A student at Yeongil Kindergarten in Yeongdo District, Busan, is learning letters through an application developed by teachers. Provided by the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education

A case from a kindergarten in the Yeongdo District of Busan, in which teachers themselves developed an artificial intelligence (AI) program and applied it to classes, will be expanded across the entire city.

The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education announced on the 9th that it will introduce the AI technology ‘Vibe Coding’ into early childhood education and expand to all kindergartens in the region a model in which teachers develop and share instructional materials. ‘Vibe Coding’ refers to a method whereby, when a person speaks in natural language, AI writes the code to create a program or an application (app).

This expansion measure was prepared based on the successful operation of Yeongil Kindergarten in Yeongdo District, which was designated as a research school in March. Through conversations with AI (Vibe Coding), teachers at this kindergarten developed and applied in classrooms a literacy-enhancement app for young children called ‘Letter Friends’ and a ‘Dismissal Management System’ to support convenience for kindergarteners.

‘Letter Friends’ converts spoken input into text and presents it to help children understand the relationship between sounds and letters, and helps them express their thoughts and experiences in writing. The ‘Dismissal Management System’ enabled kindergarten teachers and staff to share information on children going home in real time, greatly improving administrative efficiency.

The Busan education office views the Yeongil Kindergarten case as going beyond simply producing digital teaching materials, concluding that it contributed to cultivating creativity and problem-solving among young children by having teachers directly design classroom environments and educational content.

Kim Seok-Jun, superintendent of the Busan education office, said, “We will spare no support so that creative practices from the field can spread as a future-oriented early childhood education model throughout Busan.”