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…

As accelerators have fully taken root in Seoul’s burgeoning startup ecosystem, with at least ten being worthy of mention, statistics have just been released to help founders get visibility into the profile of successful applicants to startup Accelerators. More than 250,000 founders and 47,000 startups globally use F6S’ accelerator recruiting tool, and approximately 90% of Accelerators globally use the advanced platform to take applications, manage community and select successful applicants. The results…

This article gives a round-up of recent news from the Korean startup and tech environment. Please feel free to suggest updates and additional news. If you want to check out Korea for yourself, we suggest coming to Seoul, May 14-15, for beLAUNCH, Korea’s top tech and startup event. While the event is based in Korea we welcome startups from across the world and have secured a top line-up of global speakers who…

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…

Malang Studio, well known for their popular alarm app, AlarmMon, has recently raised 2.0 billion KRW (aprox. $1.9M)  in its latest fund raising round from Yellow Mobile, a leading local mobile-centric company who’s business portfolio ranges from mobile commerce to media/publishing and marketing/advertising. This fund raising by Malang is the latest of the series of milestones that the company has accomplished in recent months. Early this year, the company achieved a break-even in its monthly financial…

Review of The Best of Sparklabs Session 3 Startups, from beSUCCESS Writer Christine Bernard 1Day1Song is a Korean music discovery app. For a full day, the app will play a song from its artist of the day and will then display an exclusive background information provided by the performer. They have already launched on iOS with 64,000 users, and will launch on Android this summer. The app will also be launched in…

Within two weeks of joining Shakr, a Seoul and San Francisco-based video creation startup, I was on a 4:00 p.m. flight to San Francisco to represent the company at Google’s annual conference for it’s biggest advertising partners. The plane touched down at 9:00 a.m., I went into the bathroom at the airport to put on a suit, grabbed a “you might need two hands for that” sized black coffee, and went straight…

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…

beLAUNCH 2014 is shaping up to be everything we have promised, NE Asia’s foremost tech startup and entrepreneurship event. This post highlights some of the themes you can expect from the event, and don’t forget to book your early bird tickets before the end of March for the best prices Click here. Tech Trends: This year beLAUNCH will be tackling some of the hottest themes in tech. It has been seven years…

Following the success of TechInAsia’s previous Startup Asia event held in Jakarta last November, TechinAsia.com, Asia’s largest English-language technology and startup blog in Asia, is gearing up for another round of conference with Startup Asia Singapore 2014. The event will be held May 7-8, right in the heart of Biopolis, Singapore’s deep tech research center. Startup Asia Singapore 2014 will feature, as seen at last year’s Jakarta event, a conference, a Startup…

The application period for JFDI’s next session is open, but only for a few short days, before decisions are made about which founders will join the program this time around. Apply here now. In the past year JFDI has worked with 19 teams from all over Asia and as program Director, Ray Wu, looked back on his experience leading entrepreneurs he realized the importance of what JFDI is doing to build the startup community in…

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,…

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…

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,…

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…

According to a recent report Korea’s tech start-ups enjoyed positive growth in sales, operating profits and net profits alike in 2013, which will give President Park’s government a boost as they conclude their first year in office, and a year that saw a surge in government involvement with the tech startup community in Korea. According to the report startup’s average sales amounted to 6.72 billion won last year, with their average operating…

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…

K-Cube Ventures invests $500M won in Mobile Beauty Content Company “Seed Paper” Seed paper shares practical beauty tips for its users through its mobile lifestyle content platform. The service is linked KakaoTalk Plus Friend, which is a premium service from Korea’s top mobile messaging platform, KakaoTalk. Well-known experts in the field of beauty and cosmetics, including Hong Cha, Saem-Mul Jung, and Hyun-Cheung Woo, provide practical tips through the service, which includes tips…

Korea is still seeing some immense growth. According to the Korean Venture Capital Association, venture capital firms in Korea raised $191 million in the first quarter this year, up slightly from $189  million in 2012. Interestingly, there is a general slowdown in the U.S. startup scene – U.S. venture capital firms raised $4.1 billion from 35 funds during the first quarter of this year according to the National Venture Capital Association (this is about a 34%…