Season 2 earns special mention at Bologna Ragazzi Award

A KT Corp model introduces the "Hamkke Geurin Chaek AI Friend Playground" event. [KT Corp]
A KT Corp model introduces the "Hamkke Geurin Chaek AI Friend Playground" event. [KT Corp]

KT Corp will hold a children's participatory cultural event called "Hamkke Geurin Chaek AI Friend Playground" to mark Hangul Day, sharing works born from children's imagination with the public and promoting the social value of children's creative expression.

KT Corp announced Thursday that it will co-host the event with the Seoul Outdoor Library at Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall on Friday.

The event was conceived to share with the public children's works discovered through the "Hamkke Geurin Chaek" contest on KT's Genie TV Kidsland service. Hamkke Geurin Chaek is a participatory picture book project that launched in 2023 and has now reached its third season. Each season, children's creative works are gathered and presented as picture books and AI media art content.

A KT Corp model introduces the "Hamkke Geurin Chaek AI Friend Playground" event. [KT Corp]
A KT Corp model introduces the "Hamkke Geurin Chaek AI Friend Playground" event. [KT Corp]

The venue will display all picture books published through the Hamkke Geurin Chaek project. On the Seoul Plaza stage, AI-animated fairy tales — created from Season 3 award-winning works using generative AI technology — will be screened. A reading session will also be held in which Season 3 child winners introduce their own works. Hands-on programs including an AI image-creation workshop and a mini-book-making activity will also be offered.

The Season 3 picture book "Yui" will be released in bookstores nationwide, both online and in print, on the day of the event and will also be available as an e-book on the Millie's Library platform. Yui is a retelling of the Season 3 grand prize-winning work, reinterpreted by children's literature author and illustrator Jenny Melihov. The book captures the meaning of friendship through a child's perspective.

The 15 AI-animated fairy tales to be screened at the event were also made available on Genie TV Kidsland on Sept. 8. Generative AI technology was used for text-to-speech synthesis and image and video production, transforming children's writing and drawings into video content.

A KT Corp model introduces the "Hamkke Geurin Chaek AI Friend Playground" event. [KT Corp]
A KT Corp model introduces the "Hamkke Geurin Chaek AI Friend Playground" event. [KT Corp]

KT Corp said the Hamkke Geurin Chaek project has expanded children's imaginative and creative experiences with each passing season. Season 2 received a special mention in the cross-media category at the 2026 Bologna Ragazzi Award.

"Hamkke Geurin Chaek is Kidsland's signature participatory project, extending children's imagination and stories into picture books, AI video and exhibitions," said Kim Byung-jin, head of KT Corp's media business division. "We plan to continue encouraging children's creativity and expanding cultural experiences that citizens can enjoy together."

Meanwhile, KT Corp held a children's author contest and a parenting education workshop on Genie TV Kidsland — its dedicated IPTV service for infants and young children — in January. The contest was open to children born between 2013 and 2022, covering ages 3 to 12.


chami@heraldcorp.com