Kakao Launches Recruitment for 3rd Youth Physical AI Rookie Camp Outside Capital
Kakao is accepting applications through November 18 for its 3rd AI Rookie Camp, offering 100 non-capital middle school students fully funded physical AI trainin
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On October 20, 2026, South Korean technology company Kakao officially announced the opening of applications for the third cohort of its 'AI Rookie Camp,' an ESG educational initiative specifically designed to narrow the widening technical learning divide between Seoul's capital region and non-metropolitan provinces. The program invites prospective young engineers to identify everyday community friction points and translate algorithmic models into functional, tangible hardware prototypes during an intensive residential curriculum.
Expanding Regional AI Education into Tangible Physical Systems
The central curricular evolution for this third iteration is an explicit emphasis on physical AI, shifting instruction away from purely virtual coding environments toward embodied devices that perceive real-world conditions and execute physical tasks. Seo Eun-hee, Performance Leader of Tech Talent Development at Kakao, confirmed that earlier cohorts successfully demonstrated youth capacity to engineer operational AI solutions when supplied with focused technical mentorship. To build on this proof point, Kakao is enhancing pre-camp problem discovery schedules, deploying specialized physical AI educational kits, and pairing student teams directly with corporate engineers and technical mentors who provide hands-on architectural and troubleshooting guidance.
Operational Logistics, Split Cohorts, and Corporate Sponsorship
The four-day, three-night residential programs will be hosted at the dedicated Kakao AI Campus situated in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, across two distinct winter sessions in January 2027. The first session runs from January 12 to 15, accommodating 50 selected students from the Gangwon, Gyeongbuk, Chungcheong, and Jeju provinces. The second session takes place from January 19 to 22, hosting 50 students from Gyeongnam and Jeolla regions, thereby capping the total cohort size at exactly 100 participants. Kakao finances the initiative entirely, providing complimentary lodging, meals, instructional materials, and hardware tooling without levying tuition fees upon participants or their families.
Screening Rigor, Curricular Prerequisites, and Geographic Caveats
Participation is strictly limited to students enrolled in institutions outside Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon; students attending schools within the capital metropolitan area are ineligible for admission. Eligible applicants must be entering their second year of middle school up to their first year of high school as of the 2027 academic term, corresponding to current middle school grades one through three in 2026. Applicants are expected to have completed introductory school informatics coursework or possess foundational programming literacy coupled with demonstrated aspirations toward engineering careers. Document submissions close on November 18, 2026, supported by an informational briefing on October 31. Following document evaluation and remote video interviews, final selections will be published on December 18, with review support provided by a panel of active secondary school educators dubbed 'Rookie Teachers.' While the program establishes an exceptional standard of corporate educational patronage, its restrictive 100-student cap underlines the persisting structural challenges of scaling high-touch technical instruction across expansive non-metropolitan territories.