South Korea's Before Babel Brigade will run the interpretation service at the event, which officially begins with the Opening Ceremony in Jakarta on Saturday (August 18).

The community-based group offers quick translation through its volunteers, who can be contacted through a number or a smartphone application.

Conversations between natives and foreigners are then overseen by a third party, who translates both people's messages into the right language and relays it to the other.

It is hoped the service will help foreigners who are attending the multi-sport event in the two Indonesian cities communicate better.

Before Babel Brigade, which currently has 500 volunteers and covers languages such as Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese and Russian, provided a similar service for visitors at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Hundreds of volunteers will be part of the translation service at the Games, which run through to September 2.

South Korean Ambassador Kim Chang-beom and a representative of Indonesia's Ministry of Youth and Sports recently attended a ceremony to launch the interpretation service. 

A congratulatory message by K-pop group Momoland was played at the event in Jakarta, the main hub for the Asian Games.