Discuss: What makes South Korea a good place to build a startup?

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Discuss features short but strong and insightful opinions on interesting startup, entrepreneurship, and tech topics. Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

For South Korea, it’s these points:

• Tremendous effort by the government to push and promote Korean startups
• A very tech-savvy population
• Highly skilled workforce in some verticals

Government

You don’t have to look very far to see what the Korean government has been trying to do for startups. Type in “Korean startups” on Google and you’ll likely see results about the Korean government’s initiatives immediately. If there’s one thing the government has not been scared to do, it is to put their money where their mouth is.

I’ve been a part of such programs both as a provider and as a recipient, and it’s blatantly clear that the initiatives are extremely varied from focus to locale. There are programs aiming to help early-stage startups get a name out there or find funding. Seriously, I’ve seen them all.

ROI is another thing, but there is a caveat here. Each time you work with startups, you’ll see that no one is ever sure if they’ll succeed or fail. If they did, investors would be the richest people in the world. When even investors have fairly low hit rates, I don’t expect the Korean government to produce hundreds of unicorns every year. So, what I will say is that, disregarding efficacy, the government has done what they can to put startups in favorable positions.

Population

South Korea is the land of smartphones and fast internet. I think it consistently ranks third in terms of sheer internet speed and maybe fifth in smartphone penetration.

You know that consumers are consistently on the internet. If you visit Korea, just look around you (especially in the subways) and watch hundreds of commuters glued to their smartphone screens, regardless of age or gender.

Seriously, if you have something that you think is ahead of your time in your local market, I’d consider Korea as a next option (wait, OK, maybe after San Francisco. LOL).

Workforce

Depending on what vertical you operate in, you can find real experts in Korea. I would wager that Koreans do extremely well on the hardware front. Take a look at some of the crowdfunding campaigns this country has produced.

Software is a bit of a different story. Just ask anyone who’s lived abroad about their first experience ordering anything over the internet in Korea, filing government papers, or trying to adopt internet banking. That’s not to say that there aren’t brilliant software people in Korea. Given the state of software industry here, there are a lot of legacy systems and software that continue to receive shine. Case in point: The while-label cloud software R&D center of my startup, Cloudike, is based out of Russia.

I’m sure I’ve missed a point or two, but those would be my top three selling points off the top of my head for why South Korea is a good place for startups.

Let’s discuss

1. What do you think are the other factors that make Korea a good place for startups?
2. If you have a startup in Korea, what tips can you give to entrepreneurs who want to start a business in the country?
3. What are your thoughts on Korea’s startup landscape?