[Interview] "After Daegu COVID-19 Confirmation, Personally Developed 'Gongjik Mask' Site... Rejected All Commercial Ads"

Interview with the Developer of the Public Mask Information Website 'WearMask'
"Starting Today, Post Office Inventory Also Disclosed... Single-Person Development and Operation System"

[Asia Economy News Reporter Seolgina Jo] "It has only been a day since we disclosed the quantity of masks, but we have received a lot of inquiries about commercial advertisements. However, since this is done for the public interest, we have rejected all proposals."

Jin Taeyang (23), a university student and developer of the website 'Where-Mask (where-mask.com)', which allows real-time checking of public mask sales status via mobile phones and PCs, said in an interview with Asia Economy News on the 12th, "The essence of this service is creating new value based on collective response," adding, "It can partially alleviate the phenomenon of buyers crowding at specific pharmacies and lining up for a long time."

Web developer of the website 'WearMask', university student Jin Taeyang (23)

Jin, who said that server expansion work was carried out due to traffic surge after the service launch the previous day, explained, "From today, the second day of the service, not only pharmacy inventory but also post office inventory information will be provided." Where-Mask, which he created, is a website that shows pharmacies and other places with mask stock within a 3 km radius on a map and supports a route-finding function. Unlike other services that mainly disclose quantity information, it also provides mask arrival times and update times to help users' convenience. He added, "We are also negotiating the schedule for information provision from NongHyup and Hanaro Mart."

Born in Daegu and currently majoring in computer science at Yeungnam College of Science and Technology, Jin started development himself after seeing acquaintances struggling to purchase masks as COVID-19 rapidly spread mainly in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions.

Having felt the need to visualize accurate information during the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, he took charge of coding, design, and planning all by himself during the tight time before the service launch. He is currently managing the service alone. He expressed gratitude, saying, "Even as a solo developer, I feel rewarded because the number of users seems higher compared to other services operated by companies or teams."

As a student, Jin is also partially bearing the operating costs out of his own pocket. He explained, "The cost-incurring elements include AWS servers, Naver MAP SDK, and Kakao Local API," adding, "We are providing the service free of charge with support from Naver and Kakao, but the AWS server costs to maintain the web service are paid out of my own pocket."

Despite receiving numerous inquiries about investments and commercial advertisements in just one day, he rejected all of them. He said, "I want to prevent the service's intent from being distorted by commercial advertisements, etc.," and added, "Since large expenses are expected for AWS server costs, I requested cost support from AWS and am waiting for a positive response."

Capture screen of the Wear Mask website (where-mask.com)

Where-Mask will undergo a beta test period until the 15th. Jin explained, "Currently, mask stock is not distinguished by small, medium, or large sizes, causing confusion on-site," adding, "During the beta test period, exceptional measures such as entering stock information for small sizes will be taken to reduce confusion." The Korean Pharmaceutical Association has issued related guidelines to pharmacists reflecting the confusion on-site. The Ministry of Science and ICT, the supervising department, also acknowledged errors such as system failures and information inconsistencies during the data provision process the previous day and promised to improve the service.

He added, "During the beta test period, there may be discrepancies with actual quantities or instability in the service, but we are communicating with the Korean Pharmaceutical Association, Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, and others to correct incorrect information and promptly resolve unexpected issues." Currently, Where-Mask does not operate a separate application due to difficulties in immediate fixes and responses to failures caused by update approval delays.