Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, Draws Attention with Korea's First AI Multilingual New Year Greeting

Using AI Technology to Create Fluent English, Japanese, and Chinese Dubbed Videos... A Unique Communication Attempt to Send Warm Lunar New Year Greetings to Foreigners Unable to Visit Their Hometowns... Available from the 8th on Mapo-gu Office Website, Official YouTube Channel, and Facebook

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo District, Lunar New Year Greeting Video

Kim Jung-min appearing in the Lunar New Year greeting video

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) announced plans to present residents with the country's first AI (artificial intelligence)-powered multilingual Lunar New Year greeting video.

This unique video was prepared by the district to attempt a new form of communication with residents ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, reflecting Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun’s emphasis on communication.

Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, various events including New Year's gatherings were canceled, making it difficult to meet residents in person. To convey Lunar New Year greetings despite this, the video production was initiated.

The video features Mayor Yoo delivering New Year greetings, and is notable for its natural multilingual dubbing in three languages based on AI voice and video synthesis technology.

In particular, rather than simply adding dubbing over Korean lip movements, AI technology was applied to naturally change Mayor Yoo’s lip movements to match the pronunciation of the dubbed languages, which is remarkable.

When watching the multilingual Lunar New Year greetings in the video, foreigners who are not fluent in Korean can fully feel the care and concern that Mapo residents and foreign residents in Mapo-gu have for each other.

The Lunar New Year video produced by the district includes not only Mayor Yoo delivering greetings in English, Japanese, and Chinese using AI, but also New Year greetings from Mapo-gu ambassadors Kim Jung-min and Haha, as well as Mapo-gu scholarship students and Mapo TV broadcast announcers.

The video will be available for anyone to watch starting from the 8th on the Mapo-gu Office website, the official Mapo-gu YouTube channel, Facebook, and the internet broadcasting homepage.

Meanwhile, on the 3rd, during the non-face-to-face ‘2021 Gwangheungdang Opening Concert’ broadcast on Mapo TV and YouTube channel, the Korean version of the Lunar New Year greeting video, which forms the basis of the multilingual greetings, was first shown to viewers, adding significance to the concert.

Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun said, “I am pleased to be able to deliver New Year greetings to many people, including foreigners, through this video. I thank the residents who are actively cooperating with quarantine rules for the safety and happiness of themselves and their neighbors during these difficult times due to COVID-19. In 2021, the Year of the Ox, I will continue to lead an administration that is always a source of strength for our residents.”

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