Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hosts 'Traditional Culture Youth Startup Idea Contest'

A Total of 50 Young Prospective Entrepreneurs Selected, Total Prize Money of 120 Million KRW

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 31st that, in collaboration with the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, it will recruit 50 prospective startup teams through the "Traditional Culture Youth Startup Idea Contest" from the 30th to June 29. Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 31st that, in collaboration with the Korea Craft & Design Foundation, it will recruit 50 prospective startup teams through the ‘Traditional Culture Youth Startup Idea Contest’ from the 30th to June 29.

Since last year, the Ministry and the Foundation have been promoting the ‘Traditional Culture Youth Startup Idea Contest’ to foster the development of the traditional culture industry and nurture prospective entrepreneurs.

Last year, a total of 50 teams and 88 awardees were selected. The grand prize was awarded to ‘Gaehwara Sa Jeong Yeonjae,’ which proposed an idea for selling traditional costumes from the late Joseon Dynasty and the Enlightenment period. Some awardees, such as ‘Attic Square Kim Sihwa,’ who won the Excellence Award, and ‘Hanot Han Jisoo,’ who won the Encouragement Award, developed their proposed ideas into actual startups and were selected for the ‘Traditional Culture Early Startup Support Project’ contest.

This year’s contest is open to anyone under the age of 39 who wishes to start a business in the traditional culture industry field. The 50 teams finally selected through the contest will be given the opportunity to participate in the ‘Pre-Startup Academy,’ a startup incubation program operated by professional startup planners (accelerators).

Through the Pre-Startup Academy, participants will receive practical startup education such as business model development and market expansion, as well as customized mentoring to help their ideas lead to actual startups and validate their business plans.

One team winning the grand prize will receive a prize of 10 million KRW. One team winning the highest award will receive 8 million KRW, three teams winning the Excellence Award will each receive 7 million KRW, and 15 teams winning the Encouragement Award will each receive 5 million KRW. Additionally, all awardees will receive extra points when applying for the ‘2023 Traditional Culture Early Startup Support Project.’

A representative from the Foundation said, “We hope that the contest will serve as a foundation for continuously nurturing and producing excellent young entrepreneurs in the traditional culture industry.”

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