On August 24th and 25th, 2024, hackseoul, the final stop of the Global Hackathon Series, concluded with remarkable success at Coupang@Tower 730, thanks to the tremendous support from our key sponsors Coupang and zkPass. This dynamic 24-hour hackathon brought together 200+ of Seoul’s brightest minds, all driven by a shared passion to innovate and tackle the city’s most pressing challenges.
Coupang challenged participants to develop cutting-edge solutions in the e-commerce space, focusing on customer satisfaction and business growth, while zkPass, as a leader in digital identity and privacy protection, pushed teams to create secure, zero-knowledge-proof-based applications.
Tackling Emerging Challenges through Innovation
Aligned with the Global Hackathon Series themes of Financial Inclusion, Social Responsibility, and Digital Empowerment, hackseoul presented challenge statements that resonate deeply with Seoul’s current landscape:
Financial Inclusion
- Seoul’s tech-savvy population faces a high cost of living. Participants were challenged to develop solutions aimed at millennials to promote financial literacy and encourage saving habits.
Social Responsibility
- With environmental challenges at the forefront, teams were tasked to create projects that improve urban living and reduce pollution, aligning with South Korea’s green initiatives and enhancing urban livability.
Digital Empowerment
- Coupang Challenge: As South Korea’s leading e-commerce platform, Coupang challenged innovators to create solutions that significantly improve customer satisfaction, increase user engagement, and drive business growth in the e-commerce space, building upon Coupang’s foundation of fast delivery and customer-centric service.
- zkPass Challenge: Participants were invited to develop innovative apps using the zkPass SDK, leveraging zero-knowledge proofs to securely verify and share personal data on-chain without revealing the actual data, enhancing digital identity and privacy protection.
Innovation in Action
The hackathon saw a diverse range of innovative solutions, each addressing critical challenges in financial inclusion, social responsibility, and digital empowerment. Across all themes, the use of emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, and gamification demonstrated the participants’ commitment to making a real-world impact within just 24 hours.
Participants developed creative platforms aimed at improving financial literacy, especially among millennials, by gamifying savings habits and providing personalized financial guidance. Some projects focused on enhancing the e-commerce experience, offering tools to streamline online shopping while promoting mindful spending. Others tackled environmental issues, proposing solutions to reduce pollution and improve urban living conditions in line with Seoul’s green initiatives.
Several solutions at hackseoul also utilized zkPass technology to enhance privacy and security. Participants developed platforms for securely sharing personal data, such as dietary preferences, and for managing event tickets without revealing sensitive information. Others created privacy-first communities, where identities could be verified without compromising confidentiality, showcasing the potential of zkPass in various applications.
Winning Projects
Financial Inclusion Winner: Team Moneygement
- Project: Moneygement
- Description: An educational journey through past economic crises that helps millennials build financial resilience and savings habits by making smarter financial decisions through a gamified experience.
Social Responsibility Winner: Team maejeom_go
- Project: gotor
- Description: A speech-to-text and ChatGPT-powered express bus reservation system designed to improve urban mobility and accessibility, addressing sustainability in public transportation.
Digital Empowerment Winner: Team GLAZ
- Project: 아빠도 쿠팡 (Coupang for Dad)
- Description: A solution designed to enhance the post-coronavirus e-commerce experience for elderly users, focusing on accessibility and providing an intuitive interface to improve online shopping for older generations.
The top-scoring teams will now move forward to represent Seoul at the Grand Finals in Singapore, where they will compete on a global stage for $100,000 USD in prizes.
Be a Part of Our Global Hackathon!
As we gear up for the Grand Finals in Singapore, we invite sponsors to join us in supporting top tech talent and innovation. Partner with us to showcase your brand, connect with brilliant minds, and help drive real-world solutions.
Learn more and become a sponsor here.
