Editor’s note: Senior Director Corporate Development at Baedal Minjok I. There is a Chaebol in Korea that is nameless. No HQ, no CEO, not even an email. It has massive worldwide influence; setting trends in Asia within a matter of hours. The nation’s economy fluctuates with the slightest movement of this corporation. The organization’s dominant power and reach far surpass the ranks of Samsung, LG, and Hyundai. Combined. There is not a…

Woman’s Talk, Korea’s first online mobile beauty home shopping has succeeded in attaining a Series A investment of US$1.7m (KRW2b). With their launch in February titled ‘Korea’s first online beauty home shopping’, Woman’s Talk is the leading video commerce platform in Korea. The platform relies on a distinctively unique marketing strategy, utilizing a range of product ambassadors that appear in their media including reporters, actors, show hosts, comedians, Youtube channel hosts and…

Makeus, a Multi Channel Network startup has successfully secured the largest Korean investment into MCN (Multi Channel Network) in recent news. The investment totaling US$17.4 (KRW 20b) has been provided by venture capital companies DSC Investment, KTB Network, Capstone Partners and Stonebridge Capital secures US$17.4 m. With the rising trend towards new media, MCN companies have been attracting great interest from investment companies.  Of the recent investments into similar companies, this is…

Kakao Corp. (KOSDAQ 035720) today reported third quarter financial results under Korean-IFRS. Kakao’s consolidated revenue for the quarter was KRW 229.6 billion with mobile businesses making up 56%. For the third quarter, Kakao focused on actively identifying and promoting new ideas and business opportunities. This led to uniform growth in mobile businesses, and consolidated revenue for the quarter grew 1.4% QoQ and 3.5% YoY. Kakao’s commerce platform showed the greatest growth in…

Japan’s first commercial jet, The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) – developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in half a century made its maiden flight on Wednesday. The two-engine aircraft, approximately 35 metres (115ft) long, flew smoothly upward into clear skies in central Japan. It is an important milestone for an ambitious effort by Japan to develop its aerospace industry. The flight seems to have gone well, with the Guardian reporting that it “flew smoothly upward…

Kakao will launch a pilot program called Kakao Farmer to deliver mandarin oranges produced in Jeju Island todeliver it to consumers when it is in its most delicious state. The pilot operation that began Tuesday will only be offered for three months. A 11-pound box (5kg box) of mandarin oranges will cost around $13 including delivery fees and the tangerines can be purchased through Kakao platform with kakao pay. Additionally Kakao has…

GlowDays the company behind GlowPick has received a Series A investment of US$1.3m (KRW 1.5b) from SL Investment,  Jafco Asia and ShinHan Capital.Glowpick is a cosmetic raking service that provides ranking based on consumer reviews of the product. The ranking process is somewhat different to other similar platforms in that GlowDays runs an algorithm to establish only credible and genuine review. A common problem in modern blogs and review platforms is the…

Netflix will invest $50 million in upcoming South Korean film Okja by Bong Joon Ho which will be co-produced by Plan B Entertainment, an American film production studio co-founded by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. Okja is a monster movie about the friendship between a little girl and some type of creature. I hope it shares some DNA with Joon-ho’s best movie, The Host. The cast is nothing to shake a stick at,…

Samsung’s improved mobile VR headset is ready for the taking the ordering. Oculus announced Samsung’s Gear VR will ship on November 20 with pre-orders kicking off Tuesday. The device costs $99, and can be purchased through Samsung’s website, Amazon and Best Buy. (Full user manual link) Samsung built the new Gear VR to be lighter and more comfortable to wear than its predecessor. The headset can play “dozens of new made-for-VR games” headed…

10th November 2015 – Tenping, a public company providing real time mobile rumor service revealed it had received an investment from Capstone Partners. Tenping is a marketing service that allows advertising content to be released in native format. The app then releases this onto other social networks, blogs and mobile apps. Already more than 100 advertising companies have used the service to release over 600 advertising contents. Since launching in May last year, the…

