“Their resumes were flawless. But when I asked, ‘Why do you want this job?’ — most had no real answer.”
This moment stuck with Ryou Tae-sub (류태섭). As a recruiter, he saw thousands of bright, qualified candidates struggle to articulate why they wanted the jobs they were applying for. That’s when he realized: the problem wasn’t with the people — it was with the system.
Today, Ryou is the founder of MYOWN, a career discovery platform powered by AI. It’s used by universities, governments, and companies across Korea to help people — especially young job seekers — uncover their true potential and turn it into meaningful work.
In this Q&A, Ryou shares why he left his corporate career to give free lectures on self-discovery, how AI can decode human potential, and why the future of work depends on helping people find what they’re meant to do — not just what they’re paid to do.
Highlights
The Problem with Career Mismatches
Q: You founded MYOWN to help people do what they’re good at — and make it their life’s work. What personal experience led you to that mission?
A: I was a recruiter, and I kept meeting people with impressive resumes who couldn’t answer a simple question: “Why do you want this job?” That disconnect really stayed with me. I realized they weren’t the problem — the system was. It doesn’t teach us how to understand ourselves.
So in 2015, I left my job and started giving free lectures around the country. Sometimes it was just 10 people, sometimes 100. The message was always the same: If you want to do work you truly care about, you have to understand who you are first.
That idea — helping people know themselves so they can choose their work with clarity — became the foundation for MYOWN.
Designing AI That Understands Humans
Q: MYOWN uses AI to diagnose core competencies. What does it take to build an algorithm that understands something as human as potential?
A: It takes time and data — but more importantly, it takes empathy.
We spent over five years developing MYOWN EGO, our diagnostic engine, using 110,000 data points. It doesn’t just measure skills; it analyzes patterns in how people think, work, and make decisions.
We also recently received a patent for our experience-based AI job recommendation model. And going forward, we’re planning to integrate work behavior data from tools like Slack and Notion — so we can understand not just what people say they’re good at, but how they actually work in real time.
The goal isn’t just matching people to jobs. It’s helping them discover what they’re truly suited for — and giving them a roadmap to get there.
Career Design Isn’t a Worksheet — It’s a Journey
Q: You’ve worked in both corporates and startups. How has that mix influenced how you design tools for people to find meaningful work — not just a job?
A: Working in both worlds helped me see the gap. In corporations, people often lose themselves in structure. In startups, the opposite can happen — too much freedom without guidance.
At MYOWN, we try to bridge both. We offer structured, data-driven insights, but we also encourage self-direction. One example is our program Intern10, a virtual company simulation. It’s immersive, realistic, and has helped over 80% of participants land jobs after completing it.
We don’t just tell people what to do — we give them the experience of trying things out, failing safely, and discovering what actually fits them.
Making Career Discovery More Human-Centered
Q: You talk about making career discovery more self-directed. What’s broken in the current career development system, and how is MYOWN trying to fix it?
A: A lot of systems are still built around checklists — write a good resume, get certifications, apply for jobs. But that’s not how people grow. Self-discovery is a process, not a worksheet.
At MYOWN, we use AI to personalize that journey. We help users understand their traits, try out virtual work experiences, and reflect on what brings them energy. We’re also focusing on the onboarding phase now — helping people adapt after they get hired, not just before.
Because to me, success isn’t just about employment. It’s whether someone can work with joy, with alignment, and with a clear sense of why they’re there.
The Real Meaning of Impact
Q: What does success look like to you — not just for MYOWN, but for the people whose lives your technology touches?
A: I still go out into the field every week. Recently, someone came up to me and said, “Thanks to MYOWN, I finally found something I’m good at.” That means everything to me.
We want to become more than just a career platform — our vision is to be a lifetime career guide. From first jobs, to career transitions, to even second careers after retirement.
People talk a lot about AI replacing humans. I think AI can actually help us become more human — by reflecting who we are, showing us our value, and guiding us to work that’s meaningful.
Passion with a Patent: Why His Vision Will Shape the Future of Work
Ryou Tae-sub is not building a platform — he’s building a movement. One that uses AI not to push people into jobs, but to pull out their potential. With a patented AI model, national partnerships, and a growing base of users, MYOWN is positioning itself as a key player in the future of career discovery — not just in Korea, but globally.
What makes Ryou impactful isn’t just his technology — it’s his clarity of purpose: “We’re not here to help people fit into the system. We’re here to help them design work that fits who they really are.” And that’s a vision worth watching.
Highlights
Read the Chinese article here.
