NOTE: For readers outside of Korea, YBM is one of the oldest and largest private education conglomerates in South Korea. Founded in 1961, YBM has maintained its legacy as the leading private English learning institution in Korea, offering a wide range of services across various sectors like language training, standardized test preparation, and educational publishing.

Translated from the original article (https://edu.chosun.com/m/edu_article.html?contid=2024012680021):

YBM's online education brand, YBM Phone & Video Tutoring, is offering the AI English friend service, Metabuddy, developed by Theta One, for free.

Metabuddy's core competitive strength is its English conversation experience. Metabuddy offers a highly immersive experience by providing an experience similar to that of a real, native friend. YBM Phone & Video has made it possible to practice expressions with this AI platform by connecting it to its English textbooks. This feature can be utilized before and after Phone-Call English lessons, allowing for quick mastery of key content. The Metabuddy service is available for free for all users taking its English lessons.

YBM Phone & Video lessons are comprised of 1:1 conversation programs that allow learners to choose the day and time for their lessons. The program includes various courses such as Daily Life Conversations, Learning Telephone English with CNN News, Themed Free Talking, and a 4-week TOEIC Speaking completion course via Phone-Call English lessons. A feature of YBM Phone & Video lessons is that learners can choose courses that match their level.

Furthermore, participants can join the free trial level assessment at any time, whether early in the morning or late at night, and receive 2,000 KRW in Naver Pay for participating in the free lesson trial.

A representative from YBM Phone & Video stated, "Our service, which combines Phone-Call English and an AI English app, is unique in the industry. We are offering this service to provide the best possible synergy for learning English. We hope that learners will take this opportunity to improve their English skills by freely conversing with the AI English conversation service, Metabuddy, promoted by YBM Phone & Video."

More details can be found on the YBM Phone & Video website.