Woongjin Group (Korean: 웅진그룹; Romanized: Ungjin Geurup) is a South Korean business group with origins in education and publishing. Established in 1980 by entrepreneur Yoon Seok-geum, Woongjin evolved from a small educational publishing firm into a diversified corporate group with interests in education, publishing, IT services, food and beverages, logistics, leisure, funeral services, and consumer products.1

The name “Woongjin” refers to the overall group or company brand, while entities such as Woongjin ThinkBig operate as individual brands or subsidiary companies within the group. Current businesses presented by the group include Woongjin IT, Woongjin ThinkBig, Woongjin PreedLife, Woongjin Booksen, Rexfield Country Club, Woongjin Playdoci, Woongjin Compass, Woongjin Health One, and Woongjin Huecalm.2

Woongjin traces its history from education and publishing to an expansion into living-environment and food businesses, eventually adopting a holding-company structure in 2007.3

Foundation: 1980

Woongjin’s origins date to 1980, when Yoon Seok-geum established Heim International Publishing (도서출판 헤임인터내셔널). The company initially focused on educational publications.

One of its early products was Heim High School Learning, which addressed the prevailing educational environment in South Korea at the time. The company subsequently developed children’s publications and educational materials.4

The company’s early strategy was distinctive: rather than simply translating foreign educational material, it sought to create content rooted in Korean culture, nature, and everyday life. Examples included Children’s Village and Woongjin Biographies.

Development of the education business

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Woongjin became increasingly associated with children’s education. Major milestones included:

• 1980 — Heim International Publishing established.
• 1981 — Incorporation anniversary established; Yoon Seok-geum became president and CEO.
• 1984 — Children’s Village received a Minister of Culture and Public Information award.
• 1986 — Woongjin IQ launched.
• 1994 — Woongjin Yongwoon Mathematics study-room system launched.
• 1995 — Integrated Woongjin ThinkBig brand adopted.
• 1996 — Creativity-oriented workbook service introduced.
• 1998 — 21st Century Woongjin Learning Encyclopedia published.5

This education business eventually became Woongjin ThinkBig, one of the most prominent names associated with the Woongjin brand.

Woongjin gradually diversified beyond publishing and education. The group’s philosophy was to leverage existing consumer-oriented capabilities to enter new industries. Its official history describes a transition from education and publishing into living-environment and food businesses, followed by further diversification.

The group’s food business is particularly notable. Woongjin Foods originated in 1976, prior to the formation of the Woongjin group itself; it was acquired by Woongjin in 1987 and later renamed Woongjin Foods in 1996.6 This acquisition extended the Woongjin name into everyday consumer products beyond the education sector.

Woongjin Foods is one of the most recognizable companies historically associated with the Woongjin name. Established in 1976, it became part of the Woongjin group in 1987 and developed beverages incorporating Korean ingredients and cultural preferences.7

Among its best-known products are:

• Morning Rice (아침햇살) — a rice-based beverage
• Haneulbori (하늘보리) — a roasted-grain beverage
• Jayeoneun (자연은) — fruit and vegetable juice
• Various health-food and ginseng products

Woongjin Foods describes Morning Rice as a pioneering rice beverage made using Korean rice and brown rice, while Haneulbori is positioned as a caffeine-free, calorie-free grain beverage.19 This segment helped establish Woongjin as a consumer lifestyle brand rather than solely an educational publisher.

Woongjin ThinkBig is central to understanding the modern Woongjin identity. Originating from the 1980 publishing business, it specializes in education and culture. Its activities include:

• Children’s educational workbooks
• Complete children’s book collections
• Study-room programs
• Learning centers
• Online education
• Offline publishing
• Reading programs
• AI-powered education
• EdTech services

The company states that it now serves learners ranging from toddlers to adults.7

Major brands

Key consumer-facing brands include:

• Woongjin ThinkBig: Traditional membership-based educational services and learning programs.
• Woongjin SmartAll: An AI-based comprehensive learning platform covering subjects from preschool through middle school.10
• Woongjin BookClub: A reading and learning membership platform combining books, personalized curation, and digital services, launched in 2014.12

The company’s transformation from paper-based educational publishing to AI and digital education illustrates a broader Woongjin characteristic: utilizing an established consumer brand while continuously evolving the underlying technology and business model.

