Edtech corporations iPortfolio (CEO Kim Seong-yun) is drawing attention by setting the goal of next-generation content not as improving English skills but as "global citizenship competency" and "nurturing global leaders." iPortfolio is a company that has provided services centered on the online English reading platform "ReadingN," including the public-education "ReadingN School" and the private academy "ReadingN Academy."
The artificial intelligence (AI)-based multilingual reading platform "Harmony Hills," which the company recently expanded and revamped, is set in a village where children from diverse backgrounds live together, and helps children grow into global citizens through stories of the newcomer protagonist "Coco," whose mistakes and shifting emotions, cooperation with friends, and problem-solving unfold.
An iPortfolio official said, "Global education trends are focusing on fostering multiple intelligences around diversity, inclusion, and equity," and noted, "Harmony Hills is not simply a textbook for learning English but a program designed to help children encounter diverse cultures within stories, expand their thinking, and build the ability to express themselves."
Cho Ji-eun, an Oxford University professor of Korean linguistics who participated in the development, is a linguist who has studied child language acquisition and bilingual environments, and since 2021 has served as a Korean consultant to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), leading the inclusion of terms such as "oppa," "daebak," and "haenyeo." For Harmony Hills, Cho took charge of the parent guidebook, which includes story composition reflecting Korean children's life contexts and stages of emotional development, and usage methods by age.
On the technology side, the AI functions of the ReadingN platform are integrated. The AI learning companion "LAURA" analyzes children's pronunciation and provides real-time feedback, and the "AI adaptive reading" feature automatically adjusts English text difficulty to the learner's level. In addition to English, it supports five languages, including Vietnamese and Russian, so children with migrant backgrounds can continue reading while using their mother tongue.
Harmony Hills targets preschool children ages 4 to 6, and began last December with 12 print books, with 24 more added this year for a total of 36.