Translated from the original article (https://www.etnews.com/20230619000148):

An artificial intelligence (AI)-based English conversation app has been released, capable of understanding and correcting clumsy English mixed with Korean.

EdTech startup Theta One Korea, Inc. has simultaneously launched the AI English conversation application 'Metabuddy' for both iOS and Android platforms.

Metabuddy offers a service for conversing in English with an AI English friend. Unlike scheduled telephone English lessons, it is not constrained by time or space. It also addresses the disadvantages of telephone English, such as the need for native speaker expertise and understanding of Korean.

Metabuddy boasts native-level proficiency. Furthermore, if a user mixes Korean into their English speech, the AI can correct the Korean sentences into English. It even translates Korean sentences into English expressions when users are stuck and revert to Korean. This capability is made possible thanks to its voice recognition technology.

Metabuddy provides educational content including word, idiom, grammar, and expression corrections related to the user's use of Korean. Users can repetitively learn from this content to improve their English conversation skills. The conversation content can also be adjusted to match individual levels and interests.

One of the strengths of Metabuddy is its 'hyper-personalization strategy'. The AI stores data from conversations with users, allowing it to continue from previous discussions or select topics of interest to the user in subsequent conversations. It analyzes users from various angles and even provides related educational content.

The subscription fee for the Metabuddy app is 9,900 KRW per month, which is more affordable than telephone English services that charge that twice this amount for an hour.

Chanwoo Kim, CEO of Theta One Korea, stated, "Even if you mix Korean into your speech, the AI can explain, making it a viable alternative to telephone English. It can be used anytime, anywhere without the burden of cost or time. It can bring about changes in personal lives, including improving the English conversation skills of the younger generation."

Chanwoo studied Computer Science at Williams College, and his co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is from the Department of Industrial Engineering at Seoul National University. They founded Theta One last year based on an idea that won a prize at an Air Force startup competition during their military service.

CEO Kim announced plans to expand the service to include learning Chinese and Japanese. "Once the service is verified in Korea, we are concretely planning to expand it so Chinese people can learn Korean, English, and Japanese, and Americans can learn Korean, Chinese, and Japanese," he said.