South Korea Digest: LivingSocial acquired Ticket Monster, social dating and more

Here you can find some interesting startup news from South Korea, not only in its capital, Seoul, but also other their startup hubs such as Busan, Incheon, Ulsan and many more. These news are taken from our partner, onsuccess, a media enterprise on start-ups and ventures in Korea.

(1) Livingsocial‘s acquirement of Ticket Monster last week seems to be 100 billion won (US$ 92.5 millions) higher than market evaluation or around 350-400 billion Korean won (US$ 323.7-370 millions), it was announced on August 4. All of Ticket Monster’s shares are being swapped for Livingsocial’s shares after its IPO this year, along with a little bit of cash. This case is setting an example where more and more conglomerates are looking for opportunities in the Asian market. Further details here.

(2) Two startups founded by university students are currently dominating the domestic social-dating market. I-um ranks first with Cocoabook in second place. I-um is growing fast, reaching its break-even point in just one month after its launch last year,and it has currently recorded a monthly profit of 150 million Korean won (US$ 138.7K) last month. I-um matches users once a day, and currently consists of more than 1.3 million members. It has received a total of 2 billion Korean won (US$ 1.85 millions) from Altos Venture and Suprema. Cocoabook distinguishes from I-um in that people may only become a member through an invitation. Users may select from three candidates or meet someone of their dreams from a self-developed algorithm. Being only three months old, it is already nearing 20,000 users.

(3) Publstudio is holding an event from August 1 to celebrate its new storybook app ‘The Secret Forest‘. If you find all the pictures of the animal named ‘Kin,’ Publstudio will reward you with Gifticons, which are coupons that you may change to gifts offline, such as a Paris Baguette bread. ‘The Secret Forest’ is an interactive storybook with many videos and games, and which can be downloaded by iPhones and iPads. Publstudio is being incubated at a training school hosted and managed by Small and Medium Business Corporation. The app ‘The Secret Forest’ raised more than 100 million Korean won (US$ 92.5K).

(4) KTOA (Korea Telecommunications Operators Association) has established an agreement for a second round investment of 369 billion Korean won (US$ 341.3 millions) in the KIF (Korea IT Fund) on July 29. KB Investment and ten other companies initially established and managed this investment fund, with plans to include other limited partners and raise an additional 275 billion (US$254.3 millions) later this year. The first Korea IT Fund originally started off in 2003 with 300 billion Korean won (US$ 277.5 millions) by KT, SKTelecom, and LG U+. From 2003 to 2010, it has invested in 262 companies, 50 of them which went public on KOSDAQ (Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations). The ten general partners are planning to finish fundraising by September and start investing in October.

(5) Pankyo is surfacing to become the 2nd Teheran Valley because of greater accessibility and connectivity due to a new subway line and government policies. Many IT companies as well as major fabless semiconductor companies have announced they are moving in by the end of this year. Institutes such as KSIA (Korea Semiconductor Industry Association) and ETRI Seoul System Semiconductor Promotion Center are also considering moving in. Korea Bio Park, which has 22 solid companies with advanced technology such as Genexine, SeouLin Bio Science, Crystal Genomics, Oscotec, Bioneer, Amicogen, is also a contributing factor to Pankyo’s lively atmosphere.

This has been brought to you by SGE and Onsuccess. Onsuccess is a media enterprise for start-ups and ventures in Korea. Onsuccess introduces innovative Korean start-ups and ventures to people overseas through media partners and inspires readers by sharing interesting business ideas and trends from all over the world. Furthermore, Onsuccess holds various events, offering actual chances for Korean start-ups and ventures to meet other start-ups, venture business partners and investors abroad. They publish in both Korean and English.

We thank nordicfactory for the flag image.