🇰🇷 Startup ecosystem in South Korea
The Open Ecosystem Atlas lists 63 organisations and people supporting startup founders in South Korea: 30 investors, 17 programs, 8 media, 5 corporates and 3 startups & venues. Most are based in Seoul, Seongnam and Daejeon. 13 of them are free to reach.
Open in the Atlas mapInvestors in South Korea · 30
Kakao Ventures
VC · Seoul
Independent early-stage arm of Kakao Corp, the most active seed-stage VC in Korea, known for being exceptionally startup-friendly.
Offers: investment
BonAngels Venture Partners
VC · Seoul
Korea’s first early-stage VC, founded 2006, 120+ companies backed including Woowa Brothers (Baemin), returning nearly 1000x on that single investment.
Offers: investment
Altos Ventures
VC · Seoul
Early backer of Woowa Brothers (Baemin) alongside Goldman Sachs and Sequoia China, active across Korean tech.
Offers: investment
IMM Investment
VC · Seoul
Leading Korean investment firm providing growth capital, backer of Krafton (PUBG) and Coupang.
Offers: investment
Korea Investment Partners
VC · Seoul
30+ years of venture capital and private equity across biotech, healthcare, media and fintech, portfolio includes Kakao and Naver.
Offers: investment
Smilegate Investment
VC · Seoul
VC and private equity firm active since 1999, backing companies from seed through later stages.
Offers: investment
Korean Business Angels Association (KBAA)
Angel · Seoul
The official government-linked trade association for angel investors in South Korea, fostering the angel ecosystem nationwide.
Offers: investment
Seoul Business Angels
Angel · Seoul
Angel investment group based in Seoul focused on early-stage technology startups.
Offers: investment
Mashup Angels
Angel · Seoul
Angel investment group supporting startups with innovative business models in the tech sector.
Offers: investment
Kim Bong-jin
Angel · Seoul
Founder of Woowa Brothers (Baemin), sold to Delivery Hero for $4B in 2019. Since leaving in 2023, active as an investor and serial founder through Grande Clip, taking stakes in Stayfolio, AMCR and Banlife.
Offers: investment
Lee Hae-jin
Angel · Seoul
Founder and Chairman of Naver Corporation, among the richest people in South Korea with an estimated $1.3B net worth as of December 2024.
Offers: investment
BG Chang
Angel · Seoul
Co-founder of BonAngels Venture Partners, Korea’s first early-stage VC, active in early-stage investing since 2006.
Offers: investment
Programs in South Korea · 17
TIPS (Tech Incubator Program for Startups)
Program · Nationwide
Korea’s flagship early-stage program, matching private accelerator investment with government R&D grants. 2026 reform raises the maximum grant from ₩500M to ₩800M (~$580K) and expands supported startups from 520 to 620.
Offers: funding, mentoring
K-Startup Grand Challenge
Program · Nationwide
Government-backed program built specifically to bring foreign founders into the Korean ecosystem, including visa help and settlement funding. 60% of 2025 participants secured follow-on funding or partnerships within 18 months.
Offers: funding, info
Startup for All
Program · Nationwide · Free access
Nationwide founder discovery program that brought in roughly 5,000 aspiring founders and mobilized 100+ support institutions and 500 mentors since its March 2026 launch.
Offers: mentoring, community
Korea Fund of Funds (KVIC)
Program · Nationwide
The Korea Venture Investment Corporation channels public capital into private VC funds, part of a 2026 plan to mobilize ₩4.4 trillion in venture funding.
Offers: investment
Baby Unicorn Program
Program · Nationwide
Part of the Global Unicorn strategy, giving scale-up support and financial instruments to selected companies as a public credibility marker.
Offers: funding
Entrepreneurship for All Project
Program · Nationwide
Audition-based program selecting 100 startup rookies annually, pairing them with structured preparation and direct investment linkage.
Offers: funding, mentoring
Deep Tech Startup Package
Program · Nationwide
2026 package concentrating funding on AI and deep-tech startups, with a regional preference policy giving deep-tech founders outside Seoul access to up to ₩390M.
