[Asia Exclusive] SME Products Wearing 'Seoul Made' Captured Global MZ Generation

Interview with Jang Young-seung, CEO of Seoul Business Agency
Launch of MZ Generation Target Brand 'Seoul Made'
Seoul Made Launches Various Products Categorized by Taste, Style, Safety, and Convenience
Economic and Cultural Cooperation Between New York and Seoul, Including Delivery of Seoul Made Quarantine Kits to New York

Jang Young-seung, CEO of Seoul Business Agency, emphasized, "We must focus on helping small and medium-sized enterprises strengthen their brand power." Photo by Yoon Jin-geun PD

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] In the 1990s, when the term ‘venture’ was still unfamiliar, CEO Jang Youngseung, who was part of the first generation of venture entrepreneurs in the domestic software industry, was appointed as the head of the Seoul Business Agency (SBA) in November 2018. The industry evaluated that a suitable person with experience to lead future industries had been placed in the position.

Having refrained from media exposure for the past two years since his appointment, he broke his silence after the COVID-19 pandemic with the brand ‘SEOUL MADE,’ which leads the global expansion of excellent small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) products, and gave an interview to Asia Economy. CEO Jang explained, "Only through a brand that embodies the target, concept, and value of trust have we finally achieved results, so I took it upon myself to promote it directly."

CEO Jang foresees that the future startup ecosystem will shift from growth centered on large corporations to growth through startups. In this process, he said that new entrepreneurship must be born by referencing the strengths of senior entrepreneurs and criticizing their shortcomings. He stated, "If you try to teach, you become an old-fashioned person at that moment. Mentoring that allows learning by revealing one’s own failures, even if embarrassing, is necessary." Therefore, he created a program where senior entrepreneurs visit startups to support tax/accounting, intellectual property rights, marketing, and sales know-how. Like in the movie ‘The Intern,’ he hopes for positive exchanges between senior and junior members of the startup ecosystem.

He mentioned that he had refrained from interviews and social media activities for fear that the label ‘former activist’ might burden the organization. However, now is the time to nurture the fruits of the past two years’ achievements, so he stepped forward. The Seoul Business Agency is an organization under the Seoul Metropolitan Government that helps create stable management conditions by supporting technology, management, and manpower for SMEs and startups located in Seoul. We met CEO Jang at the headquarters in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 8th.

- As a first-generation venture entrepreneur, your perspective on today’s Korean startup ecosystem must be unique.

▲ The environment has improved beyond comparison. I started in my 30s when the term ‘venture’ didn’t even exist and was overwhelmed during the early venture bubble. My managerial judgment was immature. So I failed, but the company still exists because it was sold. If I had held onto the company and endured, I, the members, and the company would all have failed. Fortunately, only I failed, so the company Nanum Technology still exists, and the founding members are active in various fields. Woo Mi-young, former Microsoft Vice President and current Adobe Korea CEO, and Han Seong-sook, CEO of Naver, are from Nanum Technology. I feel rewarded that the company serves as a venture academy.

- What do you diagnose as the biggest problem faced by domestic SMEs and startup products?

▲ Weak brand power. SME products are of good quality but suffer many export difficulties due to lack of brand power. For example, when exporting cosmetic products to Vietnam, Korean products are not automatically welcomed. Only brands like Amore are preferred. Because of this, it was necessary to change the supplier mindset and re-evaluate and newly create brand value tailored to the local demanders who export. The target generation for global trends is the MZ generation. Their enthusiasm for a common lifestyle was well reflected through BTS. Even though the songs are in Korean, they sing along. We first created an intuitive and beautiful symbol that appeals to the global MZ generation. It embodies the meaning of something creatively made by the mind.

- What kind of brand is SEOUL MADE, which was born this way, and what product lines does it have?

▲ It refers to products made in Seoul that contain human creativity (made). When we first launched ‘SEOUL MADE’ in December 2019, there were criticisms asking why another brand was needed when ‘Hi Seoul’ and ‘I.SEOUL.U’ already existed. SEOUL MADE is not just a name but a brand that precisely embodies the values and concepts pursued by the MZ generation. I think a brand is a vessel that contains value. And that value comes from trust, such as ‘this product will be good’ or ‘you are recognized if you have this product.’ We conducted preference surveys directly in countries such as China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Colombia, and Mexico to see if this brand would succeed in the global market and received good evaluations. The product themes are categorized into four: the taste of Seoul, the style of Seoul, the safety of Seoul, and the convenience of Seoul. Various products such as meal kits, fashion items, quarantine products, and transportation cards are released according to each theme.

In August last year, CEO Jang Young-seung delivering the Seoul Made K-Quarantine package to residents of Brooklyn, New York. Photo by Seoul Business Agency

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- You delivered SEOUL MADE quarantine kits to New York City last August despite COVID-19.

▲ I want to be reappointed if possible because I confirmed many business opportunities and potentials our institution can pursue in New York. We held a ceremony last August at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in New York to deliver 10,000 COVID-19 quarantine kits made by Seoul SMEs. Through this process, mutual trust beyond simple promotion was formed. Based on this, we are discussing and implementing programs to introduce other products and match New York capital with Korean company investments with five boroughs of New York City. Since New York is the global economic center where capital, technology, and design gather, if our SME products gain competitiveness and proper evaluation there, global expansion will naturally follow. Especially, various economic and cultural cooperations between New York and Seoul were ongoing, but the cancellation of the performance by the band ‘Dalinchi’ at Times Square due to the resurgence of COVID-19 last year was the biggest regret. Based on continuous trust, exchanges between the two cities will proceed steadily this year as well.

- You operate an educational institution that directly trains software talent.

▲ SSAC (Seoul Software Academy Cluster) is an institution focused on training software talent tailored to the demands of companies. It is a program that is difficult for public institutions to implement, so I take pride in it. Since I am a developer by background and have managed IT companies, I set four core focuses for the program. First, through demand surveys, we identified what kind of talent local companies need. The instructors are all industry experts, such as former Kakao development team leaders, to enhance the practicality of education. Evaluation is not a simple exam but based on deliverables from team projects. This allows precise assessment of whether trainees have the ability to solve company problems as developers. Lastly, we increased employment linkage after course completion. Internally, we aim for a 60% employment rate, but since we are a corporate support institution, raising that result to 100% is our immediate challenge.

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