Gwanak District to Launch "Gwanak S Valley Startup Festival" on the 19th

Branding Strategies, Investment Consultations, and Hands-On Experiences

Gwanak District in Seoul (Mayor Park Junhee) will host the "2025 Gwanak S Valley Startup Festival" on September 19, bringing together venture companies, investors, and young people for a networking event. This year's festival, under the theme "Startups That Build Fandoms: Branding Is the Answer," aims to provide insights into brand strategy and market expansion in a technology-driven startup environment.

Park Junhee, Mayor of Gwanak District, delivering a greeting at the 5th Startup Festival held last year. Provided by Gwanak District.

This event is co-hosted by Gwanak District, Seoul National University, and Seoul Startup Center Gwanak, and co-organized by the Seoul National University Campus Town Project Group and the newly launched Gwanak Small and Medium Venture Promotion Agency. It will take place simultaneously across four venues within the district office building.

The opening ceremony will be held in the main auditorium on the 8th floor of the district office, featuring a congratulatory performance and a special branding lecture by Noh Heeyoung, Brand Strategy Advisor at CJ. In the afternoon, CEOs from Bungaejangter, Sparkplus, and Eventus will share their growth strategies and fandom marketing know-how through a "Startup Talk Show" based on their experiences. Outside the main venue, a "1:1 Investor Meet-Up" zone will provide opportunities for individual consultations with venture capital mentors.

In the Job Cafe on the basement first floor, the "Startup Idea On-Site Pitch Competition" will be held. Ten participants, selected through a preliminary screening, will compete on stage with their creativity and business potential, and expert mentoring will be provided on the day of the event.

In the auditorium on the 7th floor of the annex, the "Seoul National University Robot and AI Competition" will take place, where elementary school students will showcase robots they have built themselves. In the lobby on the first floor of the main building, startup promotional booths and a robot experience zone will be set up to introduce a variety of startup companies to local residents.

The "6th Gwanak S Valley Startup Festival" is open free of charge to prospective entrepreneurs, young founders, investors, and residents, with on-site registration available for some programs. Participants can register through the official website (startupfestival.info) or by scanning the QR code on the event poster.

Since its launch in 2019, the Gwanak S Valley Startup Festival has established itself as Gwanak District's flagship startup event, with a cumulative total of 153 startups and over 7,400 participants to date.

Park Junhee, Mayor of Gwanak District, stated, "The startup ecosystem has now reached a point where it must look beyond survival and focus on growth and expansion centered on global fandom and branding. I hope this Startup Festival will give startups the opportunity to learn the 'key formula' for growth and become unicorn companies."

Gwanak S Valley Startup Festival Promotional Poster. Provided by Gwanak District.

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