Chapter 108: Open Source
“Heesoo, isn’t it your first day? You’re here way too early,”
Heesoo, who arrived an hour before work, gave an awkward smile.
“Maybe because it’s my first day… I couldn’t sleep.”
The excitement of a new employee.
Or perhaps it was the thrill or overwhelming emotion of having endured the past three years and finally achieving a ‘comeback.’
“How’s the office atmosphere?”
“It’s so good.”
The design team office, set up for Heesoo in a corner of Dojin Industries.
There were still many empty spaces, but they would soon be filled.
“We’re in the process of hiring team members. We should have a full team by next week.”
“By the way… being the design team leader. It still doesn’t feel real. Do you think I can do a good job?”
Her voice was slightly intimidated by the responsibility, despite her joy.
“You’ll do great. All the designs in your notebook were the real deal.”
After seeing Heesoo’s notebook,
I had already made up my mind.
To establish a home appliance division as soon as possible and launch products like TVs and washing machines.
“You won’t regret hiring me. I’ll really work hard!!”
Looking at Heesoo’s bright expression as she cheered,
A smile naturally formed on my lips.
“Then, start with this.”
I came to the design studio early in the morning to give this to Heesoo.
“…This is a mock-up phone, right? But it looks quite different from existing products?”
“It’s a smartphone.”
Heesoo’s eyes sparkled at my answer.
“A smartphone… Is this a product under development at Dojin Tech?”
“Yes, the internal structure is almost complete, with only the exterior design and OS left to finalize.”
Heesoo picked up the mock-up and examined it carefully.
She ran her fingertips along the curved edges.
And narrowed her eyes as if gauging the screen ratio.
“The front is designed as a full screen. You’re planning to eliminate physical buttons and go with a touch-based interface, right?”
As expected of someone who’s been directly involved in production for a long time, she immediately grasped the core.
“Additionally, we’re considering an interface without a home button and incorporating slide or gesture UI.”
Heesoo nodded, as if she understood.
“It seems like a completely different direction from existing feature phones. It’s quite a bold product for this time…”
“It’s a new attempt, but not entirely unprecedented. A-ple already started with smartphones.”
A-ple had already launched the A-Phone 1 and sold millions of units.
Heesoo put down the mock-up and looked at me.
“Are you asking me to design this smartphone?”
“That’s why I brought you here.”
Heesoo clenched her hands and picked up the mock-up again.
Her expression was more determined than fearful.
“First, I’ll establish the overall design concept. I’ll design the UI icons and touch areas, and for materials, I think we should go with reinforced glass as the base, and consider metal or ceramic for the back…”
Seeing her serious expression,
It was clear she was already fully in work mode.
Leaving Heesoo behind, I quietly exited the design studio.
‘No need to worry about the design now.’
Next, I visited Dojin Soft, where the smartphone OS ‘Lunar’ was under development.
Despite the early hour, the office was buzzing with activity.
“Oh, President!”
Han Yu-ju, sitting in front of a monitor filled with kernel logs, jumped up when she saw me.
“You look really busy?”
“You said to complete Lunar within six months. I have no choice but to keep up with the schedule.”
“At least you’re going home these days.”
There was no trace of the previous musty smell, and her hair looked washed.
It wasn’t the image that came to mind when thinking of the young and pretty Han Yu-ju.
But due to her intense appearance during Dojin Soft’s early days, my thoughts kept drifting in that direction.
“Um… President?”
I snapped back to attention when Han Yu-ju waved her hand in front of me.
“…Huh?”
“Were you listening to me?”
“Sorry, say it again.”
Han Yu-ju rolled her eyes.
“The basic interface is almost done, and we should be able to start QA testing next week.”
Lunar is an OS based on Linux.
Its structure is similar to Android, which many mobile companies used before the regression.
“If you’re short-handed, consider using an external testing group for QA.”
“Understood. But… President.”
Han Yu-ju spoke cautiously.
“Since Lunar is based on Linux… we discussed the possibility of releasing it as open source internally.”
I couldn’t help but gasp at Han Yu-ju’s words.
She had said exactly what I was planning to propose.
So, I decided to listen to her thoughts in more detail.
“Release it as open source?”
“Yes, the core kernel and system APIs will be released under the GPL license, while sensitive modules will remain private. It’s essential to gain the trust of the initial developer community.”
I responded to Han Yu-ju’s words.
“Since both the name Dojin Soft and the brand Lunar are unfamiliar… to spread effectively, we need the voluntary participation of developers, right?”
“Exactly. A-ple, which launched smartphones before us, has built a closed ecosystem. In contrast, we believe releasing open source will give us much faster adoption.”
I nodded with a smile.
“Alright. Let’s open the Lunar kernel and core APIs, but keep the UI, communication, and security modules proprietary.”
Of course, releasing open source isn’t all positive.
There’s a risk of source code leaks, variants emerging, or competitors exploiting the technology.
But the bigger advantage is
gaining the explosive reach and trust of the developer community.
Before the regression, A-ple’s jOS had high completeness within its closed ecosystem but limited scalability.
In contrast, Android, being open source, was adopted by various manufacturers, achieving an 80% market share.
‘The key is to release open source faster than Android.’
I felt a sense of urgency.
“I’ll create an official GitHub account first.”
“Do that.”
Once I made the decision,
Han Yu-ju immediately gathered the team
and assigned tasks for the open-source release.
…
…
That afternoon, in my office.
I was reviewing documents diligently when
Seong-hwan came in with a cup of coffee.
“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”
“Hyung, I heard you’re releasing Lunar as open source?”
“How did you hear about it already?”
I gave the instructions this morning.
It seems the news reached Seong-hwan faster than expected.
“But I’m not sure if giving away something we worked hard on for free is the right move.”
After taking a sip of the coffee Seong-hwan brought, I replied.
“It’s not about giving it away for free. Think of it as an investment for something bigger.”
Seong-hwan looked puzzled, not quite understanding.
“Releasing open source means distributing the OS for free, right? How is that not free?”
“It may seem like we’re giving it away for free, but what I really want is the ‘ecosystem.’”
“Ecosystem?”
“A-ple doesn’t release the operating system they created. They keep everything, from hardware to software, under their control. As a result, while it’s highly complete, it lacks scalability. It’s their intention to use jOS only within the island they’ve created.”
“So, you’re planning to take over everything outside that island?”
“Exactly.”
Putting down the coffee cup, I continued.
“Other smartphone manufacturers will use our Lunar OS for free, but in return, they’ll have to integrate their cloud, maps, messaging, and ad platforms with our ecosystem.”
The OS is free, but the platform is paid.
“So… other smartphone manufacturers will inevitably become dependent on us?”
“Right. Even if we don’t make the devices ourselves, Lunar will be installed on countless smartphones worldwide.”
That way, we can generate massive revenue through content, ads, and payment platforms within the ecosystem.
Because of this vision, I value Dojin Soft’s scalability higher than any other company.
“So, Dojin Soft will become… like Google?”
“If my plan succeeds, it could become bigger than Google.”
In the future, I plan to integrate AI into Lunar.
And dominate the entire search market.
Of course, that’s still a distant future.
“Wow… Hyung, just thinking about it gets my heart racing.”
Seong-hwan’s excited expression made me smile.
“The process won’t be easy. And to make Lunar successful, we must first succeed with the smartphone we’re currently developing.”
Only then will other mobile manufacturers take interest in the Lunar I’ve released.
…
…
The next day.
The ‘Lunar’ repository was created on Dojin Soft’s official GitHub account.
Below it was a short but powerful phrase:
[We open the future. Welcome to Lunar!]
The stars and forks from developers worldwide were still minimal.
But I was certain.
Soon, this small repository would become the eye of a massive storm, driving developers worldwide.