Meet the Global LINERs
Corporate
Beomjun Park / Network Engineering / LINE Plus
The Global Office Infrastructure Team moves fast to support LINERs and ensure smooth operations without any network/system failures. As the team lead, Beom-jun is responsible for managing LINE's domestic and overseas office infrastructure. While handling all his crucial tasks, Beom-jun remains cheerful and humble, showcasing his unique personality.
A quick three-line summary
- . Beom-jun is in charge of managing internal network and security policies for LINE's domestic and overseas offices.
- To him, a “challenge” means constantly surpassing his own limits, and “failure” is just the process toward eventual success.
- To enhance his work capacity, he continues to study and grow, never settling or becoming complacent.
About Work
Q Please introduce LINE's Global Office Infra Team and your responsibilities.
Our main responsibility is managing the internal infrastructure, such as the network and security policies. We handle various tasks, ranging from internal system management and software licensing agreements necessary for internal and external collaborations to guiding the establishment of global processes in alignment with overseas IT staff. For instance, when a new corporation is established, we set up network and security policies tailored to its business scope, operations, and required systems. This involves managing office and IDC service agreements and procuring network/security equipment. The configurations vary depending on users' roles and devices. The concept of infrastructure is vast, which makes it challenging to explain in detail. But in simple terms, we support the seamless use of internal systems like software and intranet, ensuring continuity for our employees. Our essential customers and users are our internal employees (LINERs). Beyond the straightforward technical aspects of network engineering, we have to approach the work from an IT support perspective, constantly considering the needs of LINERs. The aforementioned tasks are handled by our team members, each of whom is able to showcase their strengths. We can categorize them broadly into planners responsible for establishing processes for infrastructure improvement and those handling contract/budget management, as well as engineers who develop internal system management tools and oversee internal networks. Additionally, serving as a crucial intermediary is an important aspect of our work as it enables the smooth coordination with domestic and overseas corporations and affiliated entities. For this purpose, in addition to the core team members, the LINE+ Security Team and LINE Corp. Network Team work together in dual roles, collaborating closely.
Q Please provide a brief overview of your work schedule.
I tend to spend a lot of time working from the office. While LINE encourages remote work and allows flexibility, I find that my ability to concentrate and the quality of my work improve when I come to the office. Of course, one advantage is the ability to promptly address any office infrastructure and VPN-related issues. The most time-consuming task during the day is collaborating with other departments through meetings. This includes not only networking and infrastructure teams from different corporations but also coordinating with various departments such as development, planning, purchasing, finance, and legal. As we strive to automate the infrastructure processes, we initiate collaboration requests and also handle incoming tasks from other departments when issues arise. Consequently, I always think about how to communicate effectively within the given time frame and prioritize agendas for discussions, ensuring that no time is wasted. During meetings, there's a lot of information to share, and there are real-time tasks to handle simultaneously, so I use multiple monitors for my workspace. Additionally, since meetings involve participants who speak Korean, Japanese, and English, it can get a bit noisy at times. (laughs)
Q Among the tasks you've undertaken thus far, what do you find the most enjoyable?
Looking back at my experience at LINE, the work I found the most enjoyable was collaborating with LINERs from overseas offices and understanding their language and culture. While it wasn't a specific task or project, given the nature of many collaboration tasks involving overseas corporations, these environmental factors apply to various aspects of work. There are interesting anecdotes related to how data centers are treated in different countries. In Japan, some data centers have good-luck charms in them, whereas in Taiwan, they often keep snacks or drinks. Though the methods differ, they all reflect the same desire for smooth operations without any system failures. Moreover, different countries have different names for their colleagues and different ways of managing work-sharing documents. Throughout these communication processes, I put a lot of effort into understanding the cultural and psychological characteristics of our overseas offices, so we can maintain basic courtesy and mutual respect. In addition to understanding cultural and language differences, it is important to know the laws and regulations in each country. This is crucial when it comes to designing and implementing networks and infrastructure. For instance, when establishing security policies for each country, it's essential to take into account the differences in laws that pertain to the handling of personal information.it is enjoyable to engage in work while consistently learning about both cultural and professional aspects.
Challenges and Failures
Q What do the words “challenge” and “failure” mean to you?
