Last summer, crowds gathered around the free smartphone charging station set up near Chungye-stream in the heart of Korea’s capital.  The service was developed by ENOMAD a local startup and attracts people with music during the day and lights after it gets dark. We met up with the team do discover more about how they are ‘bringing electricity to places without wires’. Q. please introduce ENOMAD. A. In the developed world we…

oIDIOCRACY is a cross format game that allows both PC and mobile users to play simultaneously. As a board game it is also accessible to players of all groups of ages. “I was very happy with the reasonable terms of investment from our Hong Kong investors, and the quick turnaround process,’ stated a company representative. “We are now adding the final touches, ready for release.” While the team’s first title is for…

The proverbs say a good beginning is half the battle. Based on this Zikto is well on their way to success, having reached half of their KickStater goal on the first day. Update: On November 25 the $100k kickstarter goal was passed, with 27 days left on the campaign, which ends December 22. Zikto are the developers of ‘Arki,’ a wearable which helps to improve the walking posture of their user’s. While…

Seoul, with its rapidly growing startup ecosystem is gaining precedence as one of the most promising entrepreneurial hubs in the world. Home to two of the most influential global tech leaders, Samsung and LG, the perception of Seoul has traditionally been of a corporate hub. But this is now rapidly changing, as a new breed of tech startups rise and as the big boys begin to plateau. South Korea is now rapidly…

beSUCCESS is happy to announce that we are offering 25% off all GMIC SV tickets. To take advantage of this offer, please register using this code [GMICSVD32203F1]. GMIC Silicon Valley is the Largest Mobile Internet Conference in Silicon Valley and will be held December 1-3, 2014 Mobilizing the Next 5 Billion GMIC SV 2014 brings the global mobile ecosystem to Silicon Valley for three days of thought provoking presentations on the industry’s hottest…

Korea has traditionally been a powerhouse of manufacturing. Samsung, LG and Hyundai are formidable players in their respective industries globally and there are a myriad of smaller domestic companies that either support the big boys or have carved out their own niche. However, Korea has not traditionally been strong in software development, and this is now a national focus. From government directives, corporate strategy and a new breed of Korean tech startups,…

Seoul based MOCOPLEX has recently announced a strategic alliance with SMAATO, an Ad specialist company based in San Francisco. The partnership will leverage the unique expertise of each partner, while expanding their reach by combining Ad networks in their respective home markets. Much discussion in Korea has recently centered around the difficulties of successfully expanding into new markets. Korean/Asian startups often struggle to take hold outside their domestic borders. In the same…

Seoul, with its rapidly growing startup ecosystem, is gaining precedence as one of the most promising entrepreneurial hubs in the world. Home to two of the most influential global tech leaders, Samsung and LG, the perception of Seoul has traditionally been of a corporate hub. This is now rapidly changing, as a new breed of tech startups rise and as the big boys begin to plateau. South Korea is now rapidly moving…

  Samsung has recently announced that it plans to launch its first virtual reality headset in the U.S. in December 2014. According to a company statement it will then gradually expand the service into other countries. The device provides 360 degree rotating view, creating a life-like experience for users. It is currently linked to the Galaxy Note 4 through a micro-USB. Oculus VR’s Max Cohen believes that the future of VR will be…

Daum Kakao has finally launched its mobile money service, BankWalletKakao, a service allows users to spend up to $450 per day and transfer up to $90 per day. A number of other major players are likely to follow suit in the near future. It is suggested that these innovations, introduced by IT companies and not banks, could alter the shape of the financial industry in the future. Samsung, who released their own…

Korean EdTech startup SMATOOS, announced today that it has been selected as a candidate for Red Herring’s 2014 Top 100 Global award, a prestigious recognition honoring the year’s most audacious and far-reaching private technology companies and entrepreneurs from across the globe. SMATOOS connects US businesses to the Asian enterprise market using their popular BeNative service. BeNative interviews top-level executives of various American businesses and films their employees performing basic tasks at work….

