Everyone has precious moments that need to be remembered. There are certain instances that only happen once in a lifetime and we want to make them last forever by taking pictures. Fortunately, there are people who try to help us beautifully preserve such moments. They created a network that connects people and photographs and enables us to see the world through photos. Like taking a trip back to memory lane, ‘Momentrip’ makes peoples’ moments and memories brighter and more special. For this issue, we conducted an interview with the joint representative of Momentrip, Ho-geun Kim (Class of 2008, Department of Automotive Engineering).
 

Q. Hello! What exactly is the service provided by ‘Momentrip’?
I think I can explain Momentrip with the sentence, ‘Life isn't perfect, but we can capture its special moments.’ People take photos of precious moments in their lives from birth until death. Everyone takes pictures to record certain meaningful moments in their lives such as during graduation day or a child’s first birthday. Photos and images are able to preserve important ‘moments’ in the course of a person’s life. Although one’s life may not be perfect, the feelings and emotions of certain moments can be remembered and recreated through photos. As time passes by, photos make us reminisce past events and Momentrip’s service makes such life records more beautiful and precious. Furthermore, our ultimate goal was to construct a platform that can connect the customers, who want to preserve their beautiful moments, with many photographers who love photography.
 

▲ The precious moments of lives that we carelessly forget about.
This is the gift that Momentrip wants to present to people.

Q. The idea of a ‘photo platform that connects photographers and customers’ is very impressive. Is there any particular reason why you started your business with a ‘photo’ concept?
While studying in the university, I participated in extracurricular activities like my other friends. I worked as a student reporter so I conducted interviews and managed the photography-related business of the foreign service group’s PR Team. Since I had many experiences related to photography during my university life, I naturally became interested in this field. The most significant opportunity was my exchange student experience. I studied in Australia for six months and for the last 2 months at that time, I traveled alone without any money. I earned some money to spend for my travel expenses by taking photos. It was a really special experience. This unique experience made me seriously think about engaging in a ‘photography’ business.

After graduation, I worked in a travel agency. It was my first job and I was in-charge of affairs related to photography. At that time, I observed many things. In a travel agency, most travel packages offered were group tours. People took photos in typical tourist spots that proved that ‘they went to certain places.’ I felt something was missing here as many scenes and moments of travel, which could be the most precious moments in one’s life, were merely recorded without meaning and stories. From that moment, ‘photography’ actually became a business concept for me. I experienced and learned the world through photos so I wanted to help people to not simply document the places where they have been, but to have photos that can truly become precious bonding memories. Eventually, this concept that came across my mind developed into the present service, ‘Momentrip.’

▲ Office of Momentrip.
Its ultimate goal is to create the photograph platform that connects everyone all over the world.

Q. In some sense, you attempted a ‘startup’ in an area that is very different from your major. Have you always been interested in creating a startup?
Actually, Momentrip is not my first startup. I attempted to establish ‘Korea Square’ in the past. I intended to create a service platform that allowed foreign students or tourists in Korea to experience Korean culture. But it failed at the planning stage and in the development of a sustainable growth model (laugh). Through such bitter experience, I was able to understand the needs demanded by the people and how to satisfy them. I think that became a solid foundation when creating the platform for Momentrip.

▲ ‘Korea Square,’ the first startup business of CEO Kim

Q. You were a student who studied Automotive Engineering so it is very impressive that your current career is in photography. Is there any difficulty that you encountered because of the different fields of your college major and your actual career?
Actually, my major Automotive Engineering is in the field of natural sciences so it is not directly connected to and didn’t help me much in the field of photography. But as I actually started my business, I instantly felt that ‘humanities and natural sciences are somehow linked.’ Due to the characteristics of my major, I was used to solving problems from the basic stage up to certain logical structures when facing various types of problems. Because of this, I was able to manage things well when faced with unexpected situations and solve difficult problems in the course of my usual work.

Unlike the things I learned in the University, I have to deal with emotion-related issues while working with people in the society. In line with this, I could reach wise conclusions based on rational thinking without becoming carried away by emotions, Also, I was familiar with dealing with numbers as I learned complicated engineering so it helped me when I managed my business accounting.

▲ The education from the university became another foundation for him to be open for challenges.
 

