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A teacher lectures in front of dozens of students. During the following practice session, students raise their hands to ask questions. The teacher goes to the students to explain, but due to the large number of students, it takes a long time. The lecture lasts about 10 minutes, but the practice session often exceeds an hour. Thus, it is difficult for the teacher to focus on the students, and students have to wait a long time to meet the teacher and receive in-depth education.

Kang Tae-hwan, CEO of Ague Edu, who majored in computer education at Korea University, personally experienced these issues in the field while teaching coding. Coding education, where practice is particularly important, faced challenges because there were far more students than teachers, making smooth practice difficult. The demand for coding education is high, so reducing the number of students is not feasible. Increasing the number of teachers incurs additional costs.


Kang Tae-hwan proposes an 'AI Assistant Teacher' as a solution. The principle is to assign a personalized AI assistant teacher to each student during practice sessions after the teacher finishes the lecture. This allows the teacher to focus solely on lecturing. Students can immediately ask questions to the AI assistant teacher without waiting for the teacher. The content taught by the AI assistant teacher is created and reviewed by current professors, teachers, and education experts, ensuring high quality.

Ague Edu goes a step further by designing the AI assistant teacher not to provide direct answers but to give hints step by step. Based on these hints, students first understand the concept of the problem, then solidify their understanding with examples. Finally, specific cases are suggested to help students complete the concept of the problem. This approach broadens the range of student thinking and encourages the development of problem-solving skills and habits.


To enhance the utility of the AI assistant teacher, Kang Tae-hwan has developed technologies such as Graph RAG and Multi-Agent and has applied for patents. Graph RAG analyzes students' learning history and coding patterns to provide customized hints tailored to individual levels. Multi-Agent is a technology that improves education quality and reduces AI errors. When a student asks a question, a central manager categorizes the question and directs it to a specialized agent for an appropriate response.

Based on these concepts and technologies, Ague Edu is developing 'AkeoAI,' an AI assistant teacher suitable for large-scale coding education at universities and institutions. AkeoAI, already used by 11 middle and high schools, gained popularity at a coding academy in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. As an online service, it allows students to learn, practice coding, and resolve queries not only at the academy but also at home, receiving positive evaluations. It also provides a dashboard that visualizes individual achievement and areas for improvement based on student data, enhancing education quality and earning praise from teachers.


Kang Tae-hwan emphasizes that applying AkeoAI to coding education for hundreds of students at universities or institutions can reduce labor costs for hiring assistants by over 50% and time spent on educational practice by over 90%. The larger the scale of education and the more complex the content, the greater the utility of AkeoAI. Ague Edu plans to deploy AkeoAI for coding education for Korea University's 2026 freshmen and, based on these results, enter the university coding education market in Korea and globally.

From its inception, Ague Edu has considered entering the global coding market. In practice, most team members actively utilize their experiences gained worldwide. The CTO, born in Canada, is a computer science major with experience in development and startup exits. The content developer with a master's in AI incorporates experiences from living in Belarus, while the content and automatic translation engine developer brings insights from studying in Australia.


As a result, Ague Edu has prepared robust English content, not merely translated from Korean but localized to fit the culture and characteristics of overseas students. With this as a foundation, Ague Edu aims to stir up a wave of K-coding education in Southeast Asia. Kang Tae-hwan focuses on Singapore and Indonesia, where there is a favorable view of K-content and a high enthusiasm for education. To establish roots in these emerging edutech markets, Ague Edu has formed a partnership with Singaporean edutech company ACP to distribute coding education content locally. Similar agreements have been made with educational companies in Los Angeles, USA, and Dubai, Middle East. Korea University's Crimson Startup Support Group also provides various support, including the initial startup package.

Ague Edu actively secures 'educational case studies in the field' as a weapon to thrive globally. Education shapes and guides a person's life, so it must be provided with great care. This is why Kang Tae-hwan personally established a coding academy after founding Ague Edu to enhance both the quantity and quality of AkeoAI and steadily increase its application in schools.


Ague Edu continuously incorporates feedback and advice from current teachers and students. With globalization in mind, the team refines the content together. Achievements such as winning the Excellence Award for Innovative Technology at the Korean e-Learning and Edutech Business Model Competition, the Korean Digital Education Association President's Award at the Edutech Competition, and advancing to the Korean finals of the Global Startup Awards at the Eduplus Week Future Education Expo have been possible due to these efforts.

Kang Tae-hwan stated, "Ague Edu has consistently grown, successfully overcoming challenges in securing funding and case studies. Now, we will recruit talent in content development, sales, and HR to strengthen the company's structure and, together with them, knock on the doors of overseas markets. We aim to establish ourselves as a company that positively influences the global coding education market."

IT Donga Reporter Cha Joo-kyung (racingcar@itdonga.com)

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