Jeju Haenyeo's Kitchen and Gapyeong Jat Beer Selected as 'Local Value Entrepreneurs'

Ministry of SMEs and Startups Hosts 'Local of the Year, Rediscovered Value in Local' Event
Minister Park Young-sun: "Regional Value Entrepreneurs Are the Main Drivers of Virtuous Cycle in Local Economy"

Minister Park Young-sun of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups is delivering a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of the '2020 Small and Medium Business Technology Innovation Exhibition' held on the 10th at the Imperial Palace Dube Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Twenty-one local value entrepreneurs (local creators) who create new value based on the characteristics of various regions nationwide have been selected.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 16th that it held the event "Local of the Year, Value Rediscovered in Local" at the complex cultural space Court in Insadong, Seoul.

Local value entrepreneurs refer to startups that combine innovative ideas with the natural and cultural characteristics and materials of a region to create new value.

This year's local creators were selected through peer and expert evaluations, with 21 teams chosen across seven major fields: ▲Hub Brand ▲Local Value ▲Local Food ▲Region-based Manufacturing ▲Eco-friendly Activities ▲Region-specific Tourism ▲Digital Cultural Experience.

In the local food field, "Cramery Brewery," which developed beer using pine nuts from Gapyeong, was selected as the best team.

In the hub brand field, "Haenyeo's Kitchen," which combines space experiences and performances related to haenyeo (female divers) with the sale of Jeju seafood, and in the local value field, "Jaeju Sanghoe," which offers a subscription service using ingredients produced in Jeju, were each selected as the best teams.

In the region-based manufacturing field, "Museum Jaehee," which produces shoes by recycling bamboo from Damyang and byproducts of edible eel, and in the eco-friendly activities field, "Sanneomi Farm," which opened a car camping site at a black goat ranch at the foot of Cheongoksan Mountain in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon Province, were each selected as the best teams.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups produced and delivered nameplates with related brand images to these 21 local value entrepreneur teams.

At the event, Kim Yongdeok, CEO of Terarosa, who contributed to transforming Gangneung, Gangwon Province, into a coffee city, gave a lecture as a senior local creator to share practical know-how on item development and marketing for local value entrepreneurship, along with a talk concert among local value entrepreneurs sharing their experiences.

Park Youngsun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said, "Local value entrepreneurs are the main drivers of virtuous cycles in the regional economy," and added, "We plan to further strengthen support for local value entrepreneurs as part of representative startup support policies that nurture the local startup ecosystem."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.