[2025 SNU Campus Town Startup CEO] ‘Babblee,’ Seller of an AI-Based Korean Learning App and Online Educational Services and Materials in Four Languages

Gaeul Christin Park, CEO of Babblee

Providing Korean language education to global learners, with a special focus on fans of K-pop and K-dramas
A simulation learning experience where the user’s speech and choices affect how the story unfolds

Babblee sells the AI-based Korean learning app ‘Babblee’ as well as online educational services and materials in four languages. It was founded in May 2022 by CEO Gaeul Park (34).

CEO Park said, “Babblee offers various new methods of studying Korean to global learners, with a special focus on fans of K-pop and K-dramas.”

Judging that ‘love and narrative immersion’ would improve learning retention, Babblee has focused on K-idols and actors—the most widely adored figures in the market—as well as the intense storylines found in Korean dramas and movies. Learners don’t just memorize grammar and vocabulary. They develop along with the growth stories of idols, become the heroes of dramas, and make choices, and get to experience simulation learning where their speech and choices affect how the story unfolds.

“The Babble service reimagines Korean learning through immersive narratives such as K-idol growth stories and K-dramas. The learners becomes the main characters in stories of love, growth and conflict, and naturally learn Korean through conversations and situations designed by AI.”

Babblee has three competitive advantages. The dynamic AI curriculum uses an adaptive system developed in-house to analyze the learner’s speech, grammar, and pronunciation in real time and immediately supplement weak points. Its point of difference is the AI, which provides a personalized learning path rather than simple step-by-step learning. In addition, rather than fixed stories, it provides an interactive, UGC-based simulation learning structure where the user’s answers and choices affect how the story unfolds. Unlike existing textbook-style apps, this enhances learning immersion by allowing learners to become the main characters in scenarios they create themselves. Finally, by integrating highly engaging K-idol growth stories and K-drama narrative structures into K-culture game-based learning, the company is providing content that will be appealing and familiar to global fans. This improves learning retention and enables organic market growth.

CEO Park said, “We are focusing on the questions of how we can be discovered in the market and why customers should spend money on our services, and we are prioritizing branding efforts first.”

“Currently, we are consistently publishing content on Reddit and LinkedIn to secure brand positioning and generate interest. We’re aiming for continuous brand exposure by observing people’s reactions and creating tailored events based on those reactions, and through collaborations with creators of unique Korean products like ours. After launching the service, we plan to hold a special discount event for users who have been following us so far, and to develop sales channels by continuing to reach out to small-scale Korean-language businesses and foreign universities.”

What made CEO Park decide to start a new company? “I’ve worked for the YMCA and the UN in the U.S., both international organizations. I started this business to find better solutions for problems in the market. During the startup process, I realized that the CEO of an AI company had to have a good grasp of technology. So I enrolled in a development training program, where I met COO Ellim Kim. We had a lot of the same ideas, so we launched the startup together. Our partnership was based on the conviction that ‘combining Korean language learning with K-content would lead to an explosion in global demand.’ Luckily, CEO Heoje of N15 saw the potential of our team and provided seed money. We also secured project funding through government R&D support.”

Following the launch of the startup, said CEO Park, “When our students say they enjoy learning Korean, I feel very proud.” “Most of our students are second- and third-generation ethnic Koreans from Ukraine and Russia who are preparing to settle in Korea, so they need to learn Korean. My proudest moment was when I heard that some students from EM Academy, one of our MOU partners, had achieved perfect scores on dictation tests through our service. This would be difficult even for native Korean speakers.”

Babblee has signed an MOU with the largest foreign learning center in Ansan to provide services directly to students. In September, we held pop-up events in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to demonstrate our services directly, observe the user experience, and collect feedback. CEO Park said, “We will secure pre-A investment by setting KPIs based on the market response and using them to demonstrate scalability.”

Regarding future plans, CEO Park said, “I envision a Korean-style Khan Academy,” and added, “My goal is to create a global education company.”

Date of Establishment: May 2022
Main Business: AI edutech, online education, educational materials
Performance: Participated in the Google Launchpad Program (successfully completed); business collaboration with Seoul National University; selected as a Global EdTech Partner Company; partner company of Dankook University, Hanyang University ERICA Campus, and the Seoul Institute of the Arts; collaboration with a Silicon Valley global edtech investor (MTB), with U.S. investment underway; signed an MOU with Ansan’s largest language institute for foreigners

reporter jinho lee
[email protected]