South Korean credit card issuer Hyundai Card announced Friday that Dive, Hyundai Card’s culture app, had won a high-profile app award two years in a row.

Hosted by the Korea Internet Professionals Association, a nonprofit body that supports the local internet industry, the Smart App Award is one of the most prestigious contests for apps developed by local companies and government agencies. Its annual awards go to the best smartphone apps in six categories -- visual design, user interface design, technology, content, service and marketing. There are 18 evaluation criteria.

After winning the grand prize for brand innovation in 2019, Hyundai Card Dive scooped up the grand prize for content innovation this year. For a branding platform, winning the Smart App Award for two consecutive years is unprecedented.

“Hyundai Card Dive is a culture app that goes beyond simply offering content,” said a Hyundai Card spokesperson. “Its content is designed to communicate with users.”

The spokesperson said the company would further advance the app’s content customization feature, using its data science capabilities to find and propose content that best fits the individual user’s tastes.

Since its launch in December 2019, Hyundai Card Dive has offered an array of cultural content in seven categories: art and design; architecture and interior design; travel; music; gourmet life and cooking; style; and technology. Celebrities, social media influencers and various cultural figures contribute to the content creation.

The app has been thrust into the spotlight recently after hosting a variety of “contactless” events in the wake of COVID-19. Some examples include “Fan-Made Live,” a concert series featuring K-pop musicians performing online while communicating with fans at the same time, and “Over the Record,” an online lecture series led by top-notch figures in music, design and film. On the back of those endeavors, the app’s accumulated downloads topped 1 million in just a year.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)