- Utilizing Urban Information System Design and Development to Implement a Book-Based Netflix Function
- Supporting Domestic Authors, Meeting Overseas Reader Demand, and Suggesting the Future Direction of Books
▲ Image of “YouBook” developed by SNU researchers
Seoul National University College of Engineering announced that Professor Kiyun Yu's research team from the Program of Smart City Engineering has developed an e-book platform that automatically translates books by Korean authors into 13 different languages for global readers—similar to how Netflix delivers dramas and films worldwide.
Currently, about 600 Korean dramas and films are being well received in 190 countries. While many factors have contributed to the global success of Korean video content, one of the most notable is the role of Netflix, which provides Korean works in 15 languages. Since the foundation of dramas and movies lies in storytelling—i.e., writing—it stands to reason that Korean books should attract similar global interest. However, that has not been the case. Analysts point to the lack of a platform dedicated to books as the key reason—there is no Netflix for books.
The platform “YouBook,” developed by SNU College of Engineering’s GIS/LBS (Geographic Information Systems/Location-Based Service Laboratory), seeks to solve this issue. According to Professor Yu, an expert in smart cities and the leader of the team, YouBook is “a never-before-seen platform that implements Netflix’s features tailored for books.” Professor Yoo explained the motivation behind the research: “Despite their excellent capabilities, Korean authors have struggled to promote their books overseas. After meeting some of them, I realized how desperately they were hoping for help from engineers. That’s what inspired me to take on this challenge.”
With YouBook, books written by authors are automatically translated into 13 languages upon publication. The team designed the platform as multilingual from the ground up, allowing readers from various linguistic backgrounds to enjoy books in their native tongues. Not only is the translation of high quality, but special attention has been paid to maintaining cultural nuances, regional dialects, and expressions while enhancing readability and engagement. The platform also incorporates culturally sensitive translation strategies—for example, omitting or rephrasing content considered taboo in certain cultures.
The team also applied Netflix’s model of using viewer feedback to determine whether to produce future seasons by minimizing book volume. Instead of publishing hundreds of pages at once, authors release “mini-books” of about ten pages. If the book receives positive reactions—such as a high number of “likes”—additional mini-books are published. This allows authors to avoid the burden of spending years writing lengthy manuscripts without knowing whether they’ll succeed and instead encourages creative experimentation.
Moreover, the individual pages of each mini-book are searchable and linkable, allowing new and unique combinations of content to emerge. Each mini-book thus possesses both independence and connectivity—a “networked book.” Readers can also engage in discussions with an AI character modeled after “a scholar who has read more than ten million books,” deepening their knowledge through interactive dialogue.
This platform’s development was made possible by the GIS/LBS team’s decades of experience in smart city research, particularly their core technologies for designing and developing large-scale urban information systems such as real estate, vehicle, and satellite data systems. The team applied these technologies to the new goal of YouBook, refining algorithms to solve complex technical issues and designing a sophisticated system with optimized performance.
As a result, they successfully developed a “Netflix for books” that incorporates advanced language processing technology capable of producing natural, human-like translations; probabilistic Bayesian network technology that intricately links authors, readers, and pages; and semantic matching technology that delivers precise search and recommendation results within 0.4 seconds from a network of over 20 billion pages.
In the short term, YouBook is expected to support domestic authors and satisfy the latent demands of overseas readers. In the long term, it will help define the future direction of books. Professor Kiyun Yu emphasized, “This platform marks a groundbreaking step forward, enabling Korean books to enter 190 countries just like dramas and films. As the renowned technology philosopher Kevin Kelly once predicted, the future of books is already here. I hope the launch of YouBook awakens the tremendous potential of our authors and inspires them to stretch their wings.”
▲ Professor Kiyun Yu, Program of Smart City Engineering, Seoul National University
[Note]
You can experience the YouBook platform by typing “YouBook” into Naver or Google, or by clicking the link: https://youbook.biz
[Contact Information]
Professor Kiyun Yu, Program of Smart City Engineering, Seoul National University / kiyun@snu.ac.kr