Meet the team: Hyungsuk Kang, Aurora Labs’ Blockchain & EVM Engineer

The Aurora Labs team is made up of exceptional individuals that left a mark in the industries they have been part of by innovating and building cutting edge technology. These top-tier professionals have unique stories to share about their journeys that deserve to be talked about as they can provide inspiration and guidance to new builders joining this ecosystem. With this series we aim to do just that by highlighting the work and experiences of a generation of pioneers in the Web3 world paying tribute to their valuable contributions and achievements.

TLDR:

Hyungsuk Kang is a blockchain and EVM engineer with a background in financial blockchain mechanisms, deployable AI, and smart devices. After a years of experience in working for various startups, and witnessing the rise of nefarious actors in the field of blockchain, Hyungsuk became committed to creating better standards and helping people understand crypto. After funding Standard Protocol to promote better standards and values for the industry, Hyungsuck joined Aurora Labs to work on new exciting technological challenges.

Hyungsuk’s Fight for Better Blockchain Standards

Hyungsuk Kang is a Korean born software engineer that graduated from Sungkyunkwan University, one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea. After completing his studies in 2021, Hyungsuk soon got involved in the Web3 world following his interest in cybersecurity. Being attracted by the potential of blockchain to initiate positive societal and economic change, Hyungsuk was eager to work at the forefront of this new technology. However, he soon realized that the space had been corrupted by nefarious players, as he recounts,

“In the span of three years I worked for several blockchain companies and startups like Astar, Parallel, Terraform, and more, and I just saw how corrupted certain contributors were. I was asked to build things with manipulated numbers and it just felt wrong and really hollow.”

After a series of negative experiences Hyungsuk decides to found its own company–Standard Protocol–to fight back against the lack of standards on the crypto space,

“Blockchain is a great technology but it can also be very dangerous if misused by bad actors. I was really disappointed that builders did not care about creating good standards and practices, and also scared by the level of manipulation that leaders can exert on users. I now try to focus on good standards and justice on all the projects I’m involved in, including Aurora”.

Joining Aurora Labs’ Engineering Team

After founding its own blockchain project, Hyungsuk starts looking around for new projects to contribute to. During this research he stumbles upon NEAR Protocol and Aurora and becomes interested in the project. Not long after, he would join the Aurora engineering team to work on the EVM engine,

“I am now focusing on setting up and upgrading the workflow for maintaining the engine and also bringing it to a more responsible level, where a key does not decide everything to be confirmed on Aurora’s future, and where the Ethereum test can be fully applied to Aurora with some NEAR testing.”

What Hyungsuk finds interesting about Aurora is that in his perspective, Aurora offers three things that other companies cannot offer, namely, scalability, modularity, and usability. As he puts it:

“ There are a lot of blockchains available in the market but it’s hard to find a comfortable and usable blockchain that allows you not to worry at all about the infrastrucutre. In my opinion, Aurora is the best and strongest in providing value directly to its users.”

One of the aspects that Hyungsuk enjoys the most about his job is to create real value for users and companies that want to leverage the power of blockchain. According to him, “ Aurora is building something of value and it’s exciting to set up an infrastructure that will help companies set up their own businesses with ease.”

Looking At the Future

Through its work at Aurora Hyungsuk is finding back the confidence in the blockchain space as well as a renewed motivation to fight back against unethical practices,

“I think the future is about how individuals are empowered through blockchain. We have witnessed many visionaries in the industry telling us that blockchain is the future while repeating the same mistakes of traditional financial approaches. We need to rise above the personality cult and old ideas to make a difference in this industry, and on my side, I will continue to do whatever I can to help empower people through this great technology we are developing.”

For Hyungsuk, the future of the industry is still uncertain and its success will depend on people’s ability to remain focused on the right values and have them reflected in the technology they are building. At Aurora Labs, Hyungsuk found like-minded individuals with whom he can pursue his goal of creating better products and standards for the industry making him feel more positive about the future ahead.

About Aurora

Powered by its high-performance EVM, and fully trustless Rainbow Bridge, Aurora combines an Ethereum compatible experience with the modern blockchain performance of NEAR Protocol. Aurora provides an optimal environment for the creation of scalable, carbon-neutral, future-safe, and low-cost Web3 services, as well as the perfect tools to bring to life your Web3 initiatives. Try Aurora Cloud, our all-in-one blockchain solution for enterprises, and get your Web3 journey started!