2026 Gwangju ACE Fair Showcases Domestic and International Cultural Content, Including AI-Based Innovations

"Ms. Jo, how did you feel after finishing the Ave Maria?"

When a visitor asked the question to the virtual soprano Jo Su-mi displayed on a kiosk screen, the AI responded, "I felt pain in my heart when I sang after my father passed away, but I was comforted by the audience's applause." The virtual Jo Su-mi answered various questions from attendees with ease.

The '2026 Gwangju ACE Fair,' held on October 11 at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center, showcased a variety of domestic and international cultural content, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI).

The virtual Jo Su-mi was created using AI agent technology developed by the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). This technology reflects the artist's characteristics based on data collected online and video interviews. While the lip movements appeared somewhat unnatural, her actions and speech closely resembled those of the real Jo Su-mi as seen on television.

The AI also features a function that provides feedback to music students on their singing from the artist's perspective. As students sing according to the sheet music, the AI offers corrections based on Jo Su-mi's viewpoint. Next to this demonstration, technology that reproduces the painting style of Kim Hong-do was also showcased. Users could create images in Kim's style by drawing a basic outline.
Yoo Jeong-jae, a senior researcher at ETRI, stated, "This AI agent technology can greatly assist in educating students in the future."


AI is also changing the broadcasting production environment. At SK Broadband's exhibition booth, the AI announcer presented was nearly indistinguishable from a human announcer.

After selecting an AI-generated announcer and inputting the news title and content, a video was produced within minutes. The subtitles were automatically generated to match the reporting content. The AI announcer sat in a chair, reading the report with expressions and lip movements similar to those of a real person, making it difficult to distinguish the AI-generated video from a live broadcast.

AI announcers are already being utilized in actual broadcasts. SK Broadband has increased efficiency since introducing AI announcers, which now appear every hour to deliver news, compared to the previous morning and evening broadcasts. Jeong Joo-ho, a manager at SK Broadband, explained, "Currently, news is being delivered through this solution to 23 cable operators."

A demonstration was also conducted showing how current reporters are filmed and trained by AI to read reports. Jeong expressed optimism that this would enhance the efficiency of reporters, allowing them to focus on news gathering while AI handles the broadcasting aspect.

While announcers currently sit to present news, it was suggested that various formats for announcers could emerge in the near future.


The influence of AI is expanding into design as well. At a booth set up by the AI Design Department of Jeonnam Women's Commercial High School, a program was underway to create emojis. By inputting prompts into Google Gemini and uploading a photo, users could generate their desired emojis in about ten minutes. Hwang Ji-hye, a teacher at Jeonnam Women's Commercial High School, noted, "As AI rapidly advances, we can now create much better images with just a few lines of prompts compared to existing designs."

Hwang explained that the integration of AI is changing educational methods. "In the past, we started with the basics, but now we focus on how to creatively apply images to achieve desired results," he said, emphasizing the importance of creative content.

Meanwhile, the 2026 Gwangju ACE Fair, now in its 21st year, is a comprehensive exhibition of domestic and international cultural content. Under the theme 'One Content, Infinite Expansion,' this year's fair features a variety of cultural content, including broadcasting, video, animation, characters, games, and webtoons. The event sees participation from over 400 companies across 29 countries, with more than 250 domestic and international buyers engaging in exchanges.