There has been a rise in Edtech startups in Korea focusing on students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We covered Edtech startups in Korea for the English language and coding. However, this article wanted to focus on startups teaching math. In South Korea, math is taught earlier than in other countries. However, the number of class hours dedicated to math in South Korea is lower than average among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) member countries. Therefore, South Korean schools must teach more in less time than international standards.

This has led to a rise in Edtech startups in Korea that focus primarily on math. Students in Korea are looking for tools to help them learn outside of the classroom. Education is limitless thanks to the internet and has become more accessible than ever. Furthermore, students in Korea have one of the most robust broadband connections, mobile phones, and some even have tablets. These startups are looking to leverage their access to fill the Korean education system’s gap in teaching math.

We also have another article on Edtech SaaS Startups in Korea, so check it out.

Edtech Startups in Korea Focusing on Math

Mathpresso

Korean EdTech Startup Mathpresso is the creator of QANDA, a tutoring app for students who need math and science help. The app is available in Korean, English, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Indonesian. It helps students search for solutions to math problems by taking a picture of them. Therefore, it can recognize the text and mathematical formulas in a photo with optical character recognition (OCR) technology. Then it provides detailed solutions and personalized learning content for each user. In addition, the app has over 74 million registered users and is available in more than 50 countries. 

QANDA provides video lectures through its Premium subscription model. Furthermore, users can ask direct questions to school tutors. The queries are then added to the app’s database so that other users can find the solution through the app’s search engine.

Mathpresso has raised over $105 million in funding from Google, SoftBank Venture Asia, Smilegate Investment, Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Legend Capital, InterVest, and NP Investments. Their focus for 2023 will be to continue to be active outside of Korea in countries such as Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

“Our mission is to provide equal opportunities for education through technology. We plan to bolster our presence in the Asian market beyond Korea and Japan,” said the CEO of Mathpresso, Jongheun Lee

Wemath

Korean EdTech startup the KEII platform, is the creator of Wemath. Wemath focuses on student-centered learning (peer teaching) for learning math. Their community offers a place for anyone to watch, make, upload, and share his or her math videos. In addition, they also provide MoTu, which is a 1-to-1 video tutoring solution. Their focus moving forward will be to create a VR Creator Studio platform for educators.

Onuii

Onuii is a premium tutoring app for high school students. They can get tutoring from a teacher at a prestigious University in Korea through their smartphone. Any questions or problems students do not understand can be solved through the app, with tutors available 24/7. This startup is in the math category because most of the issues asked are related to math. Students take a picture of the problem they do not understand, and within 10 minutes, a tutor will come back with the appropriate answer. However, if the answer is submitted at 2 am or 3 am, it will take until the following day to get the answer.

While math is the most in-demand subject, Onuii covers all subjects, such as Science, History, etc. There is even an option to have a 1:1 with the tutor to review any answers. The app’s cost averages out to 40,000 won a month based on usage.

MathFlat

MathFlat creates textbooks and study materials tailored to each student. The teacher also can set options such as difficulty and type before production. The textbooks and study materials can be used on tablets and computers. MathFlat allows teachers to make worksheets, manage incorrect answers, and analyze learning data under one platform. Any math teacher in Korea can apply for a free trial and, if satisfied, can subscribe to the service for 59,000 won a month.