I am a part of the ‘Recommendations Team,’ which provides technologies that use the recommendations system and machine learning for various services within Kakao. We estimate the articles, songs, goods, and works that you might be interested in and recommend them in services such as DAUM News, Melon, Kakao Gift, and Kakao Page.

I learned about coding through the introductory course on programming I took when I was in the second year. It was a compulsory subject. I was so fascinated when the computer printed out “Hello world” on the black screen just as I ordered it to. Afterword, I accessed SSH rather than my Facebook when I turn on the computer and visited a site called ‘Coding Life’ after I got tired of playing games during the break. That was when I set up my web site and created a program called ‘GIST Course Scheduler.’ It was just a hobby then. One day, I spent the whole night coding and I found myself still seized with the desire to eliminate the bugs. That was the day I first had the idea that ‘it would be all right if I do coding for living one day.' A few years later, I decided to let go my major when I was troubled with the career decision and I made myself fully engaged in AI and programming.

After I decided to deal with AI, I thought about going to the graduate school and getting a job. Because I did not major in computer science, they both seemed equally difficult and I decided to find a job. Kakao had a position on AI job that I was interested in. They usually recruited experienced people mostly, but I was lucky because they had the internship system which was relatively less competitive when I applied. I became a regular after finishing the internship for two and a half months. In fact, I applied to about ten noted companies for a regular position, but Kakao was the only one that accepted me and others turned me down. It was tough when I was getting rejections after rejections, but when I come to think of it, I think it was fortunate that I failed elsewhere. (phew)

I was in a very unique situation. I majored in something that did not have anything to do with computers and I served in the military after graduation. I was just unemployed when I was looking for a job after being discharged. I didn’t major or minor in AI. I wrote my marks for my major, cell biology and molecular biology when they asked me about my marks for major. All I could put forward was the AI course that I studied by myself through MOOC lecture and the school community site called ‘GISTALK’ that I think is a mess. I had nothing to refer to and no one to ask for help. The toughest thing was that I was not confident about myself. I applied to many places thinking, ‘Getting a job is tough for everyone. Would I be able to do it?’ but also encouraging myself, ‘But I have to do something I like!’ It was also tough to open e-mails telling me that I was rejected and hear the interviewers saying, “You have nothing better to offer than those that majored in computer science.” But I continued to emphasize my strength, ‘I have a potential because I studied it myself when no one asked me to.’ Like the two sides of a coin, it also meant that ‘I am still short of the knowledge in the subject,' but that was the only thing I had. If you have something you want to do, you must have done something on your own that others would not have. For me, it was the MOOC lecture, ‘GISTALK,’ and ‘GIST Course Scheduler.’ Knowing and emphasizing who you are is the most important part in getting a job. Of course, there are minimum requirements for each job like coding tests, and I recommend that you build up those basic capacities first.

The talk concert had three parts, and I talked about how I found a job for about 30 minutes in the second part, which was about career. Many juniors showed interest in my company. They must have wanted to hear about the qualifications required for the job or some special secrets about getting a job, but my case was a peculiar one and I couldn’t give a universal and standard career tips. Instead, I told them, “Find your own strength!” and “Mental strength is the most important element in preparing for your career!” What I heard after the talk was that some juniors said, “Didn’t he avoid talking about how he tried, too much? It felt like he is saying it’s going to be easy.” Let me take this chance to make it clear. Getting a job was very tough and I won’t do it again. But I thought it would mean something to say this to them. What worked for me worked because it was for me, and luck also plays a big part in getting a job, which means that getting a job can be much easier or much harder than it was for me. It seemed that telling them ‘how to find your strength, how to find a company that suits them, and how to maintain your mental strength’ would help them the most instead of telling how difficult it was for me. If you still wonder how it was, I’ll tell you how chaotic it was next time.

So many thing things happened when I was an undergraduate in so much that I could write a book about them. It was really fun. From the Student Council to Cultural Event Committee, House (dormitory), GIDAERO (theater group), Hot Six (guitar club), GIST Press, Peer Counsel, Education Economics Research Internship, working at the library, SURF, IT Overseas Volunteer, everything was so eventful. I was the happiest in the last semester at GIST, after returning from the leave absence. It was probably most influenced by the class by Professor Hisam Kim called . It was when I gave up graduate school majoring in life science and spent the semester with liberal arts classes and club activities, after completing minimum credits required for graduation, before I joined the military. I had the burden of taking a new path but I began to trust my decision, accepting modern day proverbs like “High income and fame do not have major impact on happiness" and “Happiness depends on yourself.” What I learned from influenced me when I was preparing for a job and continues to influence me now and probably in the future.

You can explore various subjects within the Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences for two years and GIST offers excellent liberal arts and humanities courses. Programs like SURF and exchange student, which I couldn’t take part in, and projects like Unlimited Challenge help students have a variety of experiences. Other colleges do offer similar programs, but the strength that GIST has is that the competition in getting in to those programs is relatively low, and many students can have that experiences. I liked cognitive science. It offered various psychology courses and a chance to study in the cognitive science lab of Caltech. I wouldn’t have known that I love programming if I, a life science major, didn’t have a chance to take the course on programming. A variety of experiences and opportunities are the greatest strengths of GIST.

The support that was directly needed in getting the job was actually that I obtained the college diploma. There were almost no recruitment fairs or employment support programs when I was an undergraduate because not many people looked for a job. I used to go to job fairs offered at other colleges while preparing to get a job. But I received more important support from GIST compared to that. Various programs and classes I enjoyed helped me to make career decisions, and professors were really sincere during career counseling. Ellis at the Language Education Center helped me writing my CV, and it was quite useful in many places. The library had many books and also quickly purchased the books I requested for and the system that allowed me to sit in on the computer classes that I was interested in also became a great help in the career exploration.

My goal is to quit when I lose interest in coding. For I chose this path to do what I like, coding would have less meaning if I lose interest in it. I am quite satisfied with my job, which is about handling artificial intelligence, and I don’t know when I would get weary of doing it. Currently, I want to develop my skills hard and contribute to the world by understanding people in a new way with artificial intelligence. Now, I get to have interviews and give lectures for being a part of the company, Kakao, but I hope one day I get to have interviews for being who I am not as Park Hee-soo of Kakao. That is another goal, and I want to meet you again then.

Not getting recognized by anyone does not mean that you are unimportant. You are already special and you will be more special in the days to come. You don’t have to follow what others say. You can make a living and be happy doing what you love to do. I believed that, and it worked out somehow, mysteriously. You don’t believe me? I can’t help you with that, but if you do, it will make you more comfortable and the world will look beautiful.