WIPI is a middleware

Middleware

Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...

 platform used in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 that allows mobile phones, regardless of manufacturer or carrier, to run applications. Much of WIPI is based on Java

Java (programming language)

Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...

, but it also includes the ability to download and run compiled binary applications as well.

The specification was created by the Mobile Platform Special Subcommittee of the Korea Wireless Internet Standardization Forum (KWISF). The South Korean government had enforced that all cellular phones sold in that country include the WIPI platform to avoid inordinate competition between mobile companies, but the policy is withdrawn from April 2009.