The korea economic daily

3D avatars

Avatar app Zepeto becomes playground for MZers

The Blackpink House is a bucket list destination for fans of the K-pop girl group Blackpink. The house is decorated with images of the group, current...

Seed funding

Seed investors shy from investing in early stage startups amid pandemic

Early stage startups are almost always risky ventures, promising but unprofitable, and far from market-ready – often making it challenging to r...

Startups

Graphene Square aims global with mass production of 'wonder material'

Graphene is often called a “wonder material” because of the extraordinary properties that come from its nano-scale structure. It is an ex...

Enterprise value

Travel platform Yanolja’s enterprise value seen at $11 bn if listed on Nasdaq

South Korea’s largest travel platform Yanolja’s enterprise value could rise to at least $11 billion if the stock is listed on the Nasdaq,...

IPOs

Top travel platform Yanolja eyes Q2 IPO review, listing by year-end

South Korea’s largest travel platform Yanolja is looking to have its initial public offering plans reviewed by regulators in the second quarter...

IPOs

Kakao's edtech startup eyes 2022 listing

South Korea-based edtech startup Yanadoo is the latest affiliate of Kakao Corp., the country's largest messaging app operator, to prepare for an init...

Fintech platforms

Korea’s InfoPLUS sees growth potential in Vietnam’s fintech platform

Mirroring the other fast-growing economies in Southeast Asia, Vietnam is rapidly transitioning into a cashless society, with financial transactions b...

Self-driving technology

Vueron gets autonomous driving permit with lidar technology

Vueron Technology Co., a South Korean lidar perception software startup, said on Tuesday a self-driving vehicle made a successful run on an expresswa...

Startups spice up Korean food export market

South Korean startups are at the forefront of the Korean food export boom as they boost global awareness of popular dishes such as spicy fermented ca...

Hyundai, KDB launch fund to foster mobility startups

Hyundai Motor Group and Korea Development Bank have decided to create a 74.5 billion won ($67 million) fund to invest in startups that offer future m...

Startups

Korea’s top online flea market set to raise $180 mn in funding

Danggeun Market Inc., South Korea’s largest online flea market operator, is poised to raise up to 200 billion won ($180 million) in fresh fundi...

Startups

Startup foundation D.CAMP generates $6 bn in economic value

D.CAMP, South Korea's largest non-profit foundation for startups, has generated 6.7 trillion won ($6 billion) in economic value, including 32,523 jo...

Korean entrepreneurs

Serial entrepreneur builds gateway for cloud services

“You see all of these buildings? All of the companies in these buildings will become our clients."These were the words of Lee Han-joo, chief ex...

Startup IPOs

Naver-invested startups line up for IPOs; market seems welcome

South Korean startups invested in by top online portal Naver Corp. are gearing up for debuts on the local bourse amid expectations of a welcome marke...

Fashion platforms

S.Korea's online fashion platform eyes global expansion

Online fashion platform Musinsa Co., a familiar name among Gen Zers and millennials in South Korea, is ready to go global. This month, the Korean com...

Startups

Silicon Valley-based PnP sets sights on Korean smart city ventures

Plug and Play (PnP), a Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator, will team up with the city of Seoul to invest in South Korean venture firms with sma...

CES 2021

K-startup products sweep CES 2021 innovation awards honors

A number of products and technologies of Korean startups have received Innovation Awards honors at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021, the worl...

Startups

Satellite launcher startup raises over $7 mn in Series A funding

South Korea's Innospace Co., which develops launch systems to carry small satellites into space, is set to complete its Series A funding round of 8 ...

Startups

Live commerce app Grip posts over $22 mn in transactions

South Korea-based live commerce app Grip saw its cumulative transaction amount surpass 24 billion won ($22.2 million), just two years after its incep...

Startups

S.Korean unicorn companies line up for IPOs

Huge sums of money have been flowing into growth sectors globally, prompting South Korean unicorn companies, or non-listed companies with an enterpri...

Startups

Masks as fashion statement through art collaboration

Face masks have become essential in the COVID-19 era to prevent the spread of the virus. But aside from protecting users against the pandemic, masks ...

IPOs

Seoul stock markets brimming with startup IPOs in Jan

Singapore-based biosimilar maker Prestige BioPharma and nine startups are set to make initial public offerings in Seoul to raise at least 640 billion...

Interview

D.CAMP eyes tech startups for global expansion

D.CAMP, South Korea's largest non-profit foundation for startups, is on the lookout for domestic tech startups with the potential to go big in globa...

Blockchain technology

Finhaven to launch world's first blockchain-powered exchange

Canada-based fintech startup Finhaven is set to launch Finhaven Private Markets, the world's first blockchain-powered securities exchange using digit...

Venture capital

Korea’s venture capital firms poised to grow, no bubble seen in market

Growth in South Korea’s venture capital investments has been slow relative to the pace of the country’s economic growth, creating an oppo...

Startups

Venture capital investments hit all-time high in S.Korea

Venture capital investments in South Korea are seeing a speedy recovery after facing a setback earlier this year due to the COVID-19 crisis. Over the...

Fashion apps

Fashion platforms Musinsa, Zigzag hit jackpot thanks to Gen Zers and millennials

South Korea’s online fashion apps are booming thanks to their ability to attract Gen Zers and millennials. This year, the top five players&rsq...

System semiconductors

Fadu, Mobilint emerge as S.Korea's system chip startup dark horses

South Korea's two semiconductor startups, Fadu Inc. and Mobilint, have emerged as the country's system chip industry dark horses as their competitive...

Startups

Home interior platform nears unicorn status via $70mn funding

South Korea-based startup Bucketplace, an operator of home interior app OHouse, has raised $77 million in Series C funding, moving a step closer to a...

Future mobility

Kakao, Google in talks over mobility partnerships

Kakao Mobility Corp., the transportation arm of South Korea's No. 1 messaging operator Kakao Corp., is in talks with global IT giant Google over pote...