CEO Kim Junghwi: "What You See Is Not Everything"
Eye-Catching Cleaning Fun, Popular Among Pet Owners
"Even dust particles 4 to 5 meters away are clearly visible. It's fun to clean because you can easily spot and pick up human and pet hair."
He described cleaning as if it were a form of hunting. He emphasized that our eyes, accustomed to natural or indoor lighting, do not see everything.
Kim Junghwi, a CEO in his mid-40s who claimed to have gone 'all-in' on creating a vacuum cleaner that had never existed before, proudly introduced his product as a new example of Korean technology. He had previously described our living rooms and offices as "dust pits," but was startled when he turned on the lens attached to the vacuum cleaner head.
The tangled dust, hair, and the previously unimaginable world of the floor were revealed. The floor that looked clean was either an 'illusion' or simply invisible to the naked eye. He began to worry about the real state of rooms shared with pets that frequently shed hair.
"What you see is not everything, right? I spent over three years developing a vacuum cleaner that can easily distinguish dust on the floor."
Kim, who had previously imported and distributed furniture, found his new business idea while attending various overseas exhibitions: a 'device to see dust clearly.' He founded his company in 2021 and, after about three years of development, launched the 'v-scan' series vacuum cleaner at the end of last year, securing a global patent.
Compared to existing global brands whose vacuum cleaners' LED lights can only detect dust within 50 cm, his invention radiates up to 4 to 5 meters, capturing fine dust and hair in a groundbreaking way.
The v-scan300 vacuum cleaner released by Grovetec is already receiving enthusiastic responses from households with pets and parents with young children. The first batch, launched earlier this year and promoted at exhibitions in Busan, quickly sold out with over 300 units. An additional 600 units currently in production have already been contracted through a group purchase on Instagram.
Kim explained, "The current v-scan300 is designed to be flexible so it can be used with other brands simply by replacing the vacuum head. We also plan to produce the v-scan500, which automatically empties dust, and the v-scan100 series, which are small portable models for cars, studios, and pets."
When Kim Jeonghui, CEO of GroveTech, shone the head lens of the V-Scan300 vacuum cleaner, all kinds of dust particles were clearly captured on the office floor.
Gil Taeho, director at Grovetec, said, "Our product was recognized for its unique advancement and innovation, passing the screening of the world's largest crowdfunding platform. In just one month last November, we achieved 2200% of our funding goal with just the vacuum head." He proudly added, "Our dust scanning performance is unmatched among vacuum cleaners worldwide."
Grovetec claims that their innovative vacuum cleaner saves users from the futile effort of repeatedly cleaning already clean areas while missing the truly dirty spots.
Gil added, "It's been nicknamed the 'addictive vacuum cleaner' because it makes cleaning fun while saving time. Although the product's features are world-class, we offer it at a much more affordable price compared to others."
"Because dust isn't easily visible, every household faces cleaning issues. The experience of finding dust the day after thoroughly cleaning up after guests inspired the development of this product." This was Kim's definition that "inconvenience is the beginning of invention."
He majored in English literature in college. The epilogue of this entrepreneur's story, who believed that making invisible dust visible would make cleaning easier and spent a considerable amount of money visiting lens and lighting factories as well as vacuum cleaner companies, draws attention.
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