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Hankyung.com introduces: JMsys, Development of an outdoor app that provides voice guidance even on mountain trails

Nov. 29, 2024 - 00:10 By PRNEWSWIRE

SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- JMsys is a company that developed the industry's first blockchain-based mountain trail voice guidance platform. It has been recognized for its technological prowess by the Ministry of Science and ICT and has been selected as a blockchain expansion business in the private sector in 2024. The company said, "It is evaluated as a company that will grow into a global company in the leisure and health tech market."

"As a street person, when I became the leader of an outdoor club, a problem arose. I kept leading the team down the wrong path and causing trouble to my team members. Haha." Ji-Man Choi, CEO of JMsys, talked about the background of developing 'WegoRoad', which provides voice guidance even on mountain trails.

Photo: https://img.hankyung.com/pdsdata/pr.hankyung.com/uploads/2024/11/WegoRoad_01.jpg

CEO Choi said, "I started hiking to treat a lumbar disc, and within 6 months, I saw results that were close to a complete cure. After that, I began to enjoy hiking and MTB (mountain biking) in earnest and climbed the mountain 2-3 times a week".

"Then, I became a club team leader, but the problem was that I had to be disciplined. I always went down the wrong path and made my team members suffer. The existing apps(applications) were not accurate, and it was very inconvenient to have to take out my smartphone to look at each intersection."

For this reason, CEO Choi conceived 'WegoRoad' (formerly known as 'Bunjjang'). They thought there was a need for an app that would give accurate directions and provide voice guidance on mountain trails. He had over 20 years of IT experience. After graduating from college, he took his first steps into society as a smart factory engineer. In 2011, he founded JMCS, a broadcast video and leisure health tech company, which he still runs.

He cited the voice metadata input function and blockchain technology as the differentiators of WegoRoad. CEO Choi explained, "Voice metadata such as crossroads or dangerous substances can be entered into the GPX course," and "In addition, blockchain technology is introduced to provide reliable course information."

"We have improved safety with a real-time evaluation system where users directly evaluate courses. We also secured ownership of each course using blockchain technology. Users earn points when they share courses they have created and edited, and these points can be used to link shopping malls. You can purchase event products here".

Photo: https://img.hankyung.com/pdsdata/pr.hankyung.com/uploads/2024/11/WegoRoad_02.jpg

He emphasized WegoRoad's Core philosophy. He said, 'I become the owner of the location data I create.' "This is an approach that distances itself from existing platforms that profit from users' data," he said. "We aim to provide a user-centered service where ownership and resulting profits go to the user, not the platform," he said.

An advanced version is scheduled to be released in September. CEO Choi said, "We will provide new functions such as voice guidance input editing for crossroads and dangerous substances, location sharing to check the location of companions, and emergency rescue contact network."