BUILDING IN KOREA
Manballers Devlog — Episode 01
I’m Not a Developer, But I’m Building an App
A non-developer sets out to build a location-based app with nothing but an idea, a laptop, and Claude. This is the record of how that idea changed shape twice before it found its name.
Not long ago, a Korean app called “Geoji Map” went viral. The name is provocative — “Geoji” roughly translates to “broke” or “penniless” in Korean slang. But the concept is simple. As the economy gets harder and prices keep rising, people still want to eat well. So they started pinning affordable, delicious restaurants on a map, rating them, and sharing them with each other. A crowd-sourced, budget-friendly food map built by consumers, for consumers.
When I first saw it, I thought: that’s a genuinely smart idea.
It exploded because food is universal. Everyone eats. Everyone wants good food without breaking the bank. The harder the economy gets, the more people care.
01
That’s When I Thought of a Latte Map
I love cafe lattes. Not just casually — I’m the kind of person who orders a latte at every single cafe I visit, and then remembers that cafe entirely by how good the latte was.
So the idea came naturally. What if there was a map like Geoji Map, but for rating and sharing the best cafe lattes? Four simple rating categories: latte taste, atmosphere, service, and parking. A curated map where latte lovers could find their next must-visit spot. I even had a name ready: Latte Map.
Excited, I turned to Claude (AI) and asked: “I want to build a Google Maps-based latte rating app. Is this actually possible?”
02
Claude’s Roadmap
Claude’s answer was more detailed — and more honest — than I expected. The suggested tech stack was surprisingly accessible.
Google Maps API
Next.js
Supabase
Vercel
Almost nothing — just the domain, around $12/year
The development plan went like this:
Get Google Maps running on screen
Design the cafe database (name, address, coordinates, photos, 4 rating categories)
Display pins on the map with a popup card on click
Visualize ratings per category with an overall score
Build an admin page to add cafes manually
Add filter features (sort by rating, filter by area)
Then Claude added something I didn’t ask for — but needed to hear: “If you’re thinking about monetization, a cafe SaaS model is possible. But latte as a category is a niche market. The audience is limited. You need fans first, traffic first — revenue comes after that.”
It was a cold assessment. And it was right.
You need fans first, traffic first — revenue comes after that.
03
Then the Direction Changed
Staring at the roadmap, a nagging question formed in my head. Lattes are beloved, sure. But it’s a small market. If I’m thinking about building something with real growth potential — maybe even an exit someday — I needed a bigger topic. Something with broader appeal.
So I asked myself: what else do I love that more people can relate to?
That’s when barefoot walking came to mind.
04
Barefoot Walking and Earthing
Go to any park in Korea these days and you’ll spot people walking barefoot. I thought it was just a passing trend — until I looked it up and found it had a name: Earthing, or Grounding.
The concept: walking barefoot on soil or grass allows the earth’s electrons to enter the body, reducing inflammation and improving sleep. It’s not just a Korean thing either. Search “earthing” or “grounding” in English and you’ll find millions of pieces of content, wellness communities, and even peer-reviewed research.
And yet — there was no map for it. No app that said: “Hey, this spot right here? Perfect for barefoot walking.”
05
Why Manballers Exists
The tricky thing about barefoot walking spots is that they often don’t have a proper address. A quiet corner of a park, a dirt path halfway up a mountain, a stretch of beach at a specific point. Google Maps and Naver Maps can’t pin them precisely.
So I thought: what if you could drop a pin anywhere on the map yourself, rate the spot on soil quality, safety, accessibility, and facilities, and even check in with a real-time photo to say “I walked here today”?
That was the idea. Latte Map became Manballers.
06
The Problem: I’m Not a Developer
I have the idea. I have the motivation. What I don’t have is the ability to write a single line of code.
So I decided to build it anyway — with Claude’s help, one step at a time. Starting from creating a GitHub account, which I’d never heard of, installing something called VS Code, and losing thirty minutes to a PowerShell error I didn’t understand.
This blog is the record of that process. A non-developer building an app with AI. An experiment in whether passion and curiosity can replace technical skill.
Let’s find out.