‘COMEUP2020’ on 19-21 November is the biggest startup event in Korea. The 3-day extravaganza will feature lectures and panel talks in key post-COVID areas, as well as mini events. This online-oriented event is perfect if your startup is thinking of breaking into or growing further in Korea, Asia, or on a global scale. Curious? Read on to find out more!
Meet COMEUP2020?
After hosting Venture Korea in 1997, ‘COMEUP’ was branded in 2019, positioning itself as the biggest startup festival in Korea based on private·public cooperation. In its second year in 2020, COMEUP is making the great leap to become one of the top 4 global startup festivals, along with Slush (Finland) and TechCrunch (US).
As many key events overseas were ‘cancelled (MWC)’, ‘changed from cancellation to scaling down (SLUSH)’ or ‘scaled down (IFA)’ due to the pandemic, COMEUP managed to push on through, and has collaborated with the Korean government to hold the event online.
The event was officially announced on Tuesday 3 November by the Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister, Park Youngsun) and COMEUP Organizing Committee (Private Chairwoman of the Organizing Committee, Kim Seulah), and is going ahead to help SMEs and startups overcome adversity with opportunity in the post-COVID-19 era.
As if to acknowledge their efforts, there has been a sharp increase in applications for key COMEUP programmes, such ‘COMEUP STARS’ and ‘K-Startup Grand Challenge’, where innovative startups (domestic and abroad) actively participate. Around 1,075 companies submitted applications for COMEUP STARS, and around 2,645 teams from 118 countries applied for ‘K-Startup Challenge’, a project to attract and support foreign startups in Korea, a 58% increase from 2019.
Even though it’s only in its second year, interest in COMEUP from foreign startups is rapidly increasing, and the event is growing to become a world-class global startup festival.
What’s involved?
The slogan for this year’s ‘COMEUP’ festival is: “Meet The Post-Pandemic Future”. The event plans to live-broadcast lectures and panel talks from well-known experts and trend-setters, over 12 sessions of global interest, such as K-Quarantine, Policy, Digital Healthcare, Environment, Open Innovation, AI & Robots, Telecommuting, Manufacturing, Commerce, Education, Entertainment, and Distribution.
Well-known global lecturers, such as Professor Kim Jungsang of Duke University, co-founder and CTO of IONQ and professor Henry Chesbrough of UC Berkeley, known for his contributions in open innovation, as well as CEO of Kurly, Kim Seulah will participate.
Chun Jongyoon, CEO of Seegene, manufacturer of COVID-19 test kits and widely regarded as an exemplary company of K-Quarantine, and Kim Jinyong from Incheon Medical Center, Division of Infectious Diseases that established global standards with its ‘Drive-through testing’, will also participate in the K-Quarantine sessions.
The event will also feature special events, such as the AI Championship, K-Startup Grand Challenge, and additional events, including investment and export counselling sessions.
Minister of SMEs and Startups, Park Youngsun commented: “COMEUP 2020 consistently hosts online events despite the difficulties presented by the COVID-19 crisis. It has positioned itself as the main startup event in Asia last year, and seeks to reinvent itself as a global startup festival, following in the footsteps of K-Pop and K-Quarantine. They are preparing for the event with K-Startup’s mind-set of challenge and futuristic vision, and I wish that the event creates a lot of interest and participation from all involved.”
To find out more and register for the event, visit the COMEUP2020 website.
