In February 2020, as COVID-19 began its rapid spread across South Korea, a middle school student built an interactive tracking website called CoronaNow that ultimately drew 30 million users, according to local news reports. Hyungbin Choi, then a third-year student at a middle school in Daegu, developed the platform in just one week using Google Search and coding textbooks, pulling official data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to display domestic case counts and global mortality rates.
From Middle School Developer to Startup Founder
Following the viral success of CoronaNow, Choi's career progressed quickly through South Korea's technology sector. According to published profiles, he joined the financial technology platform Toss as its youngest team leader while in his second year of high school. He also developed a sleep-tracking alarm application called Kkokkio that recorded six million cumulative uses. In August, he launched Addit & Arch, an artificial intelligence-based social media magazine, advertising, and marketing platform that secured early investment from Kakao Ventures.
Rejecting Traditional Academic Tracks
Despite his achievements in technology, Choi’s early education did not follow the intensive, hyper-competitive private tutoring model typical of Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district, according to interviews published by the media outlet The JoongAng. Growing up in Gosan-dong, a neighborhood in Daegu’s Suseong district, Choi maintained mid-to-upper-tier grades and described himself as humanities-oriented rather than mathematically gifted. He completed only one year of advanced mathematics preparation and initially aspired to become a public prosecutor, influenced by his father, a professor at the Korea Army 3rd Academy. Rather than following a standard elite university admissions track, Choi credits his early confidence to an elementary school homeroom teacher who fostered his self-belief during his final year of primary school.
Key Milestones in Hyungbin Choi’s Career
- February 2020: Launched CoronaNow, reaching 30 million users during the early phase of the pandemic.
- High School Years: Appointed as the youngest team leader at the financial platform Toss during his second year of high school.
- Application Development: Released the sleep alarm application Kkokkio, which surpassed six million cumulative uses.
- Current Status: Studies computer science as a sophomore at KAIST and serves as representative of the AI startup Addit & Arch.