Korean startups find the COVID-19 pandemic positive for the country’s startup ecosystem in the future, a survey by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups showed on May 12. Out of 492 respondents, 42.5 percent said the COVID-19 pandemic will bring about either a very positive or positive impact on the startup ecosystem. Almost 65 percent of them said that there will be more chances for new business ideas due to changes brought about by the pandemic, while 40 percent of the respondents also exp

Industry May 12, 2020

Asia Culture Center of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Asia Culture Institute will be holding a contest to discover narratives that have potential to turn into theater work, the organizers said Tuesday. The second ACC Creative Performance Story Contest titled “Tell The Stories of You Who Are living in Asia” aims to create and produce the performance of ACC repertoire based on the discourse of contemporary society in Asia. Anyone, who is a citizen or living in an A

Bulletin Boards May 12, 2020

Overseas investments by Korean virtual capitalist firms rose in the first quarter this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed May 7. According to data compiled by Korea Venture Capital Association, carried out after surveying 30 investments abroad, worth a total of 104.9 billion won ($85.5 million). This compares with 40.6 billion won in 12 rounds of investments recorded the same period last year. KB Investment allocated 54 billion won in five companies, while SoftBank Venture exer

Business May 7, 2020

The Asia Culture Center and the Asia Culture Institute, both affiliated with the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has started taking applications for the 2020 ACC Cinema Fund to support experimental and independent films and media projects. 　 Launched in 2018, the ACC Cinema Fund is a biannual program led by the ACC Cinematheque, the organization in charge of the ACC’s video art projects.  The organizers said they were calling for entries from across Asia from

Culture May 6, 2020

When Erin Lim had her first baby three years ago, she never set out to start a company. She was desperate for a product that could help her carry her son with less pain, as her neck hurt every time she held him. “Products that hold the baby tightly and safely look ugly. But if they look fashionable, they don’t do their job properly,” Lim said. While she was struggling to solve the problem from a consumer’s perspective, her husband, Kim Dong-hyun, told her that instead

Industry May 6, 2020

At the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic in Korea when people suddenly had to embrace remote working and social distancing, they turned to well-known tools provided by international tech companies, such as Google’s Hangouts and Microsoft’s Skype.  The biggest beneficiary of the increased demand was probably Zoom, a Nasdaq-listed startup that develops videoconferencing tools. Downloads of Zoom and other similar tools soared and the sudden popularity more than doubled Zoom&rsquo

Industry April 21, 2020

December 2019 was one of the most memorable months in Ryu Sung-won’s career. The patent attorney with 16 years of experience had concluded a 15-month legal journey, winning back 53 brands whose trademarks were stolen in China. In 2018, on behalf of the 53 Korean companies, Ryu, managing partner of Jeeshim IP Law Office, had filed lawsuits against five “professional” intellectual property squatters that had preemptively registered Korean brands in China as if they were th

Industry April 20, 2020

Asia’s first mobile video festival “Korea Mobile Fest (KMF)” that was kicked off today will attract and award creative short films, organizers said Tuesday. KFM, jointly run by startup accelerator D.Camp, media company Herald Corp. and data tech firm Aroundus, is a contest platform open to all, from ordinary citizens to experienced content creators. The content must be in the form of short videos taken at least partially with smartphones. They will be submitted online to be ju

Bulletin Boards April 20, 2020

In January, Airbnb “Superhost” Diana Jeong quit her job as she was expecting a baby this spring. What she did not expect was a pandemic that would upend her transition to becoming a full-time Airbnb host. The former college lecturer made the decision because she found great satisfaction in providing hospitality to guests, but more importantly she could make a living renting her three-bedroom apartment on the global home-sharing platform. She now finds herself selling used items on

Industry March 30, 2020

Content creators and celebrities including football player Son Heung-min joined forces to bring positive messages amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Korea Multi-channel Network Association, said Thusrday. 　Named Messages of Hope to Overcome Coronavirus Crisis, the campaign aims to fight against the pandemic as well as infodemic -- an overabundance of information which makes it difficult for people to find trustworthy sources and guidance.  “Amid the prolonged COVID-19 situation, infodem

Social Affairs March 26, 2020

South Korea’s English radio channel TBS eFM said on March 10 that it has launched a special daily COVID-19 program to help foreigners here remain updated about the outbreak. The radio station said it is offering <COVID-19 Live Updates> in English and Chinese from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. The special program provides the latest information on the COVID-19 outbreak, the government’s countermeasure plans and precautionary measures that foreign residents and visitors of Korea should t

Social Affairs March 10, 2020

Christopher Hill, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and lead negotiator for the six-party nuclear talks, is a familiar face for Koreans south of the Demilitarized Zone. After finishing his career as a diplomat, the three-time ambassador joined the University of Denver as a chief adviser and professor. Now he is stepping into the business side as an adviser to a U.S. investment banking boutique with the hope of bringing simple and effective businesses to North Korea, where changes are alrea

North Korea Feb. 13, 2020

During the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, South and North Korean athletes entered the opening ceremony together and formed a joint women’s hockey team, creating momentum that led to bilateral talks between the South and North. Maintaining that legacy and peace building, the PyeongChang Peace Forum 2020 “Peace! Here and Now” takes place through Tuesday at Pyeongchang Alencia in Gangwon Province with 1000 participants from 25 countries. The three-day conference is being attended

Social Affairs Feb. 9, 2020

Herald Corp., which publishes 67-year-old English-language newspaper The Korea Herald, will host the 49th Herald National English Speech Contest. The event is designed to foster creative and logical thinking, as well as foreign-language presentation skills of students, providing them a chance to grow into future leaders. The speech contest was launched in 1953 by Korean Republic, now The Korea Herald, and has helped nurture global leaders. Participation in the contest is open to elementar

Social Affairs Jan. 29, 2020