Dongseo University announced that ‘Nolla,’* an innovative new web platform for events and tourism in the Busan region, has been jointly developed and commercialized by the DSU MICE Centrum Industrial Complex Campus Composition Team, directed by Professor Hong Jeong-hwa, and by Stepping Stone Communications, of which Kim Deok-un is the CEO.

Nolla’s name derives from nolla (놀라), the Korean word for “play,” and is the result of a collaborative academic-industrial research effort that began in 2018 between the two bodies.

At its heart, its innovation lies in its software’s utilization of Web Bot artificial intelligence to automate the finding, collation, and editing of information about Busan events from across the web, a tedious, passive process that otherwise has to be done entirely manually.

In addition to saving time, Nolla also incorporates a mobile app and event website builder through which event planners can upload to, inform people about, and edit event information directly and which the general Busan public and consumers can access. A reservation and payment system has also been incorporated into the app, bypassing the need for setting up and/or visiting homepages if desired.

Dongseo University Department of Tourism professor Hong Jeonghwa, leading the DSU MICE Centrum Industrial Complex Campus Composition Team, said, “The research and development behind Nolla is a new direction for the creation of high added value in the tourism industry.”

Moreover, it will be an enduring one, as “The future of the tourism industry will depend on the convergence of entertainment tourism value and information and communications technology."

Kim Deok-un, CEO of Stepping Stone Communications, said, "I want Nolla to be a bridge between the citizens and event planners of Busan. It provides a comprehensive solution that will help event planners who have many difficulties in web creation and promotion.”

Stepping Stone Communications is a start-up company for cultural events software solutions in Busan, which was established in 2017.

In the near future, Nolla is expected to play a huge role as a regional and urban platform to link event planners and Busan citizens.

*https://www.nolla.kr