Sunwoo Baek

2021.03 - 2021.12 (10 Months)

Malham

PRODUCT

UX/UI

SYSTEM

BRANDING

PROTOTYPE

Language Learning and Cultural Experience Interactive Play Kit for Multicultural Families

Malham was conducted as a graduation exhibition project for the KAIST Industrial Design Department in 2021.

Malham is a language learning and cultural experience interactive play kit designed to promote harmony and social adaptation among members of multicultural families. Derived from the words meaning "words gathering in a box" and "to speak" in Korean, "Malham" signifies that children from multicultural families can build a sense of connection and intimacy with others based on diverse knowledge.

Deliverables

Interactive Play Kit
Mobile Application
Branding

Personal Project

User Research

App & Product Design

SW & HW Prototyping

Content Design

Branding

Tools & Materials

Figma, Adobe Creative Suites, Fusion360, Keyshot, 3D printing
Prototype: Android Studio, Tesseract OCR, OpenCV, Firebase

Primary Research

Desk research

As of 2022, the number of multicultural students in elementary, middle, and high schools in South Korea has surged by 3.6 times over the past decade, reaching 169,000. Nevertheless, these students continue to encounter various challenges.

The dropout rate among children from multicultural families is four times higher compared to that of children from general families. The primary reasons for this discrepancy are "difficulty with school studies (66.2%)" and "difficulty in socializing with friends (80.8%)."

The dropout rate among children from multicultural families is four times higher compared to that of children from general families. The primary reasons for this discrepancy are "difficulty with school studies (66.2%)" and "difficulty in socializing with friends (80.8%)."

Interview (secondary research)

Foreign parents often struggle to provide sufficient learning support to their children in Korean, as their proficiency in the language may be limited. Additionally, cultural differences add further challenges, making it difficult for them to establish a strong emotional connection with their children.

The child often says, "I honestly don't get this" or "I didn't understand that," and even when they ask for help, I can't provide the support they need. It's frustrating because I can't help them...

Interview Secondary Research, SunOOOO

The child knows a lot about Korea, but she haven't learned anything about Mongolia, making it challenging to establish a sense of empathy while conversing.

Interview Secondary Research, ButdOOOO

Expert Interview

Academic issues faced by children from multicultural families should be addressed within the family setting.

The child often says, "I honestly don't get this" or "I didn't understand that," and even when they ask for help, I can't provide the support they need. It's frustrating because I can't help them...

Interview Secondary Research, SunOOOO

The child knows a lot about Korea, but she haven't learned anything about Mongolia, making it challenging to establish a sense of empathy while conversing.

Interview Secondary Research, ButdOOOO

Korean language teacher affiliated with a multicultural family volunteer organization, currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Korean language education at Seoul National University.

Related Works

Language and Cultural Learning Services

Language and cultural learning services for multicultural families are predominantly focused on basic Korean conversation education, comprising fragmented educational stages. Cultural learning and experience services also tend to be limited to simple and superficial offerings, such as trying foreign foods from other countries.

Social adaptation services

The services aimed at helping multicultural families adapt to society are provided mainly by government organizations or local authorities. However, even these services often focus primarily on simple information dissemination, which may not effectively facilitate meaningful social relationships or contribute to the practical social integration of multicultural families.

PROBLEM DEFINITION

Language and cultural differences can often lead to conflicts among members of multicultural families and pose challenges in their social adaptation.

Language problems and cultural differences serve as the underlying causes of conflicts among parents and children within multicultural families, as well as difficulties in social adaptation for multicultural children and foreign parents. Moreover, there is a lack of services to help address and resolve these issues effectively.

Persona

Nooen Tibt Tao | 28 years old | Homemaker

In daily life, simple conversations are possible, but in situations like talking to the homeroom teacher or during counseling, I still face difficulties.
I want to help with my child's school studies, but my Korean language skills are insufficient, so I can't provide assistance.
I try to share Vietnamese stories to establish empathy with my child, but since they grew up in Korea and are not familiar with Vietnamese culture, it's challenging for them to build a sense of belonging.

