SEOUL, KOREA – SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) announced today that it, together with Indonesia’s largest telecom company Telkom Indonesia (NYSE:TLK), launched ‘English Bean,’ a smart learning service for English learners on May 9 in Indonesia.
English Bean, introduced for the first time in the global market, brings a whole new concept of English learning by enabling learners to use the service anywhere, anytime via diverse means including web, mobile, Facebook and landline telephone.
The company took 17 months to optimize the service for users in Indonesia. In particular, considering the fact that Indonesia has the second largest Facebook population with over 35 million, SK Telecom adjusted the service to include various contents especially designed for Facebook such as English learning games.
The launching event, held in Jakarta, was attended by key executives from both companies including Park Chol-Soon, Senior Vice President and Head of IPE Business Office at SK Telecom, and Indro Utoyo, Chief Information Officer of Telkom Indonesia.
Meanwhile, SK Telecom is currently in talks with a Taiwanese telecom company to jointly introduce English Bean in Taiwan. The company plans to launch English Bean in Taiwan as early as the second half of the year. Furthermore, SK Telecom is solidifying its status as the global leader in the field of smart learning as it is actively working to enter public education sectors of 2-3 countries in the South East Asia and the Middle East.
Park Chol-Soon, Senior Vice President and Head of IPE Business Office at SK Telecom said, “SK Telecom will make constant efforts to introduce to the global market high quality, well-made smart learning services like English Bean, which represents a new concept of English education service by enabling users to enjoy learning anytime, anywhere.”
English Bean’s entry into Indonesia holds a great meaning as the company expands its service platform in the Indonesian market following the launch of Melon Indonesia in December 2010. The company started offering Melon Indonesia through ‘PT Melon Indonesia,’ a joint venture it formed with Telekom. As of now, Melon Indonesia surpassed 2 million cumulative downloads and has over 150,000 visitors on average per day.
