Edutech Featuring 'Daechidong'... Membership Soars Amid COVID-19 Learning Gap

Woongjin SmartAll, 134,000 Members... 116.4% YoY Surge
22% of Education Business Non-Face-to-Face... "Edutech Drives Performance"
Parents Flock Due to Learning Gaps... Responding by Moving to 'Daechi-dong Academy District'
AI Learning Analysis Also Plays a Role... Utilizing 50 Billion Big Data Points

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Junhyung] Woongjin ThinkBig's EduTech service, SmartAll, is showing a sharp increase in membership. This is due to the growing number of parents seeking EduTech services as the learning gap deepens amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. It is evaluated that high-quality education has become possible even remotely, such as by transferring lectures from famous academies in Daechi-dong, Seoul.

According to Woongjin ThinkBig on the 19th, the number of SmartAll members reached 134,022 in June, a 166.4% surge compared to 50,309 in the same period last year. During the same period, SmartAll's sales increased by 166.7%, from 4.2 billion KRW to 11.2 billion KRW. Thanks to SmartAll's performance, the company's sales (185.7 billion KRW) and operating profit (7.5 billion KRW) in the second quarter of this year rose by 19.8% and 50.3%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Considering that the second quarter is usually an off-season for the education industry, this is a significant achievement.

Normalization of Remote Classes... Parents Flock Due to Learning Gaps

The proportion of non-face-to-face sales in the education business is also steadily increasing. In the second quarter of this year, non-face-to-face services accounted for 21.9% of Woongjin ThinkBig's education business sales, up 8.8 percentage points from the same period last year. A Woongjin ThinkBig official explained, "The recently successful EduTech business drove last quarter's performance," adding, "The strong sales trend of SmartAll and others is expected to continue for the time being."

The background of this achievement lies in the prolonged remote classes. It is analyzed that many parents chose EduTech services as an alternative to the learning gaps caused by remote classes. Although remote classes have become routine due to COVID-19, parental satisfaction was not high compared to traditional face-to-face classes. According to the Ministry of Education's "2020 Second Semester Remote Class Survey Results" released earlier this year, about 42% of approximately 420,000 parents responded that they were not satisfied with school remote classes. Additionally, 62.8% of parents answered that remote classes caused changes in the level differences among students. This is why concerns about COVID-19-induced learning gaps are emerging.

Expansion of Age Groups... Bringing the ‘Daechi-dong Academy District’ Online

Woongjin ThinkBig responded to market demand by expanding the SmartAll lineup. Originally, SmartAll was launched at the end of 2019 targeting elementary school students. However, as the number of members grew nearly fivefold in just half a year, Woongjin ThinkBig released content for prospective elementary and middle school students last year.

In particular, the service for middle school students attracted attention by directly transferring offline lectures from the so-called ‘Daechi-dong academy district.’ Before launching ‘SmartAll Middle School’ at the end of last year, Woongjin ThinkBig partnered with leading academies in Daechi-dong such as Gipeun Saenggak (Math), Mirae Tamgu (Science), and ILE (English). Thanks to this, the company explains that students can attend Daechi-dong academy lectures without time or location constraints.

Woongjin ThinkBig formed partnerships with leading academies in Daechi-dong, such as Gipeun Saenggak (Mathematics), Mirae Tamgu (Science), and ILE (English), ahead of the launch of 'SmartAll Middle School' at the end of last year.
[Photo by Woongjin ThinkBig]

AI learning analysis also played a role. SmartAll AI, which applies more than ten patented technologies, organizes monthly study plans based on progress and learning outcomes after lectures. The company enhanced analysis accuracy using about 50 billion learning big data secured through its EduTech Research Institute and others. Parents can monitor their children's learning status in real-time through a smartphone application (app).

Woongjin ThinkBig believes that EduTech services can reduce learning gaps. A company official stated, "Through EduTech, high-quality education can be received anywhere without a significant financial burden for learning expenses," adding, "(EduTech) is a service that can contribute to resolving learning gaps, which have become a social issue."

Meanwhile, the EduTech market is expected to continue its rapid growth. According to education market analysis firms such as HolonIQ, the global EduTech market is projected to increase from about 265 trillion KRW last year to approximately 471.6 trillion KRW by 2025. EduTech AI, which provides learner-customized education based on big data, is expected to form a market worth 7.1 trillion KRW by 2025.

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