Teachers Learn 'Vibe Coding'... Creating AI Webtoons and Mobile Pass Systems

Seoul Education Office Fosters "Teacher Developers"
Mentor Teachers Hold In-Person Classes for Over 100 Participants
Weekend Hackathon Event Features 7-Hour Hands-On Training

On the 13th, approximately 100 elementary, middle, and high school teachers participated as trainees in the "Teacher Developer Hackathon (Growth Type)" program held at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Conference Hall located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Bokyung Kim

The wave of artificial intelligence transformation (AX) is sweeping through the education field in Seoul. Not only is AI being used in classes, but it is also being applied to administrative work, and a growing number of customized training programs are being introduced for teachers.

On June 13, which fell on a weekend, over 100 elementary, middle, and high school teachers gathered on the third floor of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s conference hall to learn and practice "Vibe Coding." Vibe Coding is a method where, instead of writing code directly, users describe the desired functionality in everyday language, and AI creates the application or webpage accordingly.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education has been promoting a project to foster so-called "teacher developers" since last year. The goal is to solve problems in schools and create a better educational environment by leveraging AI. Last year, professionals from AI companies such as Upstage participated as mentors, resulting in 33 first-generation teacher developers. Starting this year, these teacher developers have become mentors themselves, providing Vibe Coding education to teachers in Seoul.

The training courses are divided by difficulty into introductory, growth, and challenge levels. The "growth" level course held on this day drew more than 400 applicants, highlighting the high level of interest. The program lasted for a total of seven hours, with participants listening to mentor lectures, forming teams, and implementing ideas into tangible results in a hackathon-style format. Participants learned basic concepts such as HTML and JavaScript, and experienced Vibe Coding firsthand by accessing platforms like Antigravity and Firebase.

Mentor teachers already familiar with Vibe Coding explained that they are actively utilizing AI in both teaching and administrative work. Teacher Park Chankyu (Munbaek Elementary School) recently had students watch a World Cup match between Korea and the Czech Republic and then write about their impressions, which AI then turned into a webtoon as part of the lesson. Teacher Kang Hyunsoo (Hansung Girls' High School) created a mobile pass and leave certificate system using Vibe Coding, reducing repetitive administrative tasks and enabling a greater focus on teaching. Teacher Jung Yongseok (Sindap Elementary School) developed a web app using AI that allows students to virtually explore the solar system.

However, it was also emphasized that AI is not a cure-all. Teacher Jung shared an experience from developing a program that converts student conversations into images. When a student said they rode a "Viking" amusement park ride, the AI mistakenly interpreted it as a "Viking warrior in armor holding an axe" and generated an image accordingly. Fortunately, the results were designed to be reviewed by the teacher before being shared with students, so no issue occurred. He stressed, "When using AI, it is always important to ensure it aligns with educational purposes and avoids ethical problems." He also added that, to guard against cyber risks such as personal data leaks, the collection of student data should be minimized.

In February, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education distributed the "AI Edutech Public Education Introduction and Utilization Guidelines," which establish the principle of "human-centered AI education," to schools in Seoul, emphasizing that students should use AI proactively rather than become dependent on it.

Kang Yoonji, supervisor at the Creative Future Education Department of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, said, "The possibilities of Vibe Coding are endless, but in the school environment, technology is a tool, not the goal." She added, "We are helping teachers use AI in a healthy way, grounded in their educational philosophy." She continued, "Starting next month, we will run the 'Anyone Can Be a Developer' program, open not only to teachers but also to students, parents, school administrators, and education office staff, providing a venue for the educational community to solve everyday inconveniences using AI."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.