Korean language tutor Ahn Seung-yeon. [YouTube capture]
Korean language tutor Ahn Seung-yeon. [YouTube capture]

A Korean language tutor from Daechi-dong in Seoul's Gangnam-gu has gone viral on SNS, drawing wide attention for her striking appearance — so striking that some viewers have questioned whether she is an AI-generated virtual figure.

Short clips of Ahn Seung-yeon lecturing in front of a chalkboard or introducing herself have been circulating widely on Instagram and other SNS platforms Wednesday. Some posts carried captions such as "I thought she was an AI beauty, but she's actually a Korean teacher" and "The Korean tutor everyone's talking about for being so pretty."

Ahn teaches Korean language in Daechi-dong and runs a YouTube channel called "Ahn Seung-yeon Haseyo Gukeoibnida" (Hello, This Is Korean with Ahn Seung-yeon).

In one video, Ahn introduced herself as a Korean language teacher in Daechi-dong and said she graduated from the Korean Language and Literature department at Ewha Womans University.

Ahn also shared her transcript from the 2019 College Scholastic Ability Test, showing top marks across all subjects including Korean.

"I am the icon of what people call '9-mang-su-jal' — someone who bombed the September mock exam but aced the actual CSAT," Ahn said in the video, encouraging test-takers with the message that a last-minute turnaround is possible through relentless effort.

Ahn said she ranked 250th out of 450 students in her first year of high school, placing her in the bottom half of her class, but clawed her way up to third place school-wide by her second year after grueling effort. She said she received a third-grade score on the September mock exam — a major setback — only to achieve top marks across all subjects on the actual CSAT. In the Korean section of the 2019 CSAT, she said she scored in the 99th percentile, placing her among the highest performers nationwide.

Ahn wrote on her Instagram recently that she was grateful for the response to her YouTube channel. "This is my first time trying YouTube, and I'm thankful that so many more people have shown interest than I expected," she said. "I've been doing everything myself, from planning and filming to editing."

She added that she personally replies to all comments — more than 200 of them — and asked viewers to engage with warmth. "If there are topics you'd like to see as a test-taker, please feel free to suggest them," she said.

A video titled "Must-watch for anyone who bombed the September mock exam" has surpassed 250,000 views, drawing a strong response from students who see their own struggles reflected in her story.

Comments included reactions such as "Makes me want to give the CSAT Korean section another shot," "I thought she was an AI teacher — turns out she's not," and "She's so pretty I can't concentrate — but she's talented too."


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com