South Korea’s ambitious push to transform classrooms with artificial intelligence has come to an abrupt halt. The government’s $850 million nationwide rollout of AI-powered textbooks — once promoted as the future of learning — collapsed only four months after implementation due to mounting technical failures, growing opposition, and a rapid loss of confidence among teachers, students, and parents.
A Bold Experiment That Fell Apart Quickly
Launched earlier this year, the digital textbooks were developed by more than a dozen publishers to personalise lessons in subjects such as math, English, and computer science. Officials expected AI to reduce teacher workload, support struggling learners, and make classrooms more efficient.
Instead, early feedback exposed major flaws. Frequent software crashes delayed classes, and the AI struggled to provide personalised instruction. Far from adapting to students’ needs, the system repeatedly produced generic or mismatched content, making it harder for learners to stay engaged — especially when working alone on laptops.
Teachers and Parents Sound the Alarm
Educators soon reported factual errors, inconsistent content quality, and difficulty tracking student progress. Many said their workload increased instead of decreasing, as they had to cross-verify AI-generated outputs.
Outside the classroom, parents and child-advocacy groups criticised excessive screen time, privacy vulnerabilities, and the risk of expanding inequalities between students who rely on personal attention and those working independently in digital environments. The backlash escalated into legal action against the Ministry of Education for rushing untested AI textbooks into schools.
Political Upheaval Intensifies the Project’s Troubles
The initiative lost further momentum after President Yoon Suk-yeol — its strongest supporter — was impeached and removed from office. His successor, Lee Jae-myung, had opposed the programme from the beginning and quickly ordered a reassessment.
By August, lawmakers downgraded the AI textbooks from mandatory to optional learning tools. Adoption plummeted from 37% during the first semester to just 19% in the next.
Publishers Demand Accountability
Publishers argue that they complied with national data-protection rules and insist the books still benefit multilingual learners and students in underserved regions. However, most acknowledge that the rollout was rushed and insufficiently tested. Several companies have now formed a committee seeking compensation for major financial losses.
A Lesson for the World
Inside classrooms, reactions remain divided — some teachers appreciated gamified elements that helped engage weaker students, while others viewed the system as unfinished and unreliable.
What remains is a sharp loss of public trust. A project once hailed as a giant leap toward AI-driven education is now seen as a warning about the risks of deploying emerging technology too quickly — and expecting AI to solve deeper structural issues within the education system.
