Soon in Seoul’s near future, citizens will be able to order jajangmyeon Chinese-Korean noodles, buy cold medicine and shop for magazines at home – and have them delivered by a robot in half an hour.
Kim Bong-jin, founder of South Korea’s biggest food-delivery app, is betting that autonomous gadgets the size of a small cooler will help his Baedal Minjok delivery service keep a grip on a market swarming with new entrants. The goal is to cut costs, reduce delivery-related accidents and cope with a labour shortage in one of the world’s fastest-aging nations.