Korean developers are attracting increased interest from overseas firms. Tencent has already made a number of large-scale investments, and European companies are also actively seeking Korean gaming companies to bolster their growth. Due to current market conditions, it is likely that the Korean gaming market growth will have stalled by 2015, so Korean game companies are also actively looking for growth engines, particularly in overseas markets. It is also widely recognized that…

4:33 Creative Lab, a top Korean mobile game designer, has joined hands with two of the world’s largest mobile messengers, Tencent and Line Corp. The enormous investment of 1,300 billion won (around $100 million USD) will help the company break into overseas markets and will assist in their plans to go public in 2015. Announcing that it had successfully attracted funds from the mobile messenger operators, the Seoul-based mobile game company said…

Networked Society Lab published their “Networked Society City Index” report measuring the ICT maturity of the world’s major cities at the 2014 Business Innovation Forum recently held in Stockholm, Sweden, reported Business Korea. Stockholm, Sweden ranked number one and Seoul ranked 12th in the penetration and usage rates of information and communications technology. For the study 40 major cities around the world were indexed. The study evaluated the quality of each cities’…

“스타트업이 시제품을 만들어볼 수 있는 공동 제작공간은 의외로 많습니다. 정부도 계속해서 만들고 있는 추세고요. 문제는 사람들이 잘 모른다는거죠.” 낡고 오래된 부품 상점을 지나 세운상가 550호의 문을 열면, 다른 세상이 펼쳐진다. 3D 프린터기부터 대형 레이저 커터기까지. 과연 전직 우주인이 차린 공간답다. 우주인 고산은 3년 전, 기술기반 창업을 지원하는 단체인  타이드인스티튜트(TIDE Institute)를 만들며 벤처사업가가 됐다. 미국 유학 시절, 실리콘밸리에서 메이커 운동과 테크샵의 태동을 경험했던 것이 삶의 터닝포인트가 된 것. 이제 1인 제작자나 하드웨어 스타트업은…

SparkLabs, one of Korea’s leading accelerators, has signed a partnership agreement with the company behind South Korea’s $35 billion Songdo International Business District to launch their new Internet of Things (IoT) Accelerator in Songdo in early 2015. Songdo International Business District (Songdo IBD) is a $35 billion “smart” city built on 1,500 acres (6 sq km) of reclaimed land.  Located adjacent to Incheon International Airport on the western coast of the Korean…

“Protect our children together,” calls Lineable, a new wristband that helps track missing children. The device was developed by a Korean startup, yet the slogan has resounded with parents across the globe. What is Lineable? Lineable is a wristband loaded with beacon technology that enables parents to both prevent losing their children, and if they become lost, to find them easily. But that’s not all. Due to the core technology, the more…

Gaming in Korea has enjoyed around 15 years of great success. Among Korea’s top performing gaming ‘startups’ of the last 15 to 20 years are several that have achieve well over billion dollar valuations. These include NCSoft ($1.2Bn), Nexon ($3.7Bn), Com2US ($1.3Bn), and Devsisters ($755M) which just went public this month. Smilegate, another domestic star, is still private and its estimated valuation is creeping towards $4Bn. Where other areas of software innovation…

As reported by Business Korea, Samsung Electronics has begun to emerge as a player in the global M&A market. In just the last six months the electronics giant, most known for its smartphones, has purchased four foreign companies. The new and aggressive M&A strategy has been adopted to counter profit slumps blamed on falling demand for Samsung’s old cash-cow, smartphones. Recent industry reports suggested that Samsung has acquired caching company Proximal Data in…

Korea, Still A Huge Opportunity For E-Commerce The amount of mobileshopping transactions is growing at an explosive pace. The mobile shopping transaction volume achieved more than 100% growth compared to a year ago, reaching near 4 trillion won (a little less than $400 million) in the third quarter of this year. According to the OnlineShopping Trend report released by the National Statistical Office on October 31, the volume of total online shopping…