parent's voice and then read books to their children. In the Christian community, there have been efforts to deliver the Bible using the voices of trusted clergy. One of the major churches in Korea, Onnuri Church, provides its congregation with Bible readings using the recorded voice of the late Pastor Ha Yongjo.
With AI technology, it is even possible to have direct conversations with characters from books. Naver Webtoon has launched the "Character Chat" service, which enables users to converse with characters as if they were real people by training the AI on the characters' speech patterns, personalities, and the story's universe. This service offers a new, immersive reading experience, and since its launch in June last year, it has recorded a cumulative 3.35 million users and over 70 million messages as of last month.
KT's Millie's Library offers the "AI Dokpaming" feature, which allows users to ask questions about a book without reading the entire text, and the AI extracts and presents the key points. For example, users can ask, "Summarize this book in one sentence" or "How can I overcome the pain of a breakup?" and the AI will provide relevant excerpts. This feature is attracting attention from users who prioritize time efficiency.
Chae Woongjun, a research fellow at the Korea Publishing and Reading Policy Research Institute, analyzed, "The activation of audiobooks is evidence that the publishing market is successfully adapting to changes in the media environment. It is seen as a positive change because people can listen anytime on public transportation or in daily life. In particular, AI will play a central role in future technological changes in the publishing market and aligns well with the trend toward experience-centered reading."
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