In daily life, simple conversations are possible, but in situations like talking to the homeroom teacher or during counseling, I still face difficulties.
I want to help with my child's school studies, but my Korean language skills are insufficient, so I can't provide assistance.
I try to share Vietnamese stories to establish empathy with my child, but since they grew up in Korea and are not familiar with Vietnamese culture, it's challenging for them to build a sense of belonging.

In daily life, simple conversations are possible, but in situations like talking to the homeroom teacher or during counseling, I still face difficulties.
I want to help with my child's school studies, but my Korean language skills are insufficient, so I can't provide assistance.
I try to share Vietnamese stories to establish empathy with my child, but since they grew up in Korea and are not familiar with Vietnamese culture, it's challenging for them to build a sense of belonging.

Kim Minho | 9 years old | Elementary school student

I don't know the meanings of words like '동행' (accompaniment) and '지양' (avoidance) in the textbook, and it's making it difficult for me to understand the class properly and keep up with the pace.
I don't know much about Vietnamese culture, so I can't empathize with what my mom says.

I don't know the meanings of words like '동행' (accompaniment) and '지양' (avoidance) in the textbook, and it's making it difficult for me to understand the class properly and keep up with the pace.
I don't know much about Vietnamese culture, so I can't empathize with what my mom says.

Design Solution

Language Learning and Cultural Experience Play Kit to Promote

Harmony and Social Adaptation for Multicultural Family Members

Language Learning and Cultural Experience Play Kit to Promote Harmony and Social Adaptation for Multicultural Family Members

CONSIDERATE

Expandable Content System for Learning Various Cultures and School Studies Tailored to Children

Bilingual Cards for Foreign Parents in Multicultural Families

System Caring for Communication Between Foreign Parents and Teachers

LOVING

Supporting Multicultural Family Children to Form Diverse Relationships with Various People

Enhancing Parental Bond, Friendship, and Understanding with Teachers

PLAYFUL

Engaging Learning with Active Use of Visual Materials and a Reward System for Learning Enjoyment

Using Learning Content to Enjoy Playtime with Friends

Design System

User Flow

System Configuration

Key Features

Variety of use cases

‘Malham’ is a learning play kit that children from multicultural families can use alone, with foreign parent and korean parent, and also with friends.

‘Malham’ is a learning play kit that allows users to both learn and play using Hangul alphabet blocks.

Playful learning experience

‘Malham’ provides a fun learning experiences through characters using Hangul alphabet and learning rewards systems using coins and experience points.

By providing pictures related to the word and video feedback of quiz through mobile phone, ‘Malham’ provides users richer learning experience.

Playful learning experience

By recommending new friends and allow users to exchange quizzes and communicate, ‘Malham’ give users the experience of making friends and becoming close.

With system linked to school, ‘Malham’ deliver teachers’ feedback on user’s status and help communication between multicultural families and schools.

Use Scenario

Studying

After selecting the content to study, use the app and bilingual card to study the words contained in the content.

When finish studying, user can review what he/she learned by answering review quiz using the word block.

If the answer is right, user will be praised, and if it is wrong, user gets short and interesting video feedback.

When finish learning, friends in similar learning stage will be recommended. On ‘My page’, quiz can be exchanged with friends.

Playing

Choose what game to play with friends and start the game.

After making the word, press the button on interactive fabric board to register and watch the related video with score.

Press save button to study the words made by other friends. Otherwise, press next button to move on.

After the game, the rank is checked, and words saved during the game can be checked on ‘My page.’

Prototyping

Rapid Prototyping

Created technical prototype and an overall prototype separately in terms of describing design scenarios.

Created the final prototype by incorporating feedbacks.

Created technical prototype and an overall prototype separately in terms of describing design scenarios.

Created the final prototype by incorporating feedbacks.

Final Prototype

Implemented an application using Android Studio, Tesseract OCR, and OpenCV.

Refined the 3D modeling of the physical kit using Fusion360, followed by 3D printing and applying paint for a polished finish.