Gormey, an app that is aimed at providing credible restaurant recommendations recently announced major updates for both iOS and Android releases.  Although there are many restaurant recommendation apps on the market, Gormey brings a whole new level of credibility by providing recommendations based only on reviews by food critics. After all, professionals that review food for a living are likely better candidates at providing recommendations. Gormey recommendations are driven by human curation…

SK Telecom has made a US$4.3m (KRW 5b) into MCN (Multi Channel Network) operator Treasure Hunter. Treasure Hunter is the creator and operator of famous and popular channels such as YangDding (YG Gaming Channel), Aligator and Eve Kim.  The investment is expected to boost the Hotzil channel which was launched on the 9th November as a channel for music, live and entertainment mobile video. SK Telecom highlighted their aim in improving the…

K Cube Ventures – specialist in mobile, internet and technology investments has invested US$500k (KRW 600m) into Mutzip, the provider of Hot Source an independent fashion platform. The name Hot Source refers to the independent platform’s ability to find ‘Hot’ trends and ‘Source’ fashion brands. The service is able to connect Korean independent fashion brands with buyers via mobile app and web base equipped with an easy transaction service. Mun Gun, the…

According to ‘The Bridge’ a  Japanese startup media service provider, ‘Blind’ an anonymous social networking service for company employees has received an investment from Japanese investment company Global Brain as well as Silicon Valley’s DCM. The company launched their social networking service back in December 2013 and was among the beGLOBAL San Francisco’s Top 10 startups in 2014. Currently, Blind’s aim to provide ‘Open Communication to a Closed Community’. The service provided…

Lockin Company, a specialist in mobile security solutions has received US$1.3 million (KRW 1.5b) in investment from KDB Business Bank. The investment comes within 2 years since its startup and has been sourced from a business bank rather than a traditional venture capital. This investment is the first of its kind in Korea from a major business bank into a startup still in its early stages. This investment reflects the level of…

Mobile digital homework diary service ‘I Am School’ has secured US$2.1m (KRW 2b) investment from LB Investment. I Am School is Korea’s first mobile homework diary service that captures 99% of the almost 63,000 bulletin boards used by 11,500 schools. Within 2 years of release, more than 1.3 million users subscribed to the service. The majority of the app downloaders were parents over 40 years of age; an age group that typically has…

November 5th, 2015 (Seoul, Republic of Korea) – A study last fall from Tecmark reported that the average smartphone owner checks their phone 221 times per day. The promise of devices like smartwatches is to reduce the number of those engagements. A new mobile app aims to simplifying replies to text messages, one of the most commonly used features of smartphones. TALKEY allows users to keep their smartphones in their pockets by…

November 3 – Seoul, South Korea – NEOFECT, a smart rehabilitation solution startup, has announced the launch of two new products within their RAPAEL Smart Rehabilitation System: RAPAEL Smart Body, and RAPAEL Smart Kids. The RAPAEL Smart Rehabilitation System combines wearable bio-feedback devices and software, which are designed to improve the recovery process for patients with central nervous system disorders. NEOFECT’s first product, RAPAEL Smart Glove, brings gamification into rehab exercise for…

DearMissJ, an eCommerce startup marketing accessories and handmade product by Korean designers into the North American market has secured an early development investment from Sazze Partners from Silicon Valley and Primer. Following their start in 2014, they were quickly brought to the spotlight through Instagram of famous celebrities and North American fashion blogs. The platform has experienced continues growth in revenue with monthly subscribers often doubling. Kristy Kim from DearMissJ commented on…

Open Gallery, an art rental service startup has secured a US $1.7 m (KRW 2b) investment from LB Investment. Despite having been established only two years, the investment was able to proceed based on the great potential of the company to pioneer the art rental market in Korea. The combined experience and skills of the founding members has provided the company with a robust foundation: Park Yi Gyu responsible for art has…