The Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK), led by Director Park Gi-tae, and the National Association for Korean Schools (NAKS), headed by President Yea-soon Kwon and Chair Mi-young Choi, have concluded their joint digital content creation project, “Find Korea’s Best AI Ambassador!”
The initiative was organized for Korean school teachers across the United States ahead of the 44th NAKS Conference and Annual Meeting, held in New Jersey this July. The project aimed to encourage participants to use generative AI to create and share digital content introducing Korea’s history, culture, the Korean Wave, and the history of Korean independence activism in the United States in ways that would resonate with global audiences, while presenting a new educational model for Korean schools in the AI era.
Through the project, VANK and NAKS introduced a vision of transforming Korean schools across the United States into “Korea AI Embassies” and nurturing both teachers and students as “AI Ambassadors for Korea.”
The organizations will continue promoting this vision at the 44th NAKS Conference and Annual Meeting. VANK Director Park Gi-tae will deliver a lecture titled “We Are AI Ambassadors for Korea!” Researcher Kwon So-young will present “Presenting Korea from Where We Live in the AI Era,” while Researcher Koo Seung-hyun will speak on “Promoting Korea in the AI Era,” introducing practical strategies for promoting Korea through generative AI.
VANK explained that as generative AI increasingly shapes how people search for information and learn, it has become essential to continuously produce and accumulate accurate AI-readable content about Korea.
The project began a month before the conference, with participating teachers creating a wide range of AI-assisted digital content—including short-form videos, digital posters, card news, webtoons, and music—to promote Korea’s history, culture, the Korean Wave, and the history of Korean independence activism in the United States.
A total of 17 digital works were submitted by teachers from Korean schools across the United States. VANK said the project was particularly meaningful because participants used AI not simply as a production tool, but to develop public diplomacy content reflecting their educational experience as well as the history and identity of Korean American communities.
Youn Yeon-hee of the Korean Culture & Language School of Oklahoma created a digital poster titled “Nebraska’s Forgotten School—1909: The Story of the Korean Boys’ Military School Where the Dream of Independence Began in America.” The work revisits the history of the Korean Boys’ Military School in Nebraska and connects the spirit of its students with today’s Korean school education, earning high praise.
Lim Ha-eun of NJ Gospel Mission Church’s Gospel Korean School produced a video titled “AI, Tell the World About Korea!” The video follows students as they use AI to create digital content about Hangul, kimchi, the Taegeukgi, and Korea’s independence activists, then share those stories with audiences around the world.
VANK and NAKS will present awards for outstanding entries during the 44th NAKS Conference and Annual Meeting. All participants will receive certificates of appreciation, while outstanding teachers will be awarded certificates appointing them as “AI Ambassadors for Korea” along with commemorative gifts. The winning entries will also be used as promotional content by both organizations and shared through educational settings and digital platforms.
“This project showed that Korean schools can grow beyond Korean language education to become a new educational platform that shares Korea’s history and culture with both the world and AI,” said NAKS President Yea-soon Kwon.
“During the AI era, Korean schools should evolve into new ‘Korea AI Embassies’ that connect Korea with the world and AI,” said VANK Director Park Gi-tae. “We hope the combination of teachers’ educational expertise and AI will help the next generation grow into AI ambassadors who introduce Korea to the world.”
VANK Researcher Kwon So-young said, “Content that introduces Korea in ways people around the world can relate to has become more important than ever. This project is especially meaningful because it combines educators’ real classroom experience with generative AI.”
VANK Researcher Koo Seung-hyun added, “As Korean school teachers and students continue creating and sharing high-quality content about Korea, AI will also learn about the country more accurately.”