■ STORYSYNC Wins Best Innovation Award
■ AI-based real-time storytelling media facade technology recognized for its innovation
Gachon University (President Gil-yea Lee)’s Department of Game and Film Studies has jointly won the “CES 2026 Best of Innovation” award for its real-time interactive media façade content, “STORYSYNC.” Gachon University is the only Korean university to win this year’s CES Best of Innovation award.
“STORYSYNC” is a technology that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze visitors’ social media images, transforming them into real-time storytelling content and displaying it on a media façade. Its technological creativity was recognized for its ability to simultaneously embody local and artistic elements, drawing on Jeju folklore.
This project was spearheaded by Gachon University, which was responsible for AI-based technology development, practical talent development, and industry-academia collaboration research. Artnova Co., Ltd. was in charge of overall development and service operation, Nexteap Studio handled content direction and video production, and Damgara handled media art production. The project was recognized for its close collaboration between industry and the university, which enhanced technological sophistication and content quality.
At Gachon University, Kim Jeong-yoon, head of the Game and Film Department, participated in the project, while undergraduate students Lee Ji-min and Lim Su-yeon were responsible for content creation in a corporate-linked practical training program. Furthermore, Professor Jeong Yun-hyeon’s research team in the Department of Artificial Intelligence (AI) (Researchers Choi Jun-seo, Kang Ji-yoon, and Kim Ye-jin) developed an AI-based media processing engine, and researchers Lee So-jin, Yoo Jeong-eun, Ahn Ha-il, and Kim Su-hyeon contributed to technological advancement through the Cultural Technology (CT) Professional Training Program.
This technology underwent practical verification and technological advancement with support from the University Creative Asset Commercialization Support Project (BRIDGE 3.0), and Professors Kim Jeong-yoon and Jeong Yun-hyeon completed the technology transfer. Furthermore, with the cooperation of the Chungnam Creative Content Agency (Director Kim Gok-mi), the media art company “Damgara” was attracted to the Asan area, contributing to the revitalization of the local content industry.
‘CES (Consumer Electronics Show)’ is the world’s largest IT and technology exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA every January, and is an event where global companies and research institutes showcase their latest technologies and products. Among them, the ‘CES Innovation Awards’ select and award excellent products and services in various fields such as technology, design, user experience, and sustainability, and among them, the ‘Best of Innovation’ is the highest honor awarded only to a small number of works that received the highest evaluations in each category.
Gachon University’s Department of Game and Film, a contract-based department with early employment opportunities, is strengthening industry-based education and research, focusing on the Cultural Technology (CT) professional training program. This joint win at CES 2020’s Best Innovation Award is seen as a testament to the international recognition of this industry-academia collaboration-centered education and research system.
Department Head Kim Jeong-yoon said, “It is very meaningful that an industry-academic cooperation project involving students and researchers achieved results at a global technology exhibition,” and added, “We will continue to closely link education and research to foster experts in the fields of digital content AI and applied technology.”
The field-based, participatory research system established through the “STORYSYNC” project opens up the possibility of future expansion into diverse convergence fields, including regional tourism content, cultural heritage education, and festival-style media installations. The joint win of the CES Best Innovation Award demonstrates the competitiveness of Korea’s new industry-academia collaboration ecosystem in the gaming, video, AI, and applied technology sectors in the global market.
