Generative artificial intelligence is rapidly gaining ground in the translation industry, improving productivity. But translating creative content, where context and emotion are central, takes more than converting sentences from one language to another. Conveying the original work’s distinctive appeal and narrative requires capturing the relationships between characters, the cultural background, and nuances across languages. That is why human translators’ linguistic and cultural insight remains essential even as AI makes the process more efficient.
Against this backdrop, HiveMind, the startup that develops and operates the global publishing platform Aurorah, is building a model for collaboration between AI and human translators. The company held a kickoff ceremony for the first cohort of its Aurorah Translation Supporters program on November 1. Combining generative AI with human translators’ expertise, HiveMind is building an integrated platform that brings together every stage of taking story-based intellectual property (IP) abroad, from localization to overseas publication and distribution.
“Global demand for adaptations such as webtoons, TV dramas, and films has surged, but authors and publishers who own the original works struggle to expand overseas because of high translation costs and distribution barriers,” said Dong-Uk Kim, CEO of HiveMind. “We founded HiveMind to lower translation costs through AI and introduce outstanding original web novels to readers around the world.”
“Relying solely on AI-generated first drafts, however, can compromise an author’s distinctive style and subtle nuances, making human localization essential,” he added. “I hope this program will offer more than an extracurricular activity, giving participants a valuable opportunity to build professional skills by doing hands-on localization work on actual content.”
The program attracted more than 100 applicants, with 30 ultimately selected. Participants were divided into three groups of 10, covering English, Chinese, and Japanese. The cohort consists primarily of university students, alongside working professionals.
HiveMind provides participants with transportation and meal allowances, as well as AI credits for use on the Aurorah platform. Outstanding participants will receive additional cash prizes, and those whose localized works are published overseas will have the opportunity to be officially credited as translators or localization editors. Participants will also receive certificates recognizing their participation and completion, along with priority consideration for future interpreting and translation projects.
Most activities will take place online, supplemented by in-person programs designed to give participants greater exposure to the content industry. Interested participants will have opportunities to visit Korean content production sites and network with authors, webtoon studios, and other industry professionals.
The core activity of the Aurorah Translation Supporters program is human post-editing of AI-generated translations. Over the course of a month, each participant will handle the full localization process for an assigned web novel. AI generates the initial translation, which participants then compare with the original to correct meaning and phrasing and improve the quality of the finished work.
To prepare participants, the kickoff event included hands-on training with the Aurorah platform. Before beginning localization, participants familiarize themselves with a work’s plot, fictional world, character relationships, and distinctive writing style. They then closely review the AI translation, smoothing out awkward wording and revising dialogue to reflect each character’s voice and personality. In particular, they use the glossary feature to establish localization guidelines for key proper nouns and details of the fictional world, while also restoring any omitted text.
Aurorah allows users to manage story-world information, glossaries, translated text, and revision histories in one place. Participants can choose among the latest large language model (LLM) options, including ChatGPT and Claude, directly within the workspace. They also record their changes and the reasons behind them. These records accumulate in a database for future localization quality management and model refinement.
The project was conceived in response to growing demand for translations of original works as Korean content reaches more global markets. For long-form web novels spanning hundreds or even thousands of installments, high translation costs and lengthy production schedules have long been cited as barriers to overseas expansion.
HiveMind plans to address these challenges by dividing responsibilities between AI and human translators. While AI processes large volumes of text quickly, human translators can focus on understanding the narrative context and refining nuanced expressions that resonate with readers in the target market.
“With a growing backlog of Korean content waiting to enter global markets, we considered how to make localization as efficient as possible,” Kim said. “By having people in their 20s and 30s, the core audience for this content, take part directly in localization, we expect to improve the quality of the work while helping participants build portfolios of real-world projects.” He added, “Our top priority is to localize original works with precision so they can succeed overseas. In the AI era, we will build a sustainable ecosystem where technology and people work together to increase the value of content while preserving the areas where human expertise is essential.”
HiveMind is currently pursuing the overseas rollout of Aurorah, starting with Japan and using that foothold to expand globally. Beyond increasing translation output, the company plans to use the program to assess platform usability and conduct localization quality assurance (QA) in parallel. “We will use participants’ real-world usage data to identify pain points in the workflow and actively incorporate those findings into improvements to the service,” Kim said.
The program offers HiveMind an opportunity to attract platform users and strengthen its localization QA processes, while allowing participants to build portfolios through actual Korean web novel localization projects. Participants can go beyond simply using AI tools to establish localization standards based on their interpretation of a work and help improve the quality of the final output.
Participants at the event expressed high expectations for the combination of AI technology and human judgment. One university student who joined through a club for English interpreting and translation majors said, “It’s meaningful to be able to translate web novels I’ve enjoyed reading myself, using the latest AI tools. Being able to communicate as a team and share feedback in real time is also appealing.” The student added, “Compared with when I first tried it in August, the updated version of Aurorah produces much more natural results through integrated glossary management.”
“For this project, I plan to refine the AI translations to fit the cultural background and sensibilities of the target language’s readers, rather than simply use them as they are,” the student said. Unlike academic documents, narrative content depends on an author’s distinctive voice and multidimensional dialogue, so the student aims to draw on experience living abroad and watching local TV dramas to produce localization that captures the flavor of the language.
HiveMind plans to recruit subsequent cohorts based on the results of the first. Using data from the inaugural group, it will review and implement improvements to localization efficiency, AI model optimization, and the user interface and user experience (UI/UX). “Through this program, we will show a future in which AI translation reshapes human translators’ roles around responsibility for a work’s quality and the reader’s experience, rather than diminishing those roles,” Kim said. “By combining AI’s productivity with people’s linguistic and cultural sensibilities, we will create more opportunities for Korean stories to reach readers overseas.”
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