“Unleashing Creativity through Passion and Ingenuity” – Taling CEO Kim Yoonhwan’s Entrepreneurship Academy Lecture     On Novemeber 14th, KUBS (Dean = Kim Sang Yong) Startup Research Institute (Director = Moon Jung Bin) led the Entrepreneurship Academy for the second semester. As the third speaker of the Entrepreneurship Academy lecture series, CEO Kim Yoon Hwan of Taling stepped forward. Under the theme “The Rise and Fall of Startups,” Kim Yoon Hwan shared his journey from university entrepreneurship to leading a company with an investment of over 20 billion won. Taling, founded in November 2016, is a talent-sharing platform that offers both online and offline classes. With 1.5 million members and 23,000 tutors, Taling has successfully attracted over 20 billion won in investments with a method where individuals transform their unique talents into content and conduct distinctive lectures.     Taling, born out of the university's 1st ChuChu Enterprise Program, debuted through the university's startup incubation program, presenting their products and services at the university's startup demo day called 'ChuChu Day.' CEO Kim Yoon Hwan vividly recounted his entrepreneurial journey that began during his university years, expressing the efforts invested in student entrepreneurship. Kim reflected, saying "After I came to Korea University after 4 attempts, I joined as a 2012 student in the Department of Political Sciences with the courage and audacity of 'there's nothing I can't do,' initiating entrepreneurship." He further reminisced, "Looking back, during my university days, when Taling had just started, the marketing methods we attempted were the closest experiences to reaching our customers."      CEO Kim Yoon-hwan successfully expanded the scale of the startup, achieving significant growth as a young entrepreneur. However, beneath this leap lies the traces of intense deliberation during the early days of entrepreneurship as a university student, aiming to minimize business costs and generate maximum managerial efficiency. Taling initiated its marketing efforts by directly promoting to students within Korea University. With the belief that "even if the instructor lacks expertise, there will surely be demand due to its cost-effectiveness," CEO Kim Yoon Hwan launched the business and as demand began to grow within Korea University, he expanded the business to universities in Seoul. Despite being a CEO not even proficient in Excel, he collaborated with computer science friends and attempted development through outsourcing. Kim Yoon Hwan expressed, "The experimental attempts to reduce business costs during my university days, even if they were just a few pennies, turned out to be much more creative and effective ideas than those attempted after the success of the business." He added, "I think the passion and ingenuity unique to university student in the twenties, unaware of many things, played a crucial role in achieving success."     Despite the subsequent success and growth of Taling, the business faced challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kim Yoon Hwan revealed, "After barely overcoming a hacking issue, we faced a situation where members who had paid for offline classes demanded refunds, and I even contemplated shutting down the business." To cope with the crisis, to recover from a monthly deficit of 700 million won and reach the breakeven point, Taling had to undergo a large-scale restructuring, reducing its workforce from over 90 employees to 15. Kim Yoon Hwan confessed, "Because I didn’t want my business and the efforts of my 20s to become a disgrace, in times of crisis, I used my own money to pay the tutors' salaries.”     Continuing, he expressed, "Businesses cannot always thrive continuously," emphasizing that experiencing ups and downs is inevitable in the business world. “It seems that enduring these challenges with the mindset that facing setbacks is a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey has allowed Taling to persist until now.” Overcoming the pain of a resignation recommendation, Taling transformed into a 10-member company in 2023, successfully pioneering new markets and emerging as a thriving EduTech enterprise. Since the fourth quarter of last year, Taling has strengthened its customized Business-to-Business (B2B) services for corporate employees, offering a variety of well-being programs, including fitness, hobbies, and self-development, to hundreds of companies remotely. They achieved a turnaround to profitability in the first half of this year, and in June, monthly operating profits exceeded 100 million won for the first time.      Concluding the lecture, CEO Kim Yoon Hwan offered heartfelt advice to aspiring entrepreneurs that attended. He stated, "Starting a business at a young age is truly beneficial. In your 20s, you have the energy to endure even when stable cash flows are not guaranteed in the early stages of a business." Continuing, he advised, "Relying on money to solve every business challenge can lead to the disappearance of creativity." He encouraged not forgetting that many creative ideas can emerge while contemplating how to proceed with the business without excessive reliance on finances. Additionally, he urged the creation of a healthy organizational culture infused with positive energy, striving to unfold one's unique ideas to the best of their ability.

‘ESG Management and Climate Tech Business’ 2023 ESG Lecture Series Successfully Completed    The fourth lecture of the 2023 ESG Lecture Series, hosted by the KUBS ESG Research Institute (Director: Lee Jae Hyuk), took place on Tuesday, October 31st at 2 p.m. in the LG POSCO Business Building. The series aimed to share key topics related to ESG in domestic companies and industries by inviting top scholars in the ESG field, discussing practical approaches for both academia and industry. For the recent lecture, Kim Dohyung, a specialist in environmental regulation at Hwawoo Law Firm and Park Ranhee, the CEO of Impact On were invited as guest lecturers. Director Lee Jae Hyuk stated, “The purpose of inviting practitioners from various fields though the ESG Lecture Series is to introduce real-world professionals to undergraduate students.”       Kim Dohyung discussed "Domestic and International ESG Policy Trends and Challenges" in his lecture. He emphasized the need for formulating resource circulation policies as a solution to the evaluation that domestic climate change response indices are regressive. Kim suggested that addressing climate change through a circular economy policy can be a solution. He highlighted the importance of achieving both industrial development and job creation simultaneously through the Green New Deal, emphasizing that ESG policies can succeed based on a sustainable profit generation foundation for companies. Kim also stressed the necessity for companies to disclose strategies and plans considering climate crisis scenarios, as all disclosures ultimately lead to the impact of climate change. He stated, "Today, small businesses strengthen ESG demands from their trading partners, selecting partners based on this." Kim highlighted “In ESG management, the environment is very important, and detailed support beyond government macro policies is essential for small and medium-sized enterprises to feel practical effects.”      The second lecture was conducted by Park Ranhee, CEO of the ESG-specialized online media ‘Impact On,’ who spoke on the topic “Climate Tech Changes Business” for an hour. Park Ranhee mentioned the various risks associated with climate tech, requiring longer time and big capital compared to general investments. Therefore, despite the worldwide mention of carbon neutrality, many global companies do not foresee the decline of petroleum-based businesses and continue to expand their business scale. Park said, “South Korea needs to consider various social issues that may arise during the industrial transition process and contemplate solutions.” She also said, “There are many voices casting doubt on whether recent ESG-related trends will continue” and added, “Even if there is a wind of anti-ESF, the individual components of ESG are increasing, so businesses will continue to formulate business strategies reflecting ESG elements.”    

A Leap to the Next Stage! The Start-Up Train is Heading-Off!   On November 3, the “2023 Fall CHOO CHOO DAY,” a startup demo day organized by the Startup Research Institute, an affiliate institution of Korea University Business School (Dean=Sang Yong Kim), was held at Gongdeok Front1. This event was jointly organized by Korea University LINC 3.0 Business Team, aiming to revitalize the campus-oriented entrepreneurial ecosystem and strengthen the investment attraction capabilities of student startup companies.      “CHOO CHOO DAY” is a startup demo day held every spring and fall. Here, young entrepreneurs who have gone through the startup nurturing program of the KUBS Startup Research Institute share their visions. “CHOO CHOO” represents the sound of a departing train, symbolizing the support for incubating companies to attract initial investments and leap to the next stage.    Five teams participated in the CHOO CHOO DAY: △ ‘Sosanggonggan,’ a trading platform for small business owners △ ‘Meshed,’ a web-based 3D