[Edaily Reporter Lee So-Hyun ] Naver (NAVER(035420)) has revamped its education search to allow users to access educational information for elementary, middle, and high schools—previously scattered across sources such as NICE, School Alimi, and the Ministry of Education—all in one place. The service now displays information on courses offered and elective subjects by school—which has become increasingly important with the implementation of the high school credit system—and links this data to college majors. Next month, the scope will be expanded to include college departments, admissions, and the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT).

According to Naver on the 18th, starting at 6:00 p.m. that day, the company revamped its education-focused search results so that users can view information on elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as elective courses, at a glance in the Naver search bar.

Searching for a school’s name allows users to view the academic calendar, school meal programs, student enrollment statistics, and courses offered by grade level. Searching for a specific course name provides details on the course content, assessment methods, and even related college majors.

This redesign comes in response to changes in the education system—such as the full implementation of the high school credit system—which have increased the amount of information students and parents need to verify. With the high school credit system being fully implemented starting with students entering their freshman year in the 2025 academic year, students must consider not only course content but also whether a course is offered at their school and how it relates to their desired major.

However, since this information was scattered across various sources—such as school websites, curriculum materials, and college admissions sites—users previously had to search for and compare it themselves.

Naver has reduced the number of steps required to find information by integrating data from official sources—such as the NAIS Education Information Open Portal, School Alimi, and the Ministry of Education—into its search results.

Tailored Information by School Level

School search results for elementary, middle, and high schools all provide academic calendars, school lunch information, and enrollment statistics, along with additional information tailored to the needs of each school level.

For elementary schools, the results include information on after-school programs and childcare classes, while for high schools, they provide a list of courses offered by grade level. This allows students and parents to see which courses are available at a particular school without having to search separately through school websites or curriculum materials.

The search function for high school elective courses has also been enhanced. When users search for subject names such as Algebra, Geometry, Rhetoric and Language, or Mechanics and Energy, an AI briefing first summarizes the core content of the subject. It then provides information on the nature of the subject, credit and grading details, the curriculum outline, recommended prerequisite courses, and university majors where taking that subject is recommended.

Users can also explore elective courses based on their desired major. For example, searching for “Mechanical Engineering Electives” displays an AI briefing showing courses recommended for that major and suggested inquiry activities.

If you search for a specific university name, department name, and elective course together, the service provides course information helpful for preparing for that major, based on the university’s official documents.

Combining AI with Official Data… Structuring Educational Information

Naver explained that, in its education search, it has focused not only on having generative AI generate answers but also on structuring information on the domestic curriculum and school-specific details based on official data.

By identifying the relationships between schools, grade levels, subjects, and curricula, the platform consolidates information scattered across different institutions into a single search result and reflects changing educational systems—such as the high school credit system and the 5-grade internal evaluation system—in accordance with the latest standards.

During the redesign process, the company also incorporated feedback from interviews with current teachers and college admissions consultants to address the information needs of the actual educational field and the inconveniences of the existing search process.

On the 25th of last month, Naver also revamped its search results for mock exams. Before exams, it prioritizes schedules and timetables, while after exams, it prioritizes information frequently sought by users at each stage—such as test questions, answers, grade cutoffs, and difficulty analyses.

According to Naver, search traffic related to the September mock exam increased approximately 44-fold on the day of the exam compared to the usual period from July 20 to August 19. Content consumption within search results rose approximately 285-fold. Content consumption increased by 74.1% compared to the day of the June mock exam this year and by 29.8% compared to the day of the September mock exam last year.

Expansion to Universities, College Admissions, and the CSAT in October

Naver will add specialized search results focused on college majors, college admissions, and the CSAT this coming October. The plan is to connect the entire educational journey—from elementary, middle, and high school life and elective courses to the CSAT, college admissions, and career paths—within the search experience.

Yang Mi-seung, Naver’s Education Search Leader, stated, “Since education is a topic closely tied to daily life—searched by tens of millions of users, including students, parents, and teachers—it is crucial not only to integrate external data or generate answers using AI but also to thoroughly understand and reflect the domestic education system and user needs.” “We will advance our search and AI technologies based on credible data to provide a search experience where anyone can easily find and trust the information needed in the educational field,” she added.