Gyeongbuk CCEI Startups Sweep Glocal Festa Grand and Best Awards

Local creator companies from the Yeongnam region, supported by the Gyeongbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (Gyeongbuk CCEI), won the top honors in the pitching competition at the '2025 Glocal Festa with Daejeon' held in Daejeon. At this event, held from November 13 to 15 in the Daeheung-dong area of Daejeon, organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and hosted by the Small Enterprise and Market Service, BYB and Seolarae each swept the Grand Prize and the Top Excellence Award, achieving the remarkable feat of receiving the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award. The '2025 Glocal Festa' was an innovative platform where the government and private sector collaborated to connect local creators with Daejeon's commercial district. In addition to the pitching competition, it presented a new model for regional coexistence through diverse programs such as pop-up stores, conferences, and investment meetups. The pitching competition, where 14 local creators from across the country competed, evaluated regional performance comprehensively to select outstanding companies. BYB (CEO Kim Guk-yeon), which earned the Grand Prize, is a brand founded by a young individual who has continued beekeeping for three generations in Gijang, Busan. It showcased differentiated products such as honey bakeries and candies through a beekeeping YouTube channel and experiential stores, and drew attention as an exemplary local brand transforming regional resources into high-value-added industries. Seolarae (CEO Ji Jong-hwan), the recipient of the Top Excellence Award, is a health food company systematically established from raw material research to manufacturing and branding by a young oriental pharmacist who discovered the potential of bellflowers from Sobaeksan Mountain in Yeongju. Based on robust technological capabilities, it enhanced product competitiveness and proved its potential by recording astonishing growth of over 300% annually through proactive marketing and export strategies. Yoo Ju-hyun, CEO of Gyeongbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, emphasized, "Local creators are establishing themselves as a core driving force of the local economy," and expressed his aspiration, "We will continue systematic and strong support to help local entrepreneurs strengthen their technological capabilities and brand competitiveness, and expand into overseas markets, focusing on the 'Entrepreneurial Small Business Incubation Project'."