“The most challenging part of getting something out of startup ecosystems is getting into one, and that is 100 percent dependent on you,” said Antti Hammainen from Finland, who gave a keynote speech at this year’s Global Innovator Festa held last week in Daegu. “I mean, you just have to pick yourself up and go there. No one will come and ask you to. Start from little. If you are a young student, like I was three years ago, start from basic stuff. If you already own a star

“It’s not hard at all to have a conversation with you right now, but if you had just gone for a week without any food, I assure you, you might not be so easy to talk to,” said Michael Kim, who founded the nonprofit organization Korea Legacy Committee four years ago to fight poverty among senior citizens here.  He was responding to questions on whether such support merely ends up perpetuating the problems of underprivileged elderly. “I won’t ever say the KLC wil

At a startup conference held in Daejeon, home of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, last month, a member of the audience posed the following question to Moaffak Ahmed, an early stage investor and partner at Slush, one of the largest startup conferences in Europe. “How can you protect your ideas when you haven’t patented them?” The answer was that you can’t. And the more important part of the equation is how you can deploy your idea, and put it into pr

By Kim Ji-hyun  Headquarters of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency in Bangkok, Thailand. / Park Ga-youngBANGKOK -- The startup scene in Thailand is far from thriving, but industry watchers believe the next five to 10 years will bring pivotal changes to the Southeast Asian nation. “Thailand is literally a gold mine for new opportunities,” Jayden Kang, executive director of Line’s startup investment program ScaleUp, told The Korea Herald during a recent interview in Bangkok, just a week after th

BANGKOK -- The startup scene in Thailand is far from thriving, but industry watchers believe the next five to 10 years will bring pivotal changes to the Southeast Asian nation. Digital Econom Promotion Agency headquarters in Bangkok, ThailandThe Investor“Thailand is literally a gold mine for new opportunities,” Jayden Kang, executive director of Line’s startup investment program ScaleUp, told The Investor during a recent interview in Bangkok, just a week after the king’s coronation. Line has a h

Yes, words can hurt you. In fact, there are such things as fighting words. Then there are phrases and terms that possess the power to melt the hardest of hearts. Now, it’s true that some people refuse to be affected by words. Even when faced with a barrage of criticism, when their carefully laid plans are relentlessly berated and not a whisper of encouragement comes their way, they persevere. These are strong folks. But most of us seem to be vulnerable. Verbal attacks can reduce us to a sobbing

I’ll admit it. From the very beginning, I was kind of in love with WeWork. I loved the concept, I loved how everything felt new, how everything felt casual but still systematic and last but not least, I was delighted at the makeovers it gave to office buildings that were once as dilapidated as a beat-up pillow. cap: Inside WeWork Designer ClubIn particular, I was ecstatic about the interior decorations which were subtly modern American and reminded me of my childhood in New York. At the same tim

English current affairs radio program “This Morning” will air a special series of interviews from Feb. 25 to 28.Hosted by Alex Jensen, “This Morning” airs between 7:05 a.m. and 9 a.m., from Mondays to Fridays at 101.3 MHz on tbs eFM. The interviewees will mostly consist of experts on North Korean affairs centering on relations between Pyongyang, Washington and Seoul. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on Feb. 27 and 28.On Feb. 25, American businessman

Recently, a friend of mine who works for a prominent foreign company here in South Korea said he was a bit puzzled that the government was so reticent to meet them.“Usually, in the beginning of a new government, Cheong Wa Dae or officials from other related bureaus would approach us for meetings to get a rundown of what’s happening and what needs to change, but this time, even after we asked for a meeting, nothing,” he recalled, shaking his head in disbelief. The situation appeared to be similar

A few years ago, I was going through a very rough patch personally. There was a person I couldn’t bear to forgive. It’s not like I didn’t have a hand in the matter, but due to a complicated web of reasons -- which tends to be the case in close relationships -- I couldn’t bring myself to move on.For months, I spent all my free time either strategizing revenge, or seething in silent rage. Then I happened to see this painting on my sister’s wall. It was an amateur piece of work, but the words writt

Not necessarily undeserving, conglomerates have become something akin to a public enemy under the Moon Jae-in administration.They are under fire for bad corporate governance and cultures, worsening the economy in general and generally beingthe root of all evil. We can agree with the first point. Just look at Korean Air. It’s not only chaebol kids who have horrific attitudes, but it’s true that the heirs and heiresses aren’t making it easy for the companies to build good and solid governance. At

