Introduction

A ten-year (1998-2007) project to contribute to the construction of the information society, the 21st Sejong Project is aimed to achieve the following objectives in a three-stage process.

..(1) Construction of a world-class language database through extensive collection of basic data of
...... the Korean language
..(2) Systematization of the Korean language by creating a standardized electronic Korean dictionary
..(3) Globalization of the Korean language through distribution of efficient language information
...... system among Korean people in Korea and overseas
..(4) Standardization of the Korean language by establishing systematic standards and tools for the
...... language information system

R&D activities to achieve the objectives is important, but it is equally important to have efficient measures for distribution and management of the achievements of the project. To maximize the effective value of the project’s results, there should be coordinated efforts to ensure systematic and effective distribution and management in consideration of feedback from the users.

The situation after the project’s first stage shows that there has not been enough efforts in systematically managing and distributing the achievements of the 21 Century Sejong Project. The distribution of information via the project’s official homepage has been proved unsatisfactory partly because there was no channel for users to use the data that were not open to them. That the multimedia data were not digitalized was also a problem. The corpuses constructed under the project were opened to the public along with the programs designed to help people use them. However, many users found that the programs were hard to learn, another obstacle to a wider use of the data. Moreover, there was no consideration to provide answers for questions. All these problems point out that the current way of distribution, via the project’s homepage alone, is not enough, and new improved measures should be taken.

Well aware of the situation, the Distribution and Management Center of the 21 Century Sejong Project plans to create measures for systematic and efficient management and distribution of the project’s achievements. The center’s aim is, of course, to contribute to information-oriented development of the Korean language, helping Korean people use their language more efficiently and productively.