Open Source Summit Korea 2025

On November 4th and 5th, I attended Open Source Summit Korea in Seoul. Hosted by the Linux Foundation, this event held special meaning for me. I'm a maintainer of SD-JWT-js under the OpenWallet Foundation, which is part of the Linux Foundation.

Where Is Open Source Headed in the AI Era?

The most striking takeaway from the sessions was realizing just how many AI-related open source projects are already thriving under the Linux Foundation. So much of the AI technology we interact with daily runs on open source, and the Linux Foundation provides the governance and sustainability to keep it going.

Open source isn't becoming less relevant in the AI era. it's becoming more essential. Transparency in models, reproducibility, community-driven improvement. All of these align directly with open source philosophy.

A Conversation with Daniela — The Potential of the Korean Community

I had the chance to meet Daniela from Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust. On the 5th, she hosted an evening session, and I gave a presentation there as well. Our conversation centered on expanding the community in Korea, getting more Korean companies and developers involved in LFDT and growing the open source ecosystem here.

It's encouraging to see a global open source foundation taking interest in the Korean community. At the same time, it reminded me that we need to step up and contribute more actively.

Linus Torvalds, Right Across the Table

That evening, I attended the Linux Foundation Dinner at OPENNG. And by some stroke of luck, I ended up sitting directly across from Linus Torvalds.

Of everything he shared, one thing stuck with me the most:

"A lot of people will tell you what they want from your project, but you can't lose sight of your goal."

When you maintain an open source project, requests and opinions come from everywhere, feature requests, suggestions about direction, sometimes criticism. All that feedback matters, but ultimately, you can't lose sight of the core problem the project set out to solve.

This was something I'd been wrestling with as a maintainer. Hearing it directly from Linus gave those words a weight I won't forget.

Heading Home

These two days were more than just a conference. I met people who share the same philosophy, and I got to see where I stand within the global open source ecosystem.

Meeting others with the same struggles at events like this gives me energy again. Open source, after all, isn't something you build alone. it's something you build with a community.

Don't lose sight of the goal. I'll keep Linus's words close.