Q. I think you studied hard. Is there anything else that helped you to establish the current Momentrip business from your experiences in the university?
As I mentioned before, my exchange student experience significantly helped me establish my startup. The six-month student exchange program that I had through the International Exchange Team of Kookmin University was the first step for me to actually open my eyes to ‘photography.’ Also, I participated for a year in the Global Buddy Program that was supported by the Foreign Students Support Center. My first startup attempt through Korean Square and my work for Momentrip were the combined results derived from human networks that I shared with foreign friends. Moreover, I participated in a travel club called ‘Youth Hostel’ and through this, I had many chances to think about and work with the concept of ‘photography.’

However, the greatest help that I got from the university in creating Momentrip was the ‘EIR Program’ of the Career Development Center. In establishing a startup, there are many issues related to legal procedures such as corporation registration and accounting which includes taxation. Such issues are the most difficult things to deal with for those who plan for a startup. Although I was already a college graduate, I could still be advised on accounting matters and get practical help. Oh, there was a course related to ‘startups’ in the electives so I took that course and I learned basic knowledge about startups. Although it was an elective and my major was not business administration, I was able to learn a lot in this area.

▲ Exchange student experience in Australia and travelling without money.
This was the beginning of his ‘life in photography.’

Q. What are your future development plans for Momentrip?
Momentrip aims to officially launch its business in April 2015. The service that we are ready to launch is ‘graduation photograph snap service.’ The graduation photography services currently operating in universities are too expensive. Also, the other photography services are not flexible enough to accommodate the varying graduation schedules of close friends so it is hard to take photos of them together. To address this need, we have created a service that allows dynamic and flexible graduation photography that can be truly memorable.

▲ The graduation snap service of Momentrip.
It provides more natural and vibrant photos than other photography services.

Our service does not make people think, ‘I took some photos’ but rather, they are able to say, ‘I have captured precious memories after taking some photos.’ After stabilizing the platform service that can connect various photographers and customers in Korea, Momentrip plans to offer photography services to foreigners visiting Korea that provides more value-added services. Photography is an important aspect of overseas travel so I also intend to provide an infrastructure that allows easy contact between Korean photographers and tourists. I am trying to establish the business as the premier photography platform service in Korea for this year and next, and by 2017, I hope that it will become a national tourism product in the domestic market. Ultimately, I want to expand the business into a ‘global photography service platform.’

▲ Capture more precious and special photos even for the same moment. This is the mission of Momentrip.

Q. Is there any message you want to share with all Kookmin*People who dream of having their own startups like Momentrip?
I think that I am still at the starting line in realizing my dreams. So it is more like my mission to inspire many Kookmin*People who are preparing their own careers in photography. One of the concerns I have had since I graduated from university was, ‘What is the best thing that I can do?’ I contemplated about this over and over again and I figured out that my strength lies in the power of execution. If I like to accomplish something, I am willing to work hard for it and experience even trivial matters. I felt that this was my strength and identity.

In the four years of university life, there isn’t an objective ‘standard’ that you have to meet. Instead of just meeting the standards expected by others like achieving high TOEIC scores and GPA, you should accumulate your own skills and knowledge through your university experiences because these can never disappear. It is important to do something without hesitation. During the six-month preparation period for Momentrip, the features of the initial items were not much different from the current business items. As I became more matured through trials and errors, my own thinking has also developed. Today is much different from yesterday and tomorrow is something to look forward to. I am sure someday, you can find a different and improved version of yourself if you just keep trying.

The society demands many things from the young generation. As soon as the students enter the university gates after fierce competition from entrance examinations, they are forced to make countless choices. Likewise, we tend to waste our time by not experiencing memorable moments as we strive to reach the standards set by the society, and not by the goals we set.
(End of interview)

Ho-geun Kim says that the lessons and knowledge obtained through our experiences and personal choices are the most precious assets that cannot be replaced by the passing of time. Let us move towards our dreams by drawing from the lessons of our own choices and experiences Such will be the most treasured moments in our lives. We have the right to choose our paths. Concerning ideals and reality, we have to be equipped with strong motivation to make a step towards what we truly want in life.

- Web journalist, PR Team

Kookmin Review Ji-un Bae