Commemorative photo from the Cloud Native Jeju graduation ceremony | Photo provided by Kakao
Kakao (CEO Shina Chung) announced on the 14th that it held a graduation ceremony for the Jeju course of its digital talent training program, "Kakao Tech Bootcamp," on October 11.
Held at Goorm Square Jeju, the event was attended by 50 graduates, Sunguk Lim, leader of Kakao’s Cloud Managed Services, representatives from the Korea Radio Promotion Association under the Ministry of Science and ICT, and edtech startup Goorm. They congratulated and encouraged the graduates.
The Jeju course prioritized students residing in Jeju, providing an immersive learning environment for two months through offline projects conducted in Jeju. The program spanned about six months, from April 2 to October 11, with 1,000 hours of online and offline training. Impressively, all students completed the course.
The Kakao Tech Bootcamp is part of Kakao’s mutual growth program under the slogan "Closer, Kakao.” It aims to develop developers ready for the workforce through an intensive training program. Kakao was selected as a digital leader academy training institution by the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s “K-Digital Training” initiative in 2022, operating the program in collaboration with the Korea Radio Promotion Association and Gureum.
Currently, 150 students in Pangyo and 50 students in Jeju are participating in the boot camp. So far, the program has trained 250 developers in cloud, AI, and full-stack development, with plans to develop 1,000 skilled workers by 2026.
Sunguk Lim, Kakao Cloud Managed Services leader, said, "Kakao Tech Bootcamp provides practical, field-based education through special lectures and mentoring by current Kakao employees. We will continue to create various opportunities to foster talent that will lead the future of the digital industry and realize the value of mutual growth."
Kakao also opened a Kakao Tech Bootcamp lecture hall in Pangyo in July 2024, equipped with personal spaces and a large town hall for over 160 students. The facility is designed to support future developers through various programs.
Pangyo Techno Valley is a global integrated R&D hub focused on IT, BT, CT, and NT, integrating Research (R), People (P), Information (I), and Trade (T). As Gyeonggi-do’s representative innovation cluster, Pangyo Techno Valley was established to secure national new growth drivers such as technological innovation, human resource development, job creation, and enhancing international business competitiveness. As of 2023, 1,666 companies employ 78,751 people, and it has positioned itself as the most innovative hub in South Korea, with sales amounting to 167.7 trillion KRW (125.5 billion USD).
Furthermore, the Techno Valley Innovation Division of the Gyeonggi-do Business & Science Accelerator (GBSA) holds monthly events such as the Pangyo Evening Meet-Up, Pan-Pan Day, and the Pangyo Startup Investment Exchange “In-Best Pangyo” to maximize the value of Pangyo Techno Valley. They also support the Pangyo Overseas Promotion Program to publicize information about Pangyo’s companies, products, and services to domestic and foreign investors and the media, thereby facilitating foreign investment.
