[Economic Essay Contest] Bridging borders in banking: Foreigner’s perspective in AI era

As a Ghanaian student studying AI and Big Data at Woosong University, arriving in Korea was a dream come true. Everything from the vibrant cities to the advanced technology felt like a new world. But my first visit to a bank brought me back down to earth. I stood at the counter, papers in hand, trying to understand forms written entirely in Korean. The teller smiled politely but spoke quickly. I left empty-handed, confused, and slightly discouraged. That moment stayed with me. If Korea is globally known for its digital innovation, why do foreign residents still face such basic barriers to financial access? The answer, I’ve learned, lies not in a lack of technology but in how it’s used. And this is where AI comes in. Language, for one, is an obvious but powerful barrier. While some banks offer limited English options, they rarely go far enough. That’s why Shinhan Bank’s “Banking for Everyone” AI-powered translation kiosk amazed me. It turns spoken Korean into real-time multilingual text like English, Chinese, and Vietnamese breaking the wall between staff and foreign customerWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times