Offers: funding
D-8-4S Special Visa / OASIS
Program · Nationwide · Free access
The two founder visa pathways: D-8-4S evaluates on innovation and feasibility rather than academic credentials; OASIS is a points-based curriculum toward the D-8-4 Technology Startup Visa. Minimum entity capital is ₩10M (~$7,500), which grant funds can cover.
Offers: info
Global Startup Centers
Program · Seoul + regional · Free access
Dedicated centers in Seoul and regional cities offering free or subsidized workspace and dedicated managers connecting foreign founders directly to investors and corporate partners.
Offers: space, mentoring
Regional Startup Cities
Program · Nationwide
A decentralization push building five dedicated regional startup cities by 2026 and ten by 2030, spreading opportunity beyond Seoul.
Offers: space, funding
KIAT (Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology)
Program · Nationwide
One of the country’s core R&D grant bodies, part of the broader Digital New Deal innovation funding strategy alongside NRF.
Offers: funding
Primer
Accelerator · Seoul
Korea’s first startup accelerator, seed funding and hands-on mentorship, alumni include MyRealTrip and Bungaejangter.
Offers: funding, mentoring
Media in South Korea · 8
Kim Mi-kyung
Media · Seoul · Free access
Lecturer and founder of the MKTV YouTube channel, speaking widely on careers and entrepreneurship.
Offers: info, community
Syuka (Syuka World)
Media · Seoul · Free access
Host of Syuka World, one of Korea's most-watched economics YouTube channels.
Offers: info, community
WOWTALE
Media · Seongnam · Free access
Korean startup media publishing in English, with a weekly Korean Startup News newsletter and podcast on funding and policy.
Offers: info, community
EO Studio
Media · Seoul · Free access
Global startup media company based in Seoul and Palo Alto, running video, education and network platforms for founders.
Offers: info, community
KoreaTechDesk
Media · Seoul · Free access
English-language news on Korean startups, venture capital, deals and IPOs.
Offers: info, community
Taehyun Kim
Media · Seongnam · Free access
Publisher and editor of WOWTALE.
Offers: info, community
Platum
Media · Seoul · Free access
Korean startup media covering funding, founders and the Seoul ecosystem.
Offers: info, community
Venture Square
Media · Seoul · Free access
Korean startup news and community platform covering founders and investors.
Offers: info, community
Corporates in South Korea · 5
NAVER D2 Startup Factory (D2SF)
Corporate · Seoul
Naver’s technology-focused investment arm, 165 investments and 6 exits, backing developer-driven and deep-tech early-stage teams.
Offers: investment, mentoring
Samsung C-Lab Outside
Corporate · Seoul
Samsung’s external-facing startup program, extending the internal C-Lab model to outside founders with funding, mentoring and access to Samsung’s manufacturing and distribution network.
Offers: funding, mentoring
Naver D2SF
Corporate · Seongnam
Naver's corporate seed VC in AI and robotics.
Offers: investment
Lotte Ventures
Corporate · Seoul
Lotte's corporate VC.
Offers: investment
Devsisters Ventures
Corporate · Seoul
Corporate VC of game company Devsisters.
Offers: investment
Startups & venues in South Korea · 3
Woowa Brothers (Baemin)
Startup · Seoul
Korea’s dominant food delivery app, sold to Delivery Hero for $4B in 2019. Founder Kim Bong-jin remains an active investor and serial founder in the ecosystem he helped build.
Offers: mentoring
Kakao
Startup · Seoul
Korea’s mobile platform giant, running Kakao Ventures as an independent early-stage fund and regularly partnering with accelerators and startups.
Offers: perks, mentoring
Erdinc Ekinci
Seoul, Tokyo · Free access
Co-Founder and CEO of Openfor.co and Co-Capital.co, Managing Director of Founder Institute Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Listed publicly as a Founder Institute Korea program director.
Offers: mentoring, community