'Discovery of New Growth' Took Just One Year... Woongjin's 'Kids Platform' Development
Departed from Woongjin ThinkBig last April
Cumulative transaction amount exceeds 8 billion KRW
Successful spin-off as a subsidiary this month
Nationwide theme parks and kids cafes
Mobile reservation and payment service
Selected as Google Play's App of the Year
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] Woongjin Group's kids platform 'Noriui Balgyeon' (Discovery of Play) has become a newly established corporation in about a year, emerging as a so-called 'discovery of new growth.' The company plans to secure business competitiveness through various strategic partnerships and external investments.
According to Woongjin Group on the 7th, Noriui Balgyeon, which started last April as the kids platform business division of its affiliate Woongjin ThinkBig, surpassed 460,000 cumulative members and 8 billion KRW in cumulative transaction volume by the end of last month. The cumulative number of members has increased dramatically from 98,000 in April last year, 240,000 in August, to 385,000 in December. The cumulative transaction volume also surged from 600 million KRW, 2.4 billion KRW, to 5.87 billion KRW during the same period.
As the number of members and transaction volume steadily grew, Noriui Balgyeon successfully spun off as a subsidiary of Woongjin ThinkBig through a board meeting held on the 4th.
The newly established corporation Noriui Balgyeon operates a mobile platform business that allows reservations and payments for play spaces where children can enjoy themselves. It provides platform-based services offering various programs from over 5,000 affiliated companies nationwide, including famous theme parks and kids cafes, at discounted prices so customers can enjoy leisure activities.
This service can be used by downloading the mobile application on a smartphone. Its advantage is the easy access to view nationwide play programs at a glance. The Noriui Balgyeon app was also selected as the 'Hidden Gem App of the Year' by Google Play last year.
Play is gaining importance as it helps enhance creativity, problem-solving skills, and social skills in toddlers and elementary school students. Woongjin Group plans to lead the kids play platform market by continuously securing high-quality play content through Noriui Balgyeon.
On the 6th, Yoon Saebom, the second son of Woongjin Group Chairman Yoon Seok-geum and Executive Vice President of Group Business Operations, was appointed as the CEO of Noriui Balgyeon. After stepping down as CEO of Woongjin ThinkBig in July 2018, Yoon took on the role of CEO of the new company after about two years.
CEO Yoon said, "Our goal is to secure 1 million members within one year and 3 million members within two years," adding, "We plan to strengthen personalized curation services based on big data and add new synergy products such as innovative childcare services."
Born in 1979, CEO Yoon graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Business Administration. He worked in Woongjin ThinkBig's strategic planning team and served as the head of planning and coordination at the group's holding company Woongjin before being appointed CEO of Woongjin ThinkBig in March 2016. He is credited with improving the financial structure and laying the foundation for its growth into a global edutech company during his tenure.
Since September 2018, CEO Yoon has been overseeing major group business operations such as education, publishing, and leisure as Executive Vice President of Group Business Operations. With his return as CEO, he is facing new opportunities.
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A Woongjin Group official explained, "When CEO Yoon was leading Woongjin ThinkBig, he played a leading role from the early stages of the business by planning the kids platform Noriui Balgyeon to create a new breakthrough in the education market. He is also recognized for securing new growth engines through investment in and product development with the U.S. Silicon Valley edutech company 'Kidaptive.'"
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