[Interview Blockchain Today_Editing Team]
◇Please explain about yourself and the Decipher
Hello, My name is Byung-Hun Lee, Chairman of the 5th Decipher Society, majoring in Business Administration and Electrical Information Engineering at Seoul National University. Deciper is a blockchain research organization that researches and practically applies blockchain under the mission of “contributing to the creation of a healthy blockchain ecosystem”. The academic name DECIPHER means to dig into a complex technology based on cryptography. We were first organized in March 2018, and until now, we are an academic society that has produced more than 80 members working in the industry and researching blockchain technology in various fields.
◇What is the composition of the Seoul National University Blockchain Society Decipher?
The composition of Decipher’s academic members is very diverse. The majors are very diverse, including business administration, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, law, and economics, and academic members from the early 20s to 30s are active. About 30 members of the Society are active in this rider, and all members of the Society are affiliated with at least one project team. Since it is an academic society organized at Seoul National University, a large number of academic members are members of Seoul National University, but graduates, other college students, and office workers who have a passion for blockchain are also working with them.
◇ Are there any parts you need to have in order to participate in the Decipher?
Basically, Decipher is a research organization that anyone who is interested in blockchain and wants to research together can enter. For that reason, we would like to tell you what motives the current members of the institute came to join the Decipher, rather than what kind of skills you need to have in order to study together at Decipher.
△I want to understand blockchain technology more deeply and study and solve problems that appear to be the current technical limitations △Participate in joint projects through exchanges with companies, and introduce blockchain in the actual industry. Because I want to know clearly the problems faced at the time, △I want to understand the academic characteristics of blockchain technology that encompasses various disciplines (computer engineering, economics, finance, law, etc.) And gathered at the decipher. However, in common, I would like to say that the members of the Decipher Institute have a curiosity about the world that blockchain will change, pride in contributing to the early stages of changing that world, and tremendous enthusiasm for learning.
◇Please explain in detail about the area of Decipher’s activities.
Basically, we see three basic axis of activities: Blockchain Research (R&D), Blockchain Technology Verification, and Korean Language Reference through Blockchain Research (Education). I am researching. More specific research topics were research on the blockchain core to create a decentralized index from the low level, comparison of scalability solutions, and token economy research. At the high level, digital proof of content that can use blockchain in real life. The research topic is even a Dapp project that can contain personal history using NFT or NFT.
◇ Did you have any memorable events or difficulties while you were active?
In February, the first Decipher conference, The Difference, was held online. Recently, interest in the blockchain industry has increased, and more people have participated than expected, but within us, it is evaluated as a half success.
We are originally a blockchain research group, but this semester, we put down a little part of our research and actually developed decentralized applications, Dapp and Defi, for the practical use of the blockchain and the development of real use cases. However, despite these attempts, I came to think that it is still insufficient to reach the general public. I will think more and work harder.
◇What is your position on the industry ecosystem?
Looking at the entire blockchain ecosystem on the four axes of Business, Fund, Exchange, and Academy, the blockchain community is very active in foreign countries, leading the technology along with businesses such as Blockchain at Berkeley and MIT blockchain, verifying the technology, and promoting the public. Prestigious universities are playing the role of Academy to educate students.
Unfortunately, however, in Korea, we saw that there is no entity in charge of a proper blockchain community or academy position. There are many really good blockchain projects and companies in Korea. I can’t list all companies such as Terra, Clayton Project, Hashed, and Jangle, but I think there are a lot of actors that perform well in business roles that will lead the technology with promising and competitive edge globally. Therefore, for a more sustainable and healthy domestic blockchain ecosystem, I believe that the role of the Academy that can lead the technology, verify the technology, and educate the public along with these excellent businesses is essential. We are striving in many ways to play that role in our Decipher.
◇ What are the goals and plans for the future?
As I said in the previous question, the first step is to establish an Academy position in the domestic blockchain ecosystem. In order to lead the technology together with the business in the blockchain ecosystem, and to act as a bridge that can connect it with the public, we have signed an agreement with Hanwha Life Insurance and lectures on practical application of blockchain at Seoul National University are conducted by Decipher. We are actually working with the industry, and we plan to provide a block chain reference that is easy for the public to understand by dualizing the annual DE-FERENCE, and in some areas, we will further emphasize the essential aspects of academic and research, etc. We are planning various contents.
The next step is to develop international competitiveness. Currently, we are planning online conferences and collaborative research through exchanges with blockchain conferences around the world, and positive collaboration discussions with world-leading projects are underway.
The goal is to become a global blockchain conference through a lot of research with people who are passionate about blockchain technology, regardless of region or language.
◇ Finally, what I want to emphasize to the monthly Blockchain Today readers.
I think Korea is not much behind overseas in development and is a more competitive IT powerhouse in some fields.
However, in the case of blockchain technology, there is a strong perception that blockchain = bitcoin, cryptocurrency, so there are many people who accept the blockchain technology itself and the research itself negatively, and our society is not free from such a view.
We are making various attempts to create a healthy blockchain ecosystem in Korea and overcome some negative perceptions, and in terms of competence, we are trying to properly perform the Academy role through various collaborations with industry members.
We ask for your love and interest in Decipher. Thank you.
contact@blockcast.cc
