"My Home Is in Gyeonggi Province": Sweating Profusely, App Created by Seoul National University Student Gains Popularity

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On scorching days like these, we find ourselves seeking shade even for just a few meters. As if reading our minds, a map app that guides users along shady paths has been released.

Reporter Dong Eunyeong has the story.

[Reporter]

On the afternoon of August 5, when a heavy heat wave warning was issued, a street in Seoul.

Citizens search for shade even during the brief moments waiting for the traffic light.

[Song Eun-ja / Yangcheon-gu, Seoul: It makes a difference just stepping into the shade. When you go into the shade, the intense glare is much less.]

Amid the ongoing heat wave, an app has even appeared that guides people primarily along routes cast in shadow.

It calculates the real-time location of shade based on the sun's altitude, surrounding buildings, and street tree sizes, showing routes to avoid direct sunlight.

Users can also find out which side of the bus to sit on to avoid the sun and where the mildly air-conditioned subway cars are located.

I am now at Mokdong Station.

I am going to try walking to our office following the route recommended by the shade app.

Though it takes about two minutes longer than the shortest route, the amount of shade was about 20 percent greater.

It felt like I walked a bit more than usual, but it was definitely more manageable because there was more shade.

The developer, who created the app in just two weeks using public data, is a student in the class of '23 at Seoul National University's Department of Mathematics Education.

[Yoo Min-jun / Developer of "Gneullo": My school is in Seoul, but since my home is in Gyeonggi Province, it takes a very long time to commute... For people like me who commute, or those who commute heavily by bus...]

Spreading by word of mouth through social media, 20,000 people signed up yesterday alone.

[Yoo Min-jun / Developer of "Gneullo": A memorable review was that someone's father always went out with their companion dog and used to come back drenched in sweat, which broke their heart, so they said it was wonderful such an app was created.]

One young person's idea is serving as a shade canopy helping people endure everyday life amid the intense heat.

(Video reporting: Lee Byung-joo, Yang Ji-hoon | Video editing: Shin Se-eun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.