In the 2010s and 2020s, Woongjin ThinkBig increasingly positioned itself as an AI and EdTech company. Initiatives introduced include:

• AI mathematics learning
• Personalized learning
• Digital reading services
• AI learning coaching
• Learning-data analysis
• Interactive educational content

For example, Woongjin ThinkBig launched Woongjin ThinkBig AI Mathematics in 2019 and subsequently introduced AI-based services such as SmartAll AI School Mathematics.10

Its current website reports 62 registered EdTech patents, 40 years of accumulated learning data, and multiple AI-learning awards; these figures are company-reported claims rather than independent industry rankings.11

The Woongjin corporate website lists a diverse collection of businesses across several sectors.12

Education & publishing

• Woongjin ThinkBig: Education, children’s content, publishing, and EdTech.
• Woongjin Compass: Global English-language education and digital learning.
• Woongjin Booksen: Book distribution and logistics.

IT

• Woongjin IT: IT consulting, enterprise systems, cloud services, SAP, smart factories, and smart logistics. Established in 2007, the company provides services to both Woongjin affiliates and external clients.8

Consumer services

• Woongjin PreedLife: Funeral and pre-arranged service business.
• Woongjin Huecalm: Eco-oriented beauty and cosmetics brand.16
• Woongjin Health One: Health-related consumer business.

Leisure

• Woongjin Playdoci: A family-oriented indoor leisure complex in Bucheon, featuring a water park, spa, and golf facilities.9
• Rexfield Country Club: A golf and leisure business in Yeoju.

Woongjin identifies four major management principles:

Creativity

Woongjin emphasizes thinking differently and developing unconventional ideas. Its corporate history highlights educational products created around Korean culture rather than simply importing foreign content.13

Ethics

The company states that transparent and fair management has been a principle since its foundation, emphasizing ethical management, transparent purchasing, and organizational accountability.14

Innovation

Innovation entails continuously entering new businesses, developing new products, and exploring new markets rather than resting on previous successes.15

Environment

Woongjin describes environmental responsibility as an investment in the future, extending environmental considerations across production, consumption, and disposal.17

A distinctive element of Woongjin’s corporate culture is “또또사랑”, commonly translated by the company as “Love and Love more.” Created by founder Yoon Seok-geum, this philosophy stems from his belief that employees perform with greater enthusiasm when they genuinely care about their work and colleagues.18

Woongjin extends the concept of “love” to six areas:

1. Love for customers
2. Love for change
3. Love for society
4. Love for work
5. Love for challenge
6. Love for the organization

These six concepts are incorporated into the group’s corporate identity and logo symbolism.18 In Woongjin’s branding language, “love” represents human-centered management, enthusiasm, social responsibility, and a willingness to change rather than romantic sentiment.

Woongjin’s visual identity is designed around three core concepts:

Creativity + 또또사랑 + Sustainable Company

The company describes its logo as representing creativity and unconventional thinking, while interconnected circular elements symbolize a long-term relationship between Woongjin, its customers, and society.13 This gives the brand a personality distinct from many large Korean conglomerates. Rather than emphasizing technology, financial scale, or industrial power, Woongjin’s identity has historically emphasized a progression from people to creativity, education, culture, lifestyle, and sustainability.

When analyzed as a brand rather than merely a corporate group, Woongjin exhibits the following characteristics:

Origins in education

Unlike many Korean conglomerates that originated in manufacturing, construction, trading, or heavy industry, Woongjin’s original identity was education and publishing.14

Education as a consumer brand

Woongjin moved beyond selling books to develop membership learning, workbooks, study rooms, reading programs, and digital learning platforms.15

Expansion into everyday life

Through businesses in food, leisure, healthcare, beauty, and services, the Woongjin name expanded from “education” to “lifestyle.”16

Continuous reinvention

The progression from publishing to workbooks, membership education, digital education, and AI/EdTech is central to the modern Woongjin narrative.17

Emotional corporate philosophy

“Love and Love more” and the concept of 또또사랑 provide the group with a strongly human-centered identity compared to the industrial or financial language often used by Korean conglomerates.18

As of 2026, Woongjin Group presents itself as a diversified Korean business group with operations across education, IT, publishing/logistics, leisure, consumer services, healthcare, and beauty. Its official group website lists nine principal businesses and affiliates, including Woongjin IT, Woongjin ThinkBig, Woongjin PreedLife, Woongjin Booksen, Rexfield, Woongjin Playdoci, Woongjin Compass, Woongjin Health One, and Woongjin Huecalm.18

The most significant consumer-facing identity remains closely connected to education and children, particularly through Woongjin ThinkBig and its SmartAll and BookClub brands. The group’s history and current positioning demonstrate a continuous effort to combine traditional educational expertise with AI, digital platforms, and personalized learning.18

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6. 웅진식품 – 웅진그룹
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8. 웅진IT – 웅진그룹
9. 웅진플레이도시 – 웅진그룹
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13. 웅진그룹
14. 웅진케미칼 – 웅진그룹
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17. 연락처 – 웅진그룹
18. 직무소개 (주)웅진 – 웅진그룹
19. wjfood