Daekyo Group Accelerates Digital Transformation with Edutech Platform

Targeting the Edutech Market with a 'One-Stop Education Platform' Optimized for Remote Learning
Aiming to Provide Customer-Customized Learning Services Using DB

Daekyo Group is undergoing a transformation into an edutech company by consecutively launching digital education platforms such as online live classes, educational services, and academy specialized services. The photo shows Daekyo's AI learning solution Summit. Photo by Daekyo

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Daekyo Group, which recorded its first-ever deficit last year due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is undergoing a transformation into an edutech company by consecutively launching digital education platforms such as online live classes, educational services, and academy-specialized services.

According to Daekyo Group on the 17th, they are continuously introducing customer-tailored learning services utilizing databases (DB) by strengthening their education platform business.

Daekyo was established as the Korea Public Math Research Institute in 1976, the first educational company to introduce learning materials in Korea. Daekyo, which first entered the education market in 1991 with the launch of the 'Noonnoppi' learning materials, has expanded its offline-based education business and currently operates subsidiaries such as Daekyo, Daekyo D&S, Daekyo CNS, Daekyo Edupia, Daekyo CSA, Daekyo ENC, and Daekyo America under the holding company Daekyo Holdings.

Daekyo’s portfolio, centered on offline learning businesses, showed some stagnation due to the spread of COVID-19. Daekyo recorded an operating loss of 28.6 billion KRW last year, marking its first-ever deficit. Since more than 90% of its sales came from face-to-face services such as visiting learning materials and learning centers, the impact was considered significant.

Recently, Daekyo appointed Kang Hojun, the eldest son of founder Kang Youngjoong, as the new CEO through the board of directors and recruited Kim Wooseung, former CEO of Zoom Internet and a digital big data expert, as CDO (Chief Digital Officer). This organizational restructuring is seen as a strategic move to actively enter the edutech market.

Daekyo introduced 'Macadamia,' an educational service platform where all of Daekyo's brands can be accessed in one place, last year. Photo by Daekyo

Integrated Online Service Platform Macadamia Enhances Customer Accessibility and Convenience

Last year, Daekyo launched 'Macadamia,' an educational service platform where all Daekyo brands can be accessed in one place. Even if parents use various Daekyo learning brands such as Noonnoppi, Summit, Chaehong, and Soluni, they can easily check their child's attendance status, learning progress, achievement analysis, and learning plan information at a glance on Macadamia. Additionally, it offers customized education recommendations and matching consultations with professional learning planners based on the learner’s target and learning type, allowing parents and learners to inquire about educational services anytime.

With the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic raising concerns about parents' childcare burdens and learning loss, Macadamia has attracted significant interest from parents as a learning management app that shares the latest educational information around learners and meticulously monitors and manages their children's learning status.

Daekyo EduCamp launched 'Bangcle,' a one-stop education platform optimized for non-face-to-face learning, on the 1st in collaboration with edutech company WizSchool. Photo by Daekyo

‘Bangcle’: Online Live Learning for Curriculum, Extracurricular, and Arts Subjects

Recently, Daekyo gained attention by launching the country’s first online live specialized education platform covering curriculum, extracurricular, and arts subjects. Daekyo Educamp, in collaboration with edutech company Wizschool, launched the one-stop education platform ‘Bangcle’ on the 1st, optimized for non-face-to-face learning. It integrates all necessary functions for remote classes, including online live sessions, course registration, payment, learning result analysis, and assignment submission.

Bangcle allows learners to freely attend live classes anytime and anywhere, featuring real-time interactive communication between instructors and students. Classes are conducted one-on-one or in small groups. It offers diverse educational content and online lectures such as debates, ballet, TaekwonFit, and Orff Schulwerk, as well as content that was difficult to access online before, including theater musicals, Korean traditional music pansori, and pet learning. Bangcle is recognized as an alternative overcoming the limitations of non-face-to-face education in physical education and cultural arts.

Daekyo Group's academy-specialized service company, 'Eduvation,' provides a platform service that connects core services needed by academies with the academies themselves. Photo by Daekyo

Academy Management Solution ‘Eduvation’ Draws Attention

Furthermore, Daekyo is also focusing on building platforms not only for learners and parents but also for academies. Daekyo Group’s academy-specialized service company ‘Eduvation’ provides platform services that connect academies with essential services they need. According to Daekyo, Eduvation offers academy management programs like ‘Tongtongtong,’ an academy instructor employment portal ‘Hunjang Village,’ and academy advertising ‘Answer Tong,’ enabling everything from academy operation to instructor recruitment and advertising.

Eduvation is providing free services such as quarantine management, non-face-to-face visit payment, and easy account payment services to academies struggling with management difficulties due to COVID-19. It offers a system that enables contactless online payments for card and cash on-site payments, helping academies, which mostly consist of small business owners, through relatively lower merchant payment fees and faster settlements compared to general online payments. Additionally, Eduvation plans to form a strategic partnership with the education startup ‘Gangnam Mom’ to launch services targeting parents in the future.

A Daekyo official said, "We will expand our expertise in the non-face-to-face education field by launching various AI-based learning programs that combine Daekyo’s educational know-how with edutech technology."

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