Newly-launched Incheon Startup Park will grow up together with its startups
On February 25th, Incheon Startup Park was officially opened in Songdo, Incheon, as the first Startup Park in South Korea. The Startup Park is an open and innovative platform project to support startups, newly planned by the South Korean Ministry of Small and medium-sized enterprises and Startups (hereafter ‘MSS’). Last year, after a keen competition among 14 different cities, Incheon was selected as the first location for the new startup hub. Through the interview with Won-bo Shim, the head of Insta I, which is the public-led division in the startup park, the introduction and vision of Incheon startup park will be given.
According to Mr. Shim, the Incheon Startup Park is the first startup hub with combined cooperation between both the public and private sector. He explains that the Incheon Startup Park consists of 3 towers in total: Insta I, Insta II and Instar III. Insta I, where Mr. Shim works, is a public-led space to foster promising startups. It is organized by the Incheon Free Economic Zone (hereafter ‘IFEZ’) Authority in cooperation with Incheon TechnoPark. The authority covers the special economic area which is designated in order to establish a free-flowing and diverse business environment, including Songdo, Yeongjong, and Cheongna International Cities in Incheon. Instar II is a private-led space operated by the two private companies, Shinhan Financial Group and Celltrion Inc. under the supervision of the city of Incheon. Finally, the third tower named Instar III is used as a business support and convenience facility.
“The geopolitical advantage and global competitiveness of Incheon metropolitan city played a pivotal role,” said Mr. Shim, when asked ‘what made Incheon selected as the first startup park?’ Incheon, located 28 km from Seoul, the capital of South Korea, serves as the global transportation hub in the country. When using Incheon International Airport, air passengers can have more convenient connections to destinations overseas because 147 cities are accessible in the airport within 3 hours. The airport was ranked as first in global airport service assessment for 12 consecutive years.
Mr. Shim also explained that the infrastructure in IFEZ is optimal for startups to scale up. The startup park is surrounded by 15 international organizations, 25 institutes for supporting startups, and an academic-industrial-research cluster with 24 research centers and three specialized districts. It enables a business-friendly environment and industry academia-research collaboration. Also the city can acquire sufficient high-qualified talents not only from local colleges but also global universities at Songdo Global Campus.
The Incheon Startup Park ultimately aims to provide the following to selected startups: support for 1) technical demonstration, 2) investment and 3) global expansion. In order to make them ready to compete with global players, the startup park provides diverse support and incubation━investment, establishment of a network with relevant institutions, and support for technology commercialization, export, and consulting. Any promising small and medium-sized enterprises and startups in the IT, including AI (artificial intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things), Big Data, and 5G, and bio-related fields are encouraged to apply for the support program.
Changeovers of information technology have brought significant advances in the diverse industry, the functioning of companies, and in the broader range of services they deliver to the market and consumers. Mr. Shim explains that is why the startup park puts great importance on technical demonstration. Facilities in the park provide open testing labs to let their startups substantiate their own technical designs and prove their effectiveness by themselves. The startup park also attained stabilized financial backup funded by the city government, which will be used to invest startups.
As the Incheon Startup Park is designed to achieve organic cooperation and exchange between industry, academia, and research, it plans to expand its partnership with over 30 global players. “We are in the active process of finding global partners which would cross paths with us under the willingness to support Korean startups,” said Mr. Shim hopefully. The most desirable partner would be one who wants to share the collaborative value with the Incheon Startup Park and its startups. It is expected that this newly-launched startup hub would scale up itself with its startups.
Here below are three promising companies which are supported by Incheon Startup Park
Giving hope to people suffering from chronic pain: RudaCure Co., Ltd
Chronic pain is the most worrisome condition for modern people. Many researchers have been investing a long time in the field of pain disease due to various factors. Korea’s RudaCure Co., Ltd researches and develops new drugs that can overcome the side effects of existing drugs.
Due to the aging population of more than 30 percent of the world’s population, pain disorders and old age already have a dominant structure. Based on the study of pain target molecules in the peripheral-central nervous system, which specializes in the development of TRPV1 (The transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1, also known as the capsaicin receptor and the vanilloid receptor) by focusing on securing source technology for chronic pain control.
Furthermore, by paying attention to the aging trend and senile eye disease, the company developed and acquired patents for treatment of dry eyes and macular degeneration. In cooperation with Korea’s famous Cha Hospital, it is said that developing treatments based on pain control and regeneration techniques for major spinal diseases such as discs, spinal cord injuries, and others. Based on the above list, RudaCure Co., Ltd is currently a development company specialized in chronic diseases, especially pain, and it is believed that it is also doing research and development in aging geriatric diseases. If we can go beyond simple research and development and realize therapeutic drugs and pain control, this will be valuable news to address the most painful problems of the medical community as well as modern people.
Enjoy alternative meat made of seaweeds: HN Novatech
Seaweeds are well-recognized healthy foods. However, it is also important to use raw materials with natural conditions. Korea is surrounded by the sea on three sides, providing abundant minerals for many algae and various supplies. It seems to be a resource that cannot be compared to anywhere because it also forms temperatures suitable for the environment in which algae grow. HN Novatech’s Marine Meat is an alternative meat based on algae.
It is a seaweed extract that tastes meat and uses fish meat as its basic ingredient. Add various additives (garlics, onions, salt, pepper) and make a round or square frame. Drying and packaging are commercialized. It is already known that soybeans are based on alternative meat, and it’s known that they are fried with fish. Although meat processing products have been isolated from our diet and raised due to mad cow disease, there seems to be problems caused by slaughtering and various processes, but it’s already too close to our diet. Green Meat, which is cheaper than the existing meat price and can form a healthy eating culture, seems to be a new paradigm. If you are a research and development company that produces these alternative meat, should we be interested in creating a healthy diet? A healthy diet may be the wish of many people. So we think that trying with these companies is definitely the right way to stay healthy.
You can have Korean-style dinner at home with this kit: Allways Corporation
Cooking at home has increased as a result of lockdowns, and a significant share of consumers intend to continue doing so after the pandemic subsides. We all want healthy meals for our families. But due to busy schedules, sourcing organic vegetables, low-carb legumes and lean beef can feel burdensome. Buying meal kits solves this difficulty by finding your favorite ingredients and preparing them for you.
Meal kits essentially consist of pre-prepared and pre-portioned ingredients and condiments. Ingredients in it tend to be fresher and less processed so that consumers can easily cook his or her own meal based on the recipes provided. You can get to cook nutritious dishes for your family without spending hours finding appropriate ingredients, which is an economic way of enjoying the fun experience of cooking.
COVID-19 lockdowns have created a strong foundation for competition which is derived from unprecedented growth for meal-kit companies. The meal kit market is only to grow globally and the potentiality of each manufacturing company is extended to the global market because meal kits make it possible for global consumers to experience food from different cultures more conveniently.
A South Korean company named ‘Allways Corporation’ shows the potential for growth with its own meal kit: ‘CockoMix.’ Cockomix is a product that can make Korean-style fried chicken at home without using a fryer in 15 minutes. It was highly praised for being the world’s first meal kit for Korean-style seasoned chicken and for not producing harmful hormones even when cooked in a plastic bag.
Allways Corporation won the gold prize for its invention at the 16th Seoul International Inventions Exhibition. The company has been selected as an excellent company for the “3K Startup Promotion Project” and recently moved into Incheon Startup Park ‘Insta 1’ Its product, which has been exported to Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore since last December, will make you enjoy a convenient dinner with Korean-style seasoning in your dining room.
Kayla Hong
Asia Journal
