Hwang Hyuna of Korea University of Technology and Education Publishes AI Career Counseling Paper in KCI-Listed Journal

Action Research on LLM-Based Counseling Chatbot Design

Undergraduate Class Project Directly Leads to Academic Achievement

Hwang Hyuna, student at Korea University of Science and Technology

An artificial intelligence (AI) career counseling project that began as an undergraduate class has culminated in publication in a KCI-listed academic journal.

This educational model, which combines theory and practice, has directly translated into research achievements, demonstrating new possibilities for undergraduate research capabilities.

Korea University of Technology and Education announced on March 3rd that a paper co-authored by Hwang Hyuna, a third-year student in the Department of Employment Service Policy, as the first and corresponding author, has been published in a KCI-listed academic journal.

According to the university, the paper titled "An Action Research for AI-Based Career Counseling Chatbot Design Practice: Focusing on Large Language Models (LLM)" was published in Volume 27, Issue 1 of the journal "Counseling Studies."

This research was based on a counseling course utilizing the "AI-Based PBL (Project-Based Learning) Project," which was conducted during the second semester of 2024 and the first semester of 2025.

Undergraduate students analyzed the process of designing and developing a career counseling chatbot using large language models (LLMs) through an action research approach.

During the review process, the study was highly regarded for its academic contribution, as it structured the hands-on practice system for LLM-based counseling chatbot design and organically linked classroom learning with research.

Hwang Hyuna stated, "It is meaningful that my experience in a counseling class project has led to a journal publication and the achievement of being listed in KCI. I will continue to explore the field of AI counseling in the future."

Professor Lee Hye-eun, supervising professor, said, "The publication of a third-year undergraduate student's paper in a KCI-listed journal is an example that shows how class-based projects can be expanded into research capabilities and achievements. We will actively support evidence-based career counseling research moving forward."

The Department of Employment Service Policy at Korea University of Technology and Education is the first of its kind in Korea, established to foster professionals in employment services. It offers the nation's only undergraduate curriculum that systematically educates students in career and vocational counseling competencies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.