[2025 The CEO of Sunchon National University Early-Stage Startup Package] Sang in Kim, CEO of VAREUN

‘VAREUN’, a startup that builds digital literacy education kiosks and school access security systems

Its flagship products are School PASS and PAPA Kiosk, and it is currently developing Zero PASS
Verifying and publicly announcing visitor identities via mobile access, such as Naver, Kakao, PASS, and Mobile ID

VAREUN develops and supplies the PAPA Kiosk for digital literacy education for information vulnerable groups and the School PASS system for next generation school access security. The company is also preparing a new public security platform called Zero PASS The company was founded in May 2023 by CEO Sang in Kim (45).

“VAREUN is a technology based development company that pursues sustainable growth through services centered on ‘digital inclusion’, technology, humanity, and social contribution. We aim to uncover hidden insights in industrial settings and provide concrete solutions by delivering systems and hardware that best meet the needs of users and customers.”

Its flagship products are School PASS and PAPA Kiosk, and it is currently developing Zero PASS School PASS is Korea’s only school access management system that verifies visitor identities using mobile access methods such as Naver, Kakao, PASS, and Mobile ID It then publicly announces the results on an access pass label.

School PASS fosters a participatory security culture in which faculty, students, and parents work together to ensure safety, going beyond simple access control. PAPA Kiosk is an educational kiosk designed for seniors and individuals who are digitally vulnerable. It replicates the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) of unmanned devices encountered in daily life, such as those found in banks, movie theaters, cafés, and airline and train ticket booking systems. The kiosk helps anyone easily learn everyday digital skills through hands-on training programs.

Zero PASS is a next-generation digital visitor log system being developed for security-critical facilities, such as public institutions and military bases. Zero PASS is a barrier-free kiosk designed with accessibility in mind for socially vulnerable groups, such as the disabled and older people. It features voice output, facial recognition, high-contrast screens, and Braille keypads.

School PASS and Zero PASS have two main competitive advantages. First, they have a differentiated authentication method. It goes beyond simply recording visit logs by adopting a method that authenticates identity through mobile access, such as NAVER, Kakao, PASS, and Mobile ID Then, it publicly announces the result. Visitors attach an access pass label to their clothing, enabling easy identification from a distance. This creates a participatory security system in which everyone naturally contributes to security surveillance. This approach will set a new standard for access management in schools and public institutions.

The second competitive advantage lies in patents and official partnership frameworks. The company holds a patent for an ‘electronic access control system that publicly announces identity verification’ and has signed an access pass service agreement with NAVER and an official security certified router supply contract with KT Recently, it has also been pursuing global market entry with Japan’s Ricoh.

PAPA Kiosk’s competitive advantage lies in its realistic experience environment. It faithfully replicates the screens and functions of real life kiosks found in banks, movie theaters, cafés, and transportation ticket booking systems, incorporating actual functional modules. This allows learners to experience scenarios identical to real life. Furthermore, PAPA Kiosk boasts the industry’s largest content library, providing an optimal training experience for digital literacy education.

VAREUN is composed of members who take on core roles such as development, technical support, research, software development, planning, design, marketing, management, and sales support. Additionally, an external sales department operates nationwide to pioneer the market.

Regarding future plans, Kim stated, “Alongside expanding our domestic market, we aim for long term global market entry. We will distribute School PASS to schools nationwide and launch Zero PASS, a security platform dedicated to public institutions, which will gradually expand into the education, administration, and defense sectors.”

Founded: May 2023
Main business: PAPA Kiosk, a digital literacy education kiosk for those vulnerable to information, and School PASS, a next generation school access security system
Achievements: Won the grand prize in the ‘Educational Kiosk’ category at the 10th Korea Leading Enterprise Awards in 2024; Won the excellence award at ‘The Lifestyle Expo 2024’, the largest senior exhibition in Korea; Won the ‘Publy Pick’ category award for the PAPA Kiosk at the BIC 2024 Global Indie Game Exhibition (28 countries, 254 entries); Won the grand prize in the ‘School Access Security’ category at the 11th Korea Leading Enterprise Awards in 2025; Won the excellence award in the Educational Environment Construction and Administrative Management Innovation Category at the ‘2025 K EdTech Contest’

reporter jinho lee
[email protected]