We participated in the Education Expo held at COEX as our first official external event of 2024. It would be no exaggeration to say that virtually all of South Korea’s edtech startups were present, with countless companies participating and generating tremendous excitement. Building on the success achieved at last year’s metaverse exhibition, we embarked on this year’s first exhibition with even greater anticipation.

Keeping pace with the digital transformation (DX) trend, the education expo also showcased innovative services based on cutting-edge technology and AI. Particularly, the integration of educational curricula with AI was providing teachers and students with more sophisticated personalized education. A solution that instantly generates the most relevant related problems when you ask an online tutor a question in natural language was highly intriguing. Teachers will be able to reduce administrative burdens and communicate more closely with students with the help of these AI tutors.

A booth where children built smart factories using LEGO blocks and recreated factory processes through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) coding was hugely popular. Watching robot soccer matches and robot idol performances, I realized once again that the future is no longer a distant story. Observing the diverse demos and solutions led to one conclusion: change never comes gradually. Just as the shift from feature phones to smartphones and from internal combustion engines to electric vehicle platforms was abrupt, the education market’s paradigm was also undergoing a step-change leap. Innovative platforms are already prepared; we have entered an era where an individual’s pace of innovation is determined by how actively they embrace this technology.

I felt a strange disconnect between parents fixated solely on the academic pedigree of startup CEOs who’ve secured billions in investment, and the reality of students who must ride the wave of imminent change. Rather than obsessing over building impressive credentials, I resolved to teach children the ‘swimming technique’ to navigate the changing world’s ocean as soon as possible, and left the expo with that determination.