Non-profit Datayanolja expands Korean AI education across Asia Lee Il-sup, head of Datayanolja (Datayanolja) For most non-profit organizations, overseas volunteer work tends to revolve around language education or cultural exchange. But Datayanolja, Korea’s artificial intelligence community, has set its sight on a broader, more strategic mission: spreading Korea’s AI initiative and technologies across the world.Meaning "let’s play, data" in Korean, Datayanolja, which was founded in 2016 as a grassroots community, has evolved into a public-interest incorporated association that now sees itself as part of the country’s larger push to lead the global AI transition.“We believe AI could become the biggest transformation in human history,” said Lee Il-sup, head of Datayanolja, in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Tuesday. “And as of 2026, Korea is still one of the very few countries that has a realistic chance to take part in the global AI initiative race.”Over the last decade, the nonprofit organization’s major event has been its annual conference that brought 500 to 1,000 attendees from various sectors to share their experiences with data and AI. It also began offering free educational programs on AI applications for students in Korea in 2024.Since last year, Lee and Datayanolja began working overseas. Through short-term educational programs in countries such as Indonesia, Mongolia, Vietnam and Malaysia, the organization has been teaching local students Korean language-related AI applications, with about 300 participants so far.“If Korean AI services remain confined to Korea’s population of 50 million, there are clear limitations,” said Lee. “For Korean AI ecosystems to survive and grow, demand must emerge outside the country. ... Technology ultimately survives only if people choose it. K-pop and K-content became global because overseas users enjoyed them.”According to Lee, representatives from Korean companies’ overseas offices have told him the difficulty of hiring local workers with both Korean language ability and job-specific skills. To address that gap, Lee said Datayanolja planned to launch AI marketing education programs in Indonesia and Vietnam later this year.“For example, students could learn how to create AI-generated marketing posters for Korean companies already active in those countries,” he said. “That gives students ready-to-use skills while also helping local Korean businesses recruit talent already familiar with Korean-style branding and products.”Lee emphasized that while government-led investments and AI policies remain important, smaller community-driven activities also matter because they help cultivate future international users of Korean AI services.“We can physically only meet limited number of people,” he said. “But if more grassroots activities like us keep up, more foreigners will gradually recognize that Korea is building serious AI services. And eventually, that could become the groundwork for globally used Korean AI platforms.” Lee Il-sup, head of Datayanolja (Datayanolja)