▲ All of Choi's outfits are from her own shopping mall. Photographed by Yoo Seung Joo

"I strive to approach fashion with both style and comfort,” said the CEO of Withyoon shopping mall, Choi Jeong Yoon (23, Seoul). At first glance, no one would be able to imagine that such a young woman as Choi could already be the CEO of a successful Internet shopping mall.

Only a few among the contenders of Internet shopping malls can survive in the business realm. Choi Jeong Yoon is one of the winners of the competition, and it is especially surprising to learn that she has achieved such success at an age younger than most college students.

Professional knowledge or experience is not the main factor that allowed Choi to succeed. Although Choi did have prior experience working as a web designer at an Internet shopping mall, she was still a college student. In fact, when she first started her business, Choi was only an ordinary college student who did not have any professional knowledge. She had to learn from the beginning. “Unlike other professional Internet shopping malls, I did not have prior knowledge. I had to go through many failures,” said Choi.

Jeong Yoon’s idea of starting an Internet shopping mall started at a relatively young age. “Ever since I was a small child, I enjoyed those drawing board programs on the computers.” Unlike other young children who prefer to play outside on the playground, Choi soon developed an interest in using computer programs such as Photoshop. Although she never received any outside help and studied with a book, her fervor and ability with computer design programs increased.

Choi might have lacked professional knowledge compared to more experienced CEOs but Choi certainly had a ceaseless passion for fashion and clothing. “I’ve always had ardor for clothing, ever since I was in middle school.” Since she enjoyed both Photoshop and clothing, Choi decided to get a part-time job as a web designer. She also dreamt of opening an Internet shopping mall.

In reality, however, there were barriers before Choi could finally start her business. She first faced her obstacle while working as a web designer of an Internet shopping mall. “I had to deal with angry customers, the business and the system itself was too difficult for me,” said Choi. Furthermore, her parents thought that her education was the priority, and that she should go to college. Choi decided that she would postpone the dream of becoming the CEO of an Internet shopping mall, and instead she started a blog, where she shared her daily life and her fashion styles through the internet.

Surprisingly, Choi’s blog was a huge success. Thousands of people visited Choi’s blog, and many visitors asked her about her clothes that she wore. Some people even asked her to sell the clothes. Choi contemplated for a while, and realized that it would be a good idea to open a small shopping mall on the Internet where she could sell clothes of her taste and preference. Never did she realize that the shopping mall would grow so big, and she would be leaving college for over three years.

Even her parents, who opposed to her decision to open a Internet shopping mall, started to support Choi. The choice that Choi made would not have been possible without the support of those around her. “My parents worried when I was in high school. However, when they saw me getting experience from my part-time job, they started to support me,” said Choi. Even her friends, her previous boss, and most of all, her bloggers, supported Choi.

Choi’s customers are mostly females in the age group of 10-20s. “I want to sell clothes that could be worn by everyone. I want it to become accessible that I could wear it, and even the people around me could wear it without hesitation,” said Choi. Although Choi wants her clothes to be comfortable and approachable, she also thinks that it is important to find distinction in her style. “We focus on selling our own production. We make our own designs so that our clothing could be differentiated from other brands.”

Choi contributes her success to her blogs. Her shopping mall did not have any advertisements for two years and still received attention from many people. Choi believes that without the help of the blog, she would not have succeeded. Choi is grateful for her luck, and she still does all of her own web designs, and tries her best to stay true to her original mindset. She knows how fragile the business world can be, and she wants to try her best even though she has already far exceeded what others in her age group could not even dream of accomplishing.

▲ Choi still posts her daily lives on her blog. Provided by blog.naver.com/withyoon_

▲ Choi posts her daily outfit on her blogs Provided by blog.naver.com/_withyoon