Tribeluga is a Seoul-Beijing based startup accelerator with the core mission of connecting Startups to new (and traditionally tough) markets, primarily China and the US. Today the company’s President, Lili Luo, launched the accelerator in a glitzy opening event in Seoul that attracted media from across the globe. Dignitaries from the US, Korea and China, including the Mayor of Palo Alto also attended. The event was arranged to officially open the accelerator,…

SoftBank has just announced that they will acquire Korean TV streaming service, DramaFever, for an undisclosed amount. DramaFever is a five-year-old Korean startup that streams global TV shows and movies online. The company was founded by brothers Hyun and Suk Park which also raised series A funding from SoftBank in 2013. DramaFever has raised a total of over $12 million altogether, since founding. This is the second major acquisition of a Korean online TV distribution…

SMBA (Small & Medium Business Association) & KOVA (Korea Venture Association) will jointly host 2014 YES Challenge Korea in Seoul, November 16-21. This global event is designed to inspire young entrepreneurs under the slogan, “Make it possible! Yes Challenger!” Attendees will build a range of skills including global problem-solving for social change and entrepreneurship. This will be facilitated through workshops and sharing sessions. Over 30 executives and entrepreneurs will appear at the event to share their insights…

Korea has long been known for lightning-fast internet and mobile broadband speeds. Now the country’s startups are also garnering global recognition. In the last 12 months Korean founders have been backed by the likes of Y Combinator, Tech Stars, Sequoia Capital, Altos Ventures, and Formation 8. Two local ventures also achieved ‘Unicorn’ status (a valuation of $1Bn or more) earlier this year. Kakao Talk, the country’s dominant mobile social platform is now valued…

Originally posted by Business Korea Seedstars World (SSW) recently held its regional startup contest which was last year won by Flitto, who went on to win the Global final in Geneva last winter. This year’s Seoul winner,Krowd Pop, aims to follow up this monumental first success in similar style. KrowdPop is a K-Pop concert service provider that has utilized crowdsourcing to take the risk out of holding overseas pop concerts by asking…

As has been reported widely in Asia, South Korea is using the fact that Windows XP is no longer supported as a reason to walk away from Microsoft completely. While the rational for this stance makes sense; updating to new versions of the Microsoft software can be expensive and time-consuming, the government should also immediately discontinue its use of Hangul. Hangul is a Korean software package similar to MS Office that is used as the default (and…

Seedstars World is an exclusive worldwide startup competition traveling to 30+ cities in 2014. On August 1st, the competition will be landing in Seoul to host a pitching event at D.Camp in collaboration with BeSuccess and the Swiss Embassy in South Korean. Seoul is a very special place for Seedstars World since it is the home of its 2013 grand winner: Flitto. 1 startup will be selected as “Seedstars Seoul Regional Winner”…

I got in touch with some of our top speakers in the run-up to beLAUNCH next week and was quite blown away by their enthusiasm for coming to Seoul to see for themselves why Korea is blowing up in the global startup consciousness. Below are a few of these quotations: Eric Migicovsky, CEO Pebble “It has been interesting to see the emergence of Korea as one of the most important high-tech nations…

500 Startups: Asia is all about the mobile internet. And one particular country, home of amazing food and amazing connectivity has quietly been a technology leader not just regionally but worldwide. That’s right, I’m talking about Korea: home of 2NE1, PSY, Samsung, and a quickly growing tech startup scene. For a country of roughly 50 million people, Korea is disproportionately important in technology. Did you know that it was ranked second in the world…

Korea, once referred to as the ‘Land of the Morning Calm,’ is emerging as one of the key startup hubs in Asia. I have witnessed firsthand the exponential pace of change in this once conservative and shy nation over the last ten years, and I am encouraged by the hunger with which local founders are embracing the challenge and opportunity presented by entrepreneurship. As predictable and arduous corporate careers begin to lose…

Korea is adapting quickly to bitcoin, and while there is some uncertainty about how quickly the cyber-currency will roll out more widely there are signs already that it is here to stay and hopes that Korea will become a leader in the industry. Already Korean Bitcoin startup Coinplug has raised two rounds of funding to rapidly expand their growth (see previous article here). The company has also quickly moved from a purely…

May 14-15 sees the return of beLAUNCH, Korea’s top tech and startup event for the Global Entrepreneurship Community. This year the event will be held in the brand new and impressive Dongdaemun design Plaza in the heart of traditional Seoul. Now that we are only a few short weeks away from launching the event we are able to officially release the full agenda for the conference that features some of the biggest…

Fierce competition in one of the most technologically advanced market with the highest smartphone penetration, is forcing telecom operators to resort to “smarter options” to sell. For telecom operators this is a matter of survival in a highly competitive market. But, these “options” may not always be within the legal framework of the Government, and result in undesirable consequences. This is exactly what happened in Korea, where telecom operators are fighting to…

  Pantech is saved from bankruptcy again and is instituting the second debt workout plan in the past 8 years. Pantech is the #3 Korean mobile phone manufacturer. The loss of Pantech in the Korean market would have been a loss in critical competition. What it needs? It needs creativity and innovation and a better financial manager. As a current Pantech phone user, it is actually a good quality phone. The problem…

Asian Manufacturers in Internet of Things, Wearables, and Hardware Innovation Showcase At beLAUNCH for FREE Apply here This year beLAUNCH is giving Asian hardware manufacturers a chance to showcase their most innovative products at beLAUNCH, May 14-15 in Seoul, for free. We are providing hardware manufacturers and those at the cutting edge of hardware, wearable tech, and the internet of Things (IOT) an opportunity to demonstrate their products in a special ‘Innovation…

Preparation for beLAUNCH, Korea’s top event for tech entrepreneurs in Asia, is well under way. It’s now time to break under the surface of the event to uncover the content that will cement the third annual beLAUNCH in Seoul as one of the stand-out events in the startup calender in Asia. A good conference relies on top quality content crafted carefully around a superb line-up of world-class speakers. Below is a highlight…

Business Network Korea (BNK) is a flourishing business community in Seoul. Both Korean and foreign professionals who join their events operate under the simple philosophy of connecting for mutual business interest, with a particular focus on entrepreneurs and SMEs. Attendees have been finding high value through the events, which help young companies in Korea / Asia build a greater presence through collaboration. About BNK events: BNK events feature a “Speed Networking” session,…

Partnership creates first Korea-­focused accelerator for tech startups with a dedicated Silicon Valley Fast Track™ program Silicon Valley-­based BootstrapLabs, a global accelerator for foreign entrepreneurs and Seoul-­based Coolidge Corner Investment (CCVC), a technology venture firm with $22M under management, today announce the formation of BootstrapAccelerator Korea, a Seoul-­based 6 month accelerator program specifically designed to assist young and promising korean technology startups to relocate in Silicon Valley and build global businesses. Additionally,…

Having achieved 18M downloads and the number 1 spot in 20 countries back in 2009 with Oven Break, the company’s first release, Korean game developer Devsisters has just released their global follow-up, Cookie Run, on the Line games platform. Despite early success with Oven Break, they struggled to maintain momentum and effectively withdrew from the global market, choosing to focus on their home turf in Korea. This was due struggles in maintaining…

beSUCCESS, Korean startup media organization, events organizer, and global connector is happy to officially announce that their flagship startup event, beLAUNCH, is back in 2014 in a year that is already heating up to be one of the most promising for Korean, Asian, and Global entrepreneurship. The event will be held May 14 – 15 at the brand new Dongdaemun Design Plaza in the heart of Seoul. In addition, this year there…