Demoday, a web platform for Korean Startups, recently came up with a list of 100 hot Korean startups in 2013, and we thought this might be a great chance to write an introduction to the Korean startup world. Every Tuesday and Thursday, we will introduce you to 10 startup companies that got into the list in alphabetical order. Here’s our list for this week: BCNX (Ads/Marketing) Key People: Dae-gyu Chang (Co-founder, CEO), Young-uk…

KT – Cisco team up for 5G network Korean telecommunications giant KT said recently that it aims to jointly develop a fifth-generation (5G) network with Cisco Systems under new corporate initiatives being pursued by KT CEO Hwang Chang-gyu. “While 5G is still just a concept rather than a reality, you should keep in mind that being proactive means thinking and acting ahead of anticipated trends,” said a KT executive. The remarks come…

Demoday, a web platform for Korean Startups, recently came up with a list of 100 hot Korean startups in 2013, and we thought this might be a great chance to write an introduction to the Korean startup world. Every week, we will introduce you to 10 startup companies that got into the list in alphabetical order. Here’s our list for this week: 4:33 Creative Lab (Gaming) Key People: Jun-Mo Kwon (CEO), Tae-hwan…

Between 1997 and 2001, 3 web portal giants were born in Korea in a mini .com boom that mirrored similar in the west. Daum, Naver and Nate utilized the incredible IT infrastructure that had been built through a massive, strategic cash injection from the Korean government that aimed (and succeeded) in powering Korea to the status of one of the most progressive technology hubs in the world. This legacy still prevails and…

Kakao Corp., developers of Korea’s favorite messaging service and social platform, Kakao Talk, will be listing its stock publicly next May. This follows the recent news that SundayToz also successfully listed its stock in August 2013, and demonstrates further growth in the domestic tech industry, that has been attracting much attention in the international press attention recently. What’s more interesting though is the potential opportunity that Facebook has presented following today’s news that…

Reuters: Asian chat services KakaoTalk, LINE and WeChat threaten to overturn the mobile order of things, usurping the role of Google Inc, Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc and telecoms carriers as gatekeeper to the consumer. Where these internet and telecoms giants once controlled the lucrative choke points of the industry, social messaging services are fast emerging as an alternative distribution channel for adverts, apps, and goods and services. For example, Tencent Holdings’ WeChat allows its more than…

Published on the Wall Street Journal, February 11 2013 First Year Raises Efficacy Concerns; Government Says Project Continues to Improve In the past year, the South Korean government has sponsored a raft of overseas programs to give its young startups exposure to global tech trends. Government officials here hope that a thriving local startup scene could soon put fresh Korean technology names on the global stage—and they are sparing no expense to…

The Korean government has just announced the long-awaited news that the first “Start-up Visa” in Korea has been issued to a Korean-American entrepreneur, Jason Lee CEO of J.J. Lee Company.  It is unknown why he was not able to apply for an F-4 visa, which is available for non-Koreans with Korean heritage, but it marks another stride forward in Korea’s massive push towards establishing its position as one of the world’s most vibrant…

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…

The below is the review segment for Korea. For the full article please click here to be redirected. Samsung 4Q13 profits to fall: Samsung Electronics has estimated its operating profits for the fourth quarter of 2013 at about KRW8.3 trillion(US$7.8 billion), down 18% from the prior quarter. Consolidated sales for the 4Q are set to stay flat on quarterat KRW59 trillion, Samsung disclosed. The forecast operating profits represent a 6.1% decrease compared tothe KRW8.84 trillion…

While many believe that the USA leads the world in innovation, with Silicon Valley as the heart of everything, there are other nations that are making an impact. Bloomberg recently conducted a survey of 215 countries to determine their ‘Innovation Quotient’ and ranked South Korea as number 1 in the world for 2013. South Korea has achieved phenomenal economic growth over the last four decades, and is now is a position globally…

Japan has been much harder hit by the global financial crisis than its North East Asian neighbors and has since struggled to catch back up. The country’s recovery has of course further been hampered by the devastating tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis in Fukushima. Suffice to say that Japan has seen better days, and now news that in the lucrative semiconductor market Japan is also losing out to Korea. According to research…

Since the election of President Park earlier this year The Korean Government has embarked on an ambitious and expensive crusade to bring innovation to the fore of the Korean economy and to encourage a retreat from the country’s current dependence on a tiny number of huge family run businesses (Chebols), such as Samsung, Hyundai, LG and telecom SK. In order to achieve their ambition the government has been pumping money into the…

‘Good to grow? The environment for Asia’s Internet businesses’ is an Economist Intelligence Unit report commissioned by the Asia Internet Coalition. Its central question is why Asian-produced online content and platforms do not have greater worldwide audiences, given that Asia is the world’s largest and fastest growing Internet market. Based on interviews with more than 30 entrepreneurs and experts around the region, this report focuses on the internal and external factors that…