Top 20 startups South Korea 2019, by investment
Startups in Korea
Many new startups have appeared in recent years, with young startups less than two years old accounting for around 45 percent of the total in 2019. The majority were founded by individuals rather than corporations, though a slightly greater share of older startups were established by the latter. Startup founders were more likely to be men than women, most of whom had bachelor’s degrees or only been to high school. Very few had postgraduate education. Around sixty percent of the founders were in their 40s and 50s.
Korea’s top startups
WeMakePrice is a Korean social commerce, e-commerce, and internet advertising platform, one of Korea’s biggest by sales with other giants such as Coupang, G-Market, and 11Street. In contrast to the startup WeMakePrice, G-Market is owned by eBay Korea and 11Street by the major Korean telecommunications company, SK Telecom. WeMakePrice made over 465 billion won in sales in 2019, and its sales in food and health-related items increased by 700 percent during the coronavirus pandemic in February 2020. Yanolja, in second place, is a leading accommodation booking platform, also providing services for booking flights and other transportation, leisure activities, rental cars and more, both within and outside of Korea. In 2019, Yanolja’s investors were from Singapore and the U.S.A, suggesting Yanolja’s (meaning “hey, let’s play” in Korean) global ambitions. Third-ranking Musinsa is an online fashion commerce platform, similar to WeMakePrice.