COMEUP Stars 2025: Focused Support for Busan's Global Market Entry to US, China, Japan, Europe

"ComeUp Meets Busan," a successful prelude to "COMEUP 2025" hosted by the Korea Startup Forum, concluded successfully at BEXCO on September 22-23. This event, which enhanced synergy through collaboration with the Asian Startup Expo "FLY ASIA 2025," focused on intensively strengthening the global expansion capabilities of the ComeUp Stars 2025 selected teams ahead of the main event in December. The "ComeUp House" mentor team, composed of expert organizations from four regions including the US, China, Japan, and Europe, imparted local market entry strategies to 20 ComeUp Stars companies and 6 Busan startups. Han Sang-woo, Chairman of the Korea Startup Forum, emphasized that it is "a global journey of growing together, not in competition," and Lee Jun-seung, Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs of Busan, expressed expectations for Busan's startup infrastructure and vibrant startup activities. The event featured practical programs. Participants developed practical overseas expansion know-how and investment attraction capabilities through business meetups focusing on "partnership, localization, and investment strategy" and mock IR pitching where they developed virtual items using "Busan" as a keyword. In particular, a panel discussion titled 'To go far, we must go together' highlighted the importance of solidarity and networking when entering global markets. Oh Eun-jin, CEO of InnerBooth, called for strategic alliances with local startups and support organizations, while Kim Nam-guk, General Manager of EIV at E-Land China, urged active entry into hubs like Shanghai and ecosystem expansion, recognizing the potential of K-startups. On the second day, ComeUp Stars strengthened their solidarity with local communities by visiting Busan's Yeongdo Cafe Street and a workation center, and the selected Busan teams had their business competitiveness verified through IR presentations ahead of the main event. Starting with this Busan workshop, systematic support will continue from November, including online mentoring, local business matching, and 1:1 in-depth mentoring in December. Next year, the scope of support will expand to include actual overseas expansion and strengthening local language pitching capabilities, aiming to create a sustainable growth platform for enhancing entrepreneurs' personal branding and corporate competitiveness. Chairman Han Sang-woo expressed his hope that this event would serve as a stepping stone for the global growth journey of ComeUp Stars, stating that the main "COMEUP 2025" event, to be held at COEX from December 10-12, would expand opportunities for global cooperation and investment attraction. "ComeUp Meets Busan" reaffirmed the value of win-win cooperation beyond competition, emphasizing the importance of local solidarity, building overseas networks, and localization strategies essential for the global success of K-startups.