Korean startups that use local advantages effectively

Image credit: Ekke

We say it all the time: make sure you use what’s around you. For a startup, I think it’s sacrilege if in your quest to go global you opt to neglect the applicable local advantages you have. I mean seriously, to me it sounds like you’re saying: I’m going to skip grade 1 because I don’t think the materials apply to me.

That said, among the hundreds of startups I’ve come across this year, the ones that catch my eye are the ones who take advantage of their locale and surroundings. My logic here is that if Startup X has managed to monetize or utilize some local advantage they have, their business may falter, but they are firmly entrenched in something that is supported by the people and the country.

For example, KPOP UNITED takes one of Korea’s most internationally recognized cultural aspects and gives fans around the world a chance to experience a concert in their hometown.

While KPOP UNITED may be an extreme in this case, crowdfunding a concert is nothing new. Others like WeDemand! do it elsewhere. However, by tying their business with a local specialty, no matter what other platforms appear, a startup like KPOP UNITED has a niche it can stick to.

Given that no other major events are scheduled for the year in Korea (not that I know of anyway, shoot some suggestions my way if you do!), these are some of the startups I’ve come across here with a clear tie to local strengths.

Eggbun Education

I like to joke that for every 5 startups you come across Korea, at least 1 will be an English-learning startup. English learning in Korea is a monster of an industry in Korea, go to Gangnam and you’re going to see English cram schools on almost every block. You can bet that a good chunk of that $18 billion private education industry is dedicated to ESL alone.

While there are of course $18 billion reasons to start an English education startup in Korea, Eggbun Education really surprised me for one reason: theirs was the FIRST platform I came across in Korea that sought to teach Korean to foreigners.

Eggbun’s homepage.

Eggbun, however, isn’t just any language teaching app either; Eggbun offers 1-1 tutoring without the teacher. Simply put, their app allows users to chat with the program. As CEO, Fernando Moon, puts it: Eggbun lets you ‘talk’ with the program as it guides you to accepted responses and converses with you.

WAY

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