“The upcoming two years will be a defining point for the Korean startup ecosystem” KJ Byeon, KStartup Started as a pilot program in 2012, Kstartup officially launched in January 2013 and is now regarded as the biggest acceleration / incubation program in Korea. Supported by both Korean and American corporations (including Google, Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs, and SK Planet), it focuses on early stage startups that aim to build global companies. Founders are…

Another promising initiative is Digital Entertainment Ventures (DEV). Launched in New York in 2012, DEV focuses mainly on media, entertainment and platform businesses, and only recently expanded to Korea. According to Kaine Kim the Co-CEO of DEV Korea, Seoul seemed to be the most suitable place for setting up a new office within the Asian market. This is in part due to the growing support of the Korean government, and the President’s…

“What separates us from other accelerators in Korea is the fact that we focus on global startups. You might say that everyone wants to go global, but startups in Korea are very focused locally.”                                                                                                                             Eugene Kim, SparkLabs Founded in December 2012, SparkLabs provides a small investment, mentoring and workspace in exchange for an equity stake in a company. The equity investment is equal to $25K and the equity stake…

As Seoul establishes itself as one of the key hotspots in Asia for startups and entrepreneurs, a large number of events aimed at entrepreneurs are springing up to support this growth. Here is a calendar of events for startups and entrepreneurs in Seoul, from November 20th to November 27th. Check in soon for the next instalment. We are also happy to add your startup-focused event to our calendar. If you’d like us…

Asia Beat 2014 is a 2-day event held in Taipei, Taiwan. Primarily it is a VC networking and Asian startup event  funded by startup related government institutions in Taiwan, as well as media and business consortiums from Japan, China, Korea, and Singapore. Get Tickets For AsiaBeat 2014 here. Korea will be represented by ten startups at the event. They are: Bridge Mobile will be represented by Jung-woo Choi, the winning team from…

“We are trying to come up with a realistic solution to help startups to relocate overseas. We are going to completely reimagine what people have done so far. We are going to determine what startups truly need.”                                                                                                                           Steven Baek, FuturePlay Founded in early 2014, FuturePlay focuses on funding early-stage tech startups. The company believes that in order to understand the market properly and have a solid basis, a…

“We think about ourselves more as a tutoring-based approach, a one-to-one approach”  Mark Tetto, The Ventures The Ventures was founded early in 2014 by Changseong Ho and Jiwon Moon, who formerly created Viki, a community-driven distribution platform for TV contents. The company was acquired last year by Japanese Rakuten for $200 million. The Ventures works very closely with startups for an un-specified period of time. Startups receive office space, mentoring and professional…

It has been announced in Korean media this morning that the country’s leading food delivery service (Baedal minjeok) has secured funding of USD36 million from Goldman Sachs. JaeHyun Lee, in charge of the Korean investmnet said: “Korea is a very exciting market for e-commerce and we are excited to be partnering with Baedal Minjeok, to help them solidify their position in Korea and expand into new markets.” Kim BongJin, CEO of Baedal…

Birdview (HwaHae in Korean), a cosmetics and beauty focused startup in Seoul recently announced that they have around $600k from Bon Angels Venture Partners of Korea and Cyber Agent Ventures of Japan. Birdview was founded by three High school alumni, Woong Lee (CEO), Yong-jin Kim (CPO), and Woo-hyun Chang (CMO) during their college years. The company has developed a mobile app ‘Hwa-Hae’ (meaning reconciliation in Korean) which provides cosmetic brand information, precisely analyzes…

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…

As Seoul establishes itself as one of the key hotspots in Asia for startups and entrepreneurs, a large number of events are springing up to support this growth. Here is a calendar of events for startups and entrepreneurs in Seoul, from November 20th to November 27th. Check in soon for the next instalment. We are also happy to add your event to our calendar. Please send the details to nathan@besuccess.com and if…

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…

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…