Busan education office begins building AI-assisted essay grading system
Version 2: A third outlet added details of how the system will be rolled out: it is to be used as a classroom aid and expanded step by step rather than across all schools at once, with practice teachers and practice schools scaled up through 2027 and questions and grading rubrics shared with other regional education offices through a common standard framework.
In short
The Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education said it is pushing to introduce an AI-assisted evaluation support system for essay and written-answer exams, covering question-setting, exam administration, automatic AI grading, teacher review and student feedback. The office said it signed a contract on Oct 2 with a digital assessment specialist company, and held a kickoff report meeting on the morning of Oct 6. Asia Economy reported the system will be used as a classroom aid and expanded step by step, with practice teachers and practice schools scaled up through 2027.
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The Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education said on Oct 6 that it is pushing to introduce an AI-assisted evaluation support system for essay and written-answer exams, and that it held a kickoff report meeting at its annex that morning to begin preparation work, Yonhap reported. A second outlet reported the same introduction plan in its headline. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
According to the office, the system is designed to support the whole essay and written-answer assessment process in one flow: setting questions, administering the exam, automatic AI grading, teacher review and student feedback. The office said the aim is to cut teachers' workload in setting and grading questions while improving the consistency, fairness and expertise of grading, and to give students feedback based on their results, Asia Economy reported. [ 1 , 3 ]
For the build, the office said it signed a contract on Oct 2 with a digital assessment specialist company that holds AI auto-grading technology, and plans to develop the system with a domestic IT company that holds internet web browser and AI technology. The documents do not name either company or give a contract value. [ 1 , 3 ]
The office said it is also working on teachers' assessment capacity. It ran a basic course for student-assessment experts for 287 high school teachers in July, aimed at improving understanding of the achievement standards system and the ability to write essay and written-answer questions, and on Aug 31 it selected 20 practice teachers to begin developing questions that use the system. [ 1 , 3 ]
Asia Economy reported that the office does not plan to introduce the system across all schools at once, but to recommend it as an aid to student growth during lessons and expand it step by step according to demand and conditions at schools. It said the office plans to increase the scale of practice teachers and practice schools in stages through 2027, and to use a common standard framework agreed with city and provincial education offices to share good questions and assessment resources, while managing essay questions and grading rubrics developed by Busan teachers. [ 3 ]
The office said the framework is intended to move away from assessment centred on memorising knowledge toward essay and written-answer evaluation in which students think for themselves and express their own ideas, according to Asia Economy. [ 3 ]
Superintendent Kim Seok-jun said the system would reduce teachers' assessment burden and, through the consistency of AI grading, deepen students' learning. He said the office would work to settle the assessment framework, which he described as aiming at human-centred future education, in Busan's schools. [ 1 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The programme is intended to change how essay and written-answer exams are set, graded and reviewed in Busan schools, with the education office saying it would ease teachers' assessment workload and improve grading consistency. Asia Economy reported the system would be introduced gradually rather than across all schools at once, and that question banks and grading rubrics may be shared with other regional education offices, which would extend its effect beyond Busan. The documents give no budget, so the cost and the scope of any national take-up are not established.
Key facts
- The Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education announced on Oct 6 that it is pushing to introduce an AI-assisted essay and written-answer evaluation support system. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The office said it held a kickoff report meeting for the introduction and operation of the system at its annex on the morning of Oct 6. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The office said the system integrates question-setting, exam administration, automatic AI grading, teacher review and student feedback into a single flow. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The office said it signed a contract on Oct 2 with a digital assessment specialist company holding AI auto-grading technology, and would work with a domestic IT company holding internet web browser and AI technology to develop the system. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The office said it ran a basic student-assessment expert course for 287 high school teachers in July, and on Aug 31 selected 20 practice teachers to begin developing questions using the system. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Asia Economy reported the office plans to expand the scale of practice teachers and practice schools in stages through 2027 and to share questions and assessment resources with other city and provincial education offices through a common standard framework. [ 3 ]
- Superintendent Kim Seok-jun said the system would reduce teachers' assessment burden and, through the consistency of AI grading, deepen students' learning. [ 1 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education is pushing to introduce an AI essay and written-answer evaluation support system. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The office held a kickoff report meeting at its annex on the morning of Oct 6 to begin preparation work. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The system is designed to support the entire essay and written-answer assessment process in one flow: setting questions, administering the exam, automatic AI grading, teacher review and student feedback. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The office signed a contract on Oct 2 with a digital assessment specialist company holding AI auto-grading technology, and plans to develop the system with a domestic IT company holding internet web browser and AI technology. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The office ran a basic course for student-assessment experts for 287 high school teachers in July and selected 20 practice teachers on Aug 31 to begin developing questions using the system. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Superintendent Kim Seok-jun said the system would reduce teachers' assessment burden and deepen students' learning through the consistency of AI grading, and that the office would work to settle the assessment framework in Busan's schools. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Which companies were contracted to build the system, and on what terms. The documents refer to a digital assessment specialist company and a domestic IT company without naming either, and give no contract value.
- When the system will be fully deployed or first used in exams. The documents describe a kickoff and preparation stage, and Asia Economy reports only step-by-step expansion of practice teachers and practice schools through 2027; no launch date for the system itself is given.
- Whether the system will be introduced in all Busan schools. Asia Economy reports the office recommends using it as a classroom aid and expanding it according to school demand and conditions, rather than introducing it across all schools at once.
- How questions and grading rubrics will be shared with other regional education offices. Asia Economy says a common standard framework is to be drawn up through consultations among city and provincial education offices, but the documents give no details of the arrangement.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education announces it is pursuing the AI essay and written-answer evaluation support system, after holding a kickoff report meeting at its annex that morning. [ 1 ]
- A second outlet reports that the Busan education office is pushing the introduction of the system. [ 2 ]
- A third outlet reports further details of the system's design and a phased expansion plan through 2027. [ 3 ]