Startup accelerator D.Camp opens Busan office

For the first time, South Korea’s startup accelerator D.Camp has opened an office in the port city of Busan. 

The joint effort between D.Camp and Busan Bank is aimed at strengthening the regional startup ecosystem. 

IFBI Corp., founded in 2018, is one of the two winners at last month’s pitch day. IFBI and LINKFLIX Corp. beat out 14 others in the competition. 

On the day of the event, seven startups pitched their businesses. A total of eight venture capitalists from the BNK Venture Capital Co., Lotte Ventures, and Sopoong Ventures and more participated as judges. 

IFBI launched WallD in August 2020, which allows a building’s owner to rent out part of its exterior to advertisers for a set period of time. WallD works with global fashion houses to get orders and commissions street artists to do the artwork.

The advertisement stays on the walls for an agreed number of months and without any lighting fixtures that could damage the exterior of the building.  

The company’s founder Han Jong-hyuk told The Korea Economic Daily that the business provides revenues to artists and building owners alike. The freshly painted walls also spruce up the appearance of the neighborhood, he added, contributing to the area’s overall economic value.  

To note the main difference between street art and graffiti, the former is usually painted with permission or commissioned while the latter is often word-based and done without permission. 

British fashion label Alexander McQueen commissioned a painted outdoor advertisement in the Seongsu neighborhood of Seoul, a hipster area known for craft coffee bars and organic restaurants in repurposed warehouses. 

Homegrown affordable fashion house Musinsa Co. also worked with WallD in Seongsu-dong and along Harrydan-gil in Busan. 

Startup Lounge Busan is located inside the southern city’s train station. D.Camp and Busan Bank will jointly manage the area. 

The lounge will be the first non-Seoul location for entrepreneurs to attend demo days and network.

Some 50 dignitaries from the port city attended the event including D.Camp Executive Director Kim Young-duk Kim, Busan Deputy Mayor of Economy Kim Yoon-il, and Busan Bank CEO Ahn Kam-chan.

Write to Jee Abbey Lee at jal@hankyung.com