Science ministry expands Click On AI festival after 1.7 million join first season

The science ministry said Wednesday it will hold the second season of its online artificial intelligence experience festival from Oct. 15 to Nov. 25, expanding the program lineup after 1.7 million people took part in the first edition in June.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Education are jointly hosting "2026 Click On AI Season 2." The event grew out of an online coding party first held in 2015 and was reorganized around AI this year. It falls under the national policy task of making Korea the world's best country at using artificial intelligence.

Season 2 will bring in 15 institutions, including public broadcaster EBS, and add 10 new programs for a total of 44. The new offerings reflect feedback from Season 1 participants, with a wider range of difficulty levels and heavier emphasis on two of the event's four categories: hands-on AI use and the use of AI data.

Among Season 1 programs, "Coding Makes Even Animals Dance," "Career Experience with Ajitinz AI" and "Run! Pengsoo" drew the most participants.

"If Click On AI Season 1 was an online AI experience festival where anyone from elementary school students to senior citizens could easily try out AI and become more familiar with it, I hope Season 2 will be an opportunity to experience the use of data and strengthen the ability to solve problems with AI," said Nam Cheol-ki, software policy director at the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Details on the event and how to take part are available on the website of the National AI Competition, which can be reached through a search on major portals such as Naver and Daum. Inquiries can be made through a KakaoTalk channel.