Bert Shim — Korea Tech & Market Advisor
Former Senior Vice President at Com2uS. I provide hands-on consulting, product development, and AI automation for international software, technology, and game companies entering Korea — without the cost of hiring a full-time local team.
Bert Shim
Korea Tech & Market Advisor
Executive-level expertise with a flexible engagement model.
Most teams do not need a country manager yet. They need one experienced local person who understands both the market and the product.
Korean user expectations, platforms, and partner structures are difficult to read from the outside.
Finding the right publishers, vendors, and partners takes time you do not have.
Korean inquiries and follow-up meetings stall when nobody local can handle them.
A full-time local team is a large commitment before the market is validated.
Approach
One partner across the whole path: market strategy first, then the product work and automation that follows.
Korean market and product strategy, localization review, technical communication with Korean partners and vendors.
The web services, localization work, MVPs, and integrations you actually need to operate in Korea.
AI agents for repetitive operational work — designed with human review and approval built in.
Services
Start small with advisory, then expand into development and automation as the Korean opportunity becomes clear.
Practical advice on how your product fits the Korean market.
The delivery work that market entry actually requires.
Find the repetitive work, then automate it safely.
Products
The AI automation I advise on is automation I build myself. The N2 family below is in active development — internal tools I use in my own work, not public products you can sign up for today. I show them because the engineering decisions behind them are the same ones your project will run into.
Natural language → SQL
In developmentA REST API that reads your database schema and turns plain questions into correct SQL. Email-based auth, schema-aware prompting, serverless deployment.
Hono · Gemini · MySQL · Vercel / Cloudflare Workers
AI support console
In developmentSupport teams query customer data in plain language instead of filing ticket requests to engineering. Built with PII masking, preset queries, role-based access and a complete audit trail — the compliance layer is the product, not an afterthought.
Next.js · TypeScript · shadcn/ui · Server Actions
AI outbound engine
In developmentResearches target companies, scores them with an LLM, writes a personalised first email, sends it, and runs the follow-up sequence on a schedule — with reporting and a review console over the whole pipeline.
Python · Gemini · Gmail IMAP/SMTP · SQLite · Next.js admin
Chat-to-interface
In developmentDescribe an interface in a conversation and get a working, rendered UI back. Threaded requirements capture, so the design intent stays attached to the result.
Next.js · Server Actions · LLM requirement synthesis
Each one started as repetitive work I was doing by hand. That is exactly how I scope automation for clients: find the loop first, automate second, keep a human in the approval path.
Experience
I've been the foreign company entering a new market — so I know what you're about to get wrong.
I joined Com2uS in 2000 as a development lead and shipped titles for the world's first commercial Java (MIDP) handset platform. Over the following decade I launched Korean games onto KDDI and NTT Docomo in Japan and Vodafone and T-Mobile in Europe, then ran the organization as Senior Vice President across four teams — directing hits including Bungeoppang Tycoon, MiniGame Paradise, Super Action Hero and Tiny Farm. In 2010 I accepted the New Media Award for Home Run Battle 3D, which reached the top 5 paid games on the US App Store and served more than 80 countries.
2010 New Media Award, Software — Home Run Battle 3D2000 – 2011
Com2uS — Senior Vice President
Joined as a development lead and built the development organization through the company's KOSDAQ listing in 2007. Ran four teams and the full title line-up, and led market entry into Japan and Europe.
2012 – 2019
Founder & CEO — Wallus · Co-founder — Fungrab
Ran my own studio for seven years: mobile games, a social network, screen sports systems, enterprise groupware with ERP integration, and precision machine-vision software.
2020 – Present
Independent — Smart Factory, Machine Vision, AI
MES servers and development PM for automotive electronics, TensorFlow-based object classification, AI vision systems for automotive tier-1 and tier-2 suppliers, and settlement platforms for webtoon and web-novel creators.
Still building
I ship my own products, not just slide decks. At Modle I build games with AI in the production loop — using it for real development work, not demos. I also built and operate TermLink, a Go-based remote terminal relay, end to end. When I advise on your build, I am doing the same work myself that week.
Pricing
Start small, keep the scope clear, and scale up only when it makes sense.
| Engagement | Price | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Intro Call | Free | 30-minute online call |
| Advisory Session | US$200 | 1 hour online |
| Consulting Day | US$400 | Up to 6 hours |
| Part-time Tech AdvisorPopular | US$2,000 / month | Up to 4 working days per month |
| Extended Advisor | US$3,000 / month | Up to 8 working days per month |
| AI Agent Assessment | From US$800 | Work analysis and written proposal |
| Agent PoC | From US$3,000 | Core feature validation |
| Web / MVP Development | From US$5,000 | Quoted by scope |
Process
A short, predictable path from first call to reported results.
Free 30-minute introductory call
Define the objective for the Korean market
Agree on scope, target companies, and engagement model
Local activity: research, meetings, development, or automation
Written reports in English, weekly or monthly
Contact
Tell me what you want to validate before committing to a full-time local team.
Or reach out directly
Based in Seoul (UTC+9). Call slots open in US and European business hours.