Korea's SME ministry held its first Local Startup Festa in Jeju: three days of investor pitches and awards
The event brought together local founders, investors and large-company representatives; speakers reported growth in visitors, shops and exports tied to regional businesses.
South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups held the first "2026 Local Startup Festa in Jeju" from the 4th to the 6th, biz.heraldcorp.com reports. Local founders, investors and representatives of large companies met for three days. The programme included an investor roadshow, sessions on results in local districts and among global small businesses, and presentations of cooperation with large companies biz.heraldcorp.com
biz.heraldcorp.combiz.heraldcorp.comOpen source ↗.
Local districts and founders
On the first day, Park Jun-gyu, CEO of Surfy Beach, which turned Yangyang in Gangwon Province into a surfing destination, described his business model and growth strategy. According to him, visitors to Yangyang grew from about 2 million in 2014 to 15 million now, and the number of restaurants around Surfy Beach rose from 5 to 30.
At the investor roadshow, founders presented business models to investors. Kim Jun-yong, CEO of Lume, which runs the Better Than Surf brand, went on stage in shorts carrying a surfboard.
At the local districts session on the 5th, the districts chosen by public vote were announced. The LPP district in the old centre of Jeju City took first place, and the Juksan-myeon district in Gimje, North Jeonbuk, took second. Lee Geum-jae, CEO of Iloa, which leads the Jeju LPP district, said a pop-up event drew 1,467 visitors biz.heraldcorp.com
biz.heraldcorp.combiz.heraldcorp.comOpen source ↗.
According to Choi Byeol, CEO of FLD Studio, Juksan-myeon had no youth startup teams before; now 10 teams, about 30 people, work there. The number of shops grew from 21 to 37, and a local event held in a rice field drew about 2,000 people.
Exports and large-company cooperation
On the 6th, small businesses with export results were presented. Samon won the Frontier category of the minister's award. The company makes the food ingredient "Re-Insam" from red ginseng pulp, a by-product of red ginseng production. It freeze-dries and finely grinds the pulp for snacks and protein shakes and has entered the US market. CEO Son So-hee said that Americans value the fact that the material is reused. Samon is about 1 year 4 months old and earns about 80% of its revenue abroad. The Step-up category award went to the cosmetics maker The Mis.
This year the ministry selected 100 companies for its global small-business programme. At the Jakarta international premium consumer goods show, 14 companies are pursuing contracts, and 15 companies that took part in a New York pop-up recorded on-site sales biz.heraldcorp.com
biz.heraldcorp.combiz.heraldcorp.comOpen source ↗.
Ottogi presented products that use local ingredients, including ramen made with Jeju black pork. The approach combines local ingredients and ideas with a large company's development and distribution capacity.
Professor Mo Jong-rin of Yonsei University, who attended, said local entrepreneurship means living the life of a region, and that founders should keep their local identity even when they expand nationally or abroad.