To me, a “challenge” means constantly expanding my limits. The advantage of my current role is that I am not confined to infrastructure tasks alone. I can actively seek and attempt various tasks if I have the motivation. For instance, I proactively collaborate with relevant departments to accomplish crucial tasks for the team, such as stabilization, automation, and enhancement. Conversely, when there's a need for system or software enhancement outside of infrastructure, I enthusiastically offer support upon request. Personally, I prefer not to use the term “failure.” It's not easy for everything to go perfectly in one attempt, but I don't see it as failure. Rather, it's a process leading to success. In difficult moments, I don't want to consider those things to be failures because that might lead to giving up. Instead, I see it as a momentary challenge, and I strive with the determination to never give up and see things through to the end every day.
Q Has there been a particular situation or turning point where you feel you have grown significantly through your experience at LINE?
Since joining LINE, I have kept studying and learning, always eager to explore new things. Especially due to the nature of my work involving extensive global collaboration, I feel that I have grown significantly by becoming proficient in various languages while handling tasks. I take great pride in witnessing how I can now comfortably explain areas that I struggled to express in the past. Initially, language was a challenging aspect to adapt to after joining LINE. Though we had in-house translators to assist with work-related matters, real-time responses were crucial when dealing with network/infrastructure issues, necessitating clear and quick communication. To address this, I took on English language courses from two academies and had private tutoring sessions, but I considered it a necessary long-term investment in myself. Building a strong foundation during that time, I continue to pursue language studies through in-house language classes. Learning the language of a country naturally exposes me to its culture, which has been immensely beneficial in my work as well.
Thoughts on competencies
Q What competencies and qualities do you believe are necessary for delivering excellent performance in your role?
In my opinion, while technical skills are undoubtedly essential for an IT department, I consider attitude to be the most crucial factor. A positive attitude indicates a strong willingness to learn. Given the wide scope of responsibilities across various corporations and business areas that we handle, it's not possible to only do what we want or excel in a specific domain. Moreover, different companies have distinct security policies, requiring us to learn and adapt to new things after joining. Therefore, having an open mind and a proactive attitude when delving into new areas is paramount. At times, we receive a diverse range of requests, from user-related inquiries due to personal mistakes to asset malfunction queries. One might wonder, "Why do I have to handle this particular task?" However, we must address them (laughs). Even the seemingly minor tasks can serve as crucial foundations that enable our colleagues, departments, and corporations to maintain smooth operations. Moreover, due to security policies, closely examining data in detail is also crucial. We continuously monitor our internal network environment in real-time to ensure data is transmitted securely without loss and that harmful data is effectively blocked. For instance, if A sends data to B, and B doesn't receive it, it becomes our responsibility to investigate what happened to the data. We need to identify the specific section, be it cables, equipment, PCs, servers, etc., where the problem occurred to promptly resolve any issues. Since LINERs work in a hybrid workstyle, conducting tasks from various locations according to their preferences, ensuring stable and secure data exchange becomes essential to maintain the continuity of their work.
Special experiences at LINE
Q Please introduce the colleagues that you work with at LINE.
Working at LINE means lots of personal growth, thanks to the positive energy and encouragement from my fantastic colleagues. As I mentioned before, the members of our team are like elite specialists, each excelling in their respective fields of development, networking, planning, and more. They have the ability to appear anywhere like superheroes whenever and wherever needed (laughs). That's why we always keep our passports handy in our bags because we may suddenly need to travel to address issues promptly. Whether it's for network monitoring in Thailand, establishing global guidelines in Japan, or setting up a new corporation's internal systems in the Korea office, we are scattered around as we fulfill our individual roles. However, we consistently synchronize our tasks in real-time through video conferences or calls. Since LINE operates without formal ranks, we maintain a horizontal relationship while valuing everyone's expertise in their respective domains. This allows us to freely exchange opinions and ideas without any resistance. Even in the presence of opposing views, we share and accept opinions without hesitation, trusting and respecting each other's professional insights. In my role as a lead, I strive to skillfully align and coordinate opinions to make well-informed decisions that are most beneficial for the team.
Wrap-up
Q Any message for those interested in this position?
If you are someone who is interested in experiencing the realm of global office networks and infrastructure and has a passion for continuously challenging yourself without limiting your scope, I highly recommend giving LINE a try. Don't miss the opportunity to grow together with skilled and supportive colleagues, leveraging LINE's assets, and working towards greater goals.
