Cheil Worldwide Launches App To Fill Language Gap

Cheil Worldwide has joined forces with non-profit education organisation DreamTouchForAll, charity Community Chest of Korea and a host of volunteers to help defectors from the troubled neighbour state of North Korea.

Entitled Univoca: South Korean-North Korean Translator - the new app [above] may not have the catchiest of names but it's proving a valuable tool in decoding linguistic differences arising from 60 years of separation between north and south.

Even the language of the beautiful game hasn't proved immune, with South Koreans using the English term 'penalty kick', and Northerners using a word translating as '11-meter punishment'. 

For defectors, especially teens, these language differences are a big challenge to integration, work and study. The app aims to tackle the problem through a bank of 3,600 words (and counting): users scan unfamiliar words with their smartphone cameras and the translation pops up on-screen.    

According to Jae-young Choi, head of Good Company Solution Center (Cheil’s pro-bono division), “the app introduces a concept of ‘invisible text book’, helping North Korean and South Korean students to understand each other’s language."