Tell us about your career journey.
I graduated from George Mason University in 2003 with a degree in Computer Science. I started my career journey at Samsung SDS as a software engineer after graduation. After working at Samsung, I worked at LG Electronics in the field of mobile phones and later in televisions. Later, I built my experience in a foreign corporation, Myriad, which was a company famous for making mobile browsers at the time. I moved on to work at Coupang as a program manager. Program managers coordinate and try to resolve conflicts that could happen between departments. To facilitate cooperation between departments, I focused on essential coordination such as scheduling the launch of specific programs. I have switched between many different roles and fields, which was a good experience but quite a challenge at the same time.
In 2022, I founded the company Cuunit, a fee-free currency exchange platform company. The idea stemmed from my own needs for frequent currency exchanges, and I wanted to find ways to eliminate remittance fees for currency exchange. To start the business, our company had to vet out any potential legal issues that may arise in the future. We had meetings with the Korea Fintech Support Center and the Financial Supervisory Service. The Financial Supervisory Service gave us some legal provisions and we received a legal opinion from a law firm. We persuaded people through this and were able to register with the corporation. In 2023, we received our first round of investments since we had developed our UI.
What was the highlight of your Mason experience?
I came to Mason to study English at first. Since English was my second language, it took more time for me than other students to finish my assignments. It took me double the amount of time to complete the same assignment since I sought help from the writing center and other resources. It naturally became a habit of mine to start my assignments weeks earlier and visit my professors' office hours frequently.
I once missed the deadline for an assignment due to a power outage at my house. While the professor was known to be very strict, because he had a good impression of me that I never missed assignments before, he understood my situation and I was able to submit the assignment and graduate with a good grade.
Any advice for our students who are looking for jobs in Korea?
Drawing from my entrepreneurial journey, I encourage MK students to explore entrepreneurship to broaden their experiences. Many expect to go into big firms and pursue stability. I initially hadn’t considered entrepreneurship myself. However, I want to emphasize that Korea has good support systems for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship can instill a proactive mindset. While the odds of business success may be low, the experience can transform your approach to life. You can either build experience in firms and then start a business, or start a business while working at a company. There are no right answers, but entrepreneurship can present you a path.
What does the future hold for you?
My future plan is for Cuunit to expand its services to include the wire-transfer feature in the near future. I believe this will be a great help for many MK parents and students. As an alumnus, I hope to contribute to the Mason community as a way of giving back.
March 15, 2024