Foreign Founders in Seoul - Govt & Chaebol-Backed Startup Hubs

안녕하세요, 여러분! 지난주 서울에 다녀왔습니다 🇰🇷 서울에서 따뜻하게 맞아주신 여러분께 진심으로 감사드립니다. Aug 30 – Sep 2. A private trip rather than a startup event, but two introductions opened up Seoul's startup hubs: Cenk Baladura, who I met last year through Erdinc, and Byungwoo (최병우), from Venture Cafe Tokyo. I also caught up with Hyunwoong Kim of Airbus Ventures, first met at an Antler event two years ago and again at SusHi Tech last year. And I got to see KiSeong Kim and Heeseok Yang of Sungkyunkwan University, who both came to SusHi Tech this year. KiSeong is building in eldercare × gig work; Heeseok just started his first job in Hiroshima last week. The best memories come from meeting people and meeting them again. A few notes on the places: ■ Yeoksam, the startup district Yeoksamdong Entrepreneur Street, near Gangnam. Public and private hubs cluster here — everyone knows it as Seoul's startup street. ■ Global Startup Center (GSC) — a government hub for foreign founders In TIPS Town, home to many foreign startups. Think of it as Seoul's TiB: jointly run by the Ministry of Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Republic of Korea, 대한민국 중소벤처기업부s and @Startups (MSS) and KISED, free for foreign nationals. Some staff had even visited TiB. Very similar in character, though GSC is foreigners-only. ■ MARU180 / MARU360 — private hubs backed by a chaebol foundation On the same street. The Asan Nanum Foundation behind them was set up in 2011, ten years after the death of Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung. MARU180 opened in 2014, MARU360 in 2021. They offer selective office space, investor networking and founder programs — Seoul's version of CIC or Shibuya Bridge. ■ Who was Chung Ju-yung? Born to a poor farming family in 1915, he built Hyundai in a single generation and was central to the "Miracle on the Han River." Whenever people said something was impossible, his answer was: "Have you even tried it?" That spirit still runs underneath Korean innovation today. ■ Two things that impressed me First, the central government leads on startup support, with many programs open to domestic and foreign founders alike. Second, many facilities are run by chaebol-rooted foundations — MARU isn't run by Hyundai Group itself, but by a foundation carrying on its founder's legacy. In Japan, central government and big-corporate support (CVCs, METI's J-Startup) plays a smaller role, while local governments like Tokyo and Fukuoka and foreign players like CIC and Plug and Play fill the gap. The numbers point the same way: Japan about 25,000 startups and 8 unicorns; Korea around 31,000 and 13 (METI; KCCI / CB Insights). The central government waving the flag, chaebol-rooted capital underneath — that two-layer structure drives Korea's startup ecosystem. Next time I'd love to go back and cover a big event like NextRise Seoul. If you know the scene, I'd love to hear from you. 또 뵙겠습니다! 한국 🇰🇷과 일본 🇯🇵을 잇는 글로벌 스타트업 생태계, 우리 같이 만들어 봐요!! #서울 #스타트업 #ソウル #スタートアップ #韓国 #seoul #startupecosystem