Yeongnam Saemaul Scholarship Foundation holds global saemaul-SDGs innovation contest

The Yeongnam Saemaul Scholarship Foundation is working to identify creative talent by combining the saemaul spirit with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through AI. The foundation has expanded its scholarship program — now in its 23rd year — into an AI-based innovation contest to help cultivate future global leaders.

Yeungnam University's Department of International Development and Saemaul Studies announced Tuesday that it recently held the "AI-based Global Saemaul-SDGs Innovation Strategy Contest" with support from the Yeongnam Saemaul Scholarship Foundation.

The contest was designed to identify innovative strategies that use AI not merely as a technical tool but as a practical means of solving real-world problems — reinterpreting the saemaul spirit for the modern era and contributing to the achievement of the global SDGs.

A total of 107 participants — including undergraduate and graduate students as well as international students — formed 42 teams for the competition.

The grand prize went to the "Smart Saemaul Research Institute" team, made up of Kwon Do-gyeong and Yun Seo-yun from the Department of International Development and Saemaul Studies, and Park Mun-sik, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Saemaul International Development.

The team proposed an "AI-based action-oriented digital platform and participatory community system" and received a scholarship of 5 million won ($3,240).

The excellence award went to two teams: "Yuga Ilgi," comprising Seo Ha-yeong and Han Seo-jin from the Department of International Development and Saemaul Studies and Kim Min-ji from the Department of Computer Engineering; and "TRIO," a team of international students from the Park Chung-hee School of Policy and Saemaul. Each team received a scholarship of 2 million won.

Three teams — "RE:MAUL," "ROAE Team" and "Nyujen Saemaul" — took the merit awards.

Choi Oe-chul, president of Yeungnam University and head of the Yeongnam Saemaul Scholarship Foundation, said he hopes students will "grow into creative leaders who reinterpret the values of the saemaul spirit in today's language and contribute to solving local and global challenges through AI."