블록체인계의 위챗으로 통하는 모바일 매신저 앱 ‘비챗(BeeChat)’이 한국시장에 공식 진출한다. 비챗은 오는 30일 코엑스에서 론칭쇼를 열고 1억원 상당의 코인을 에어드랍하면서 한국에 첫발을 디디게 된다. 지난 10월 출시 이후 이미 전세계적으로 수천만명의 이용자들을 보유한 비챗은 한국론칭을 통해 국내 블록체인 및 가상화폐 커뮤니티를 적극 공략한다는 계획이다. 비챗은 중국의 이더리움 격인 퀀텀(Qtum) 기반의 분산형 앱이다. 최대 3만명까지 그룹채팅이 가능하고 이외에 암호화폐 지갑, 송금, 골든포켓 등의 추가 기능을 탑재했다. 지갑은 비트코인, 이더리움, 이오스 등을 이용할 수 있다. 비챗은 또한 가상의 암호화 강아지를 입양하고 키울 수 있는 블록체인 기반 게임 “창세신견”을 출시해이용자들이 블록체인을 좀 더 친숙하게 접할 수 있도록 돕고 있다. 　박가영/코리아헤럴드 (gypark@heraldcorp.com)(관련 영문 기사) [THE INVESTOR] As blockchain

A life with evenings. It’s a “Konglish” expression, but essentially it means a life that guarantees leisure time in the evenings. It is a dream for a lot of Koreans, who are known to be chronic workaholics by either choice or force. Among countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea is always near the top in terms of hours of work. And now, under revised laws, this dream is on the brink of coming true. A myriad of problems face one of the biggest lifestyle change

The latest rumor in the mill that is corporate Korea is that the employee who recently made the fatal mistake of entering the wrong order for Samsung Securities in what has become a multibillion-won loss case is on the brink of suicide. It’s hard not to feel sorry for whoever the person is, given how devastating it must be to see just how much damage he or she has caused. Samsung is doing all it can to prevent his or her identity from slipping through the highly wired cracks of Korea, but it see

[더인베스터(코리아헤럴드)=송승현기자] 메르세데스-벤츠코리아가 지난 12월 ‘다카타 에어백’을 리콜하기로 결정한 가운데 관련 부품 수급이 늦어지면서 실제 리콜까지 한달 이상 소요될 것으로 보인다. 고객들이 안전문제를 제기하자 회사의 서비스 센터 측은 “안전운전 하는 수 밖에 없다”며 정부에서 정한 리콜 시한이 없기 때문에 절차상 문제가 없다는 입장이다. 해당 에어백은 팽창될 때 금속파편이 튀어 승객을 다치게 할 수 있어 전세계적으로 리콜이 진행되고 있는 상황. 그 동안 벤츠는 중국 등 다른 시장과는 달리 한국에서는 “자체조사가 진행 중”이라며 리콜을 1년 가까이 미뤄 국토교통부와 여론의 비난을 받아왔다.일반적으로는 제조사들이 부품을 먼저 수급한 이후에 리콜을 진행하기 때문에 대기기간이 길어져 문제가 되는 사례는 극히 드물었다. 역시 다카타 에어백 관련 리콜을 진행하고 있는 BMW코리아 관계자는 “리콜 통보 전에 부품을 수급해 고객들의 대기기간을 최대한 줄이고 있다"고 설명했다.  이

When President Trump recently tweeted that he has a big “nuclear button” that he can and will use, it was one of the most ridiculous things I had heard from a president. Well, one of the most, since ex-President Park Geun-hye said she “didn’t know” that she was getting in trouble when she let her friend Choi Soon-sil run the country. In addition to who spoke the words -- the president of the world’s most powerful country with corresponding responsibilities -- the choice of vocabulary had a great

A woman of 40 is something of a rarity in the startup culture, and those who do exist are usually on the incubating side, and not the actual founding of companies.So to me, a woman of 40, the local startup scene feels like a vibrant stage filled with young actors and actresses whose enthusiasm is almost contagious. And for the first few months that we started covering startups in earnest, I felt this truly was a place where new things could happen, where we really might have the honor of witness

It’s way past time to realize North Korea will never give up its nuclear arsenalMy job takes me frequently abroad, and one destination I visit quite often is Tokyo. Now that my initial trepidation has ebbed away, I can see why so many are in love with this city. And from this tidy yet bustling city, I watched in raw fear this week as events surrounding the two Koreas and the US unfolded. For me, it was a moment of truth. For the first time in a while, I hit me just how precarious things look fro

[THE INVESTOR] The owners or majority shareholders of eight out of 30 top industrial groups are not registered board members at any of the firms’ affiliates, according to conglomerate tracker Chaebul.com on Sept. 25.The eight companies are Samsung, Hanwha, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Shinsegae, CJ, Dalim, Mirae Asset and Dongkuk Steel Mill. The findings were based on data as of end-August. Among them, the owners of Hanwha, CJ, Mirae Asset and Dongkuk all resigned as registered board members after

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Department Store appears to be ready to further strengthen its areas of core competence to pursue sustainable growth. Officials of Hyundai Department Store already confirmed on Sept.20 that the retailer is undergoing discussions for acquiring SK Networks.Industry sources say the move is a part of chairman Chung Ji-sun 's vision for the future. “Hyundai Department appears to be looking to build up its exterior, particularly in terms of fashion,” said Kim Geun-jong, a resear