I’m proud that my students from Cheju Halla University earned the Bronze Prize at the 2024 Jeju Smart Tourism Big Data Hackathon for their project “DarkLens - AI Guide Agent for Jeju Dark Tourism.” While this is undoubtedly an achievement worth celebrating, I have regrets of my own.

Kyubum, Eunji, and Jaehyun showed creativity and technical skill in developing DarkLens. Their approach to diversifying Jeju’s tourism offerings through AI-guided dark tourism experiences is commendable. They identified key issues in the current tourism landscape and proposed a solution that not only addresses these problems but also adds unique value to visitors’ experiences.

However, as their mentor, I can’t help but feel a bit of regret. I believe I could have provided more comprehensive guidance and advice throughout their project development. With additional support, I’m confident they could have taken their already impressive concept to even greater heights. There were moments when I could have offered more in-depth insights on AI implementation, data integration, or user experience design. Perhaps with more targeted feedback on their presentation skills, they could have communicated their ideas even more effectively to the judges.

To my students: Your Bronze Prize is a testament to your hard work and talent. I’m incredibly proud of what you’ve accomplished. And to my future students: I promise to bring even more to the table as your mentor, helping you push the boundaries of what’s possible in your projects.

One more thing: the absence of Philseong was felt during the hackathon. He missed the event due to his internship in Seoul.