Everyone wants to know about future fortunes, and in South Korea, fortune-telling is quite a lucrative business, with some reports estimating it to be an over $3 billion worth industry. And like any other trade, fortune-telling is also transforming into the digital and automation world. Korean fortune-telling online market is seeing an increase in interest from worldwide customers.
As leading VCs in Korea, Altos Ventures & Spring Camp have invested in the ‘fortune-telling’ world. Korean startup Cheon Myung & Company operates an online fortune-telling consulting platform ‘Chun Myung’ has attracted 5 billion won ($4 million) Series A investment from Altos Ventures and Spring Camp.
Personalized fortune telling service with a click
Cheon Myung & Company operates the O2O fortune-telling consulting brokerage platform Chun Myung. To solve the inconvenience of the existing fortune-telling market, Chun Myung provides a personalized fortune-telling expert recommendation based on machine learning and a replay function using voice recognition technology so that customers can receive high-quality fortune-telling consulting services. In addition, it is introducing a differentiated divination counseling service through a full compensation system for dissatisfied counseling.
For fortune-telling specialists who are service providers, it is possible to attract new customers through a thousand names stably and to reduce unnecessary operating hours such as responding to reservations for consultations and adjusting schedules.
The global fortune-telling market has high potential. In Japan, India, and Southeast Asia, the market size ranges from 10 trillion to 50 trillion won ($8 billion to $40 billion). In Japan, companies that provide fortune-telling services such as Zappallas, Inc and Media Kobo, are all listed. Also, the demand for the Korean fortune market for predicting the unstable future and psychological analysis after the Corona pandemic has increased.
Chun Myung has shown an average quarterly increase in transaction volume for the past two years since the service was launched. Customer satisfaction is also improving, showing the number of repeat purchases at meetings.
Yoo Hyun-jae and Jeon Jae-hyeon, co-CEOs of Cheon Myung & Company, said, “Chun Myung intends to unify the fragmented domestic fortune-telling market into a strong Chun Myung brand by strengthening user convenience, and to become a ‘delivery hero of the fortune-telling market’ by integrating the global fortune-telling market.” He said, “We will innovate the undeveloped fortune-telling market by providing high-quality counseling at a reasonable cost and create a healthy fortune-telling culture to create a trouble-free and happy world.”
Altos Ventures partner Oh Moon-seok said, “Fortune-telling is a way of life deeply rooted in our nation’s long history and a meaningful culture that has provided psychological stability. However, it is still an area where information asymmetry exists for both suppliers and consumers.”
He said, “I think that Chun Myung is a team that sympathizes with the fortune-telling industry, builds a deep bond with workers and customers in the industry, and strives for safe connection and advancement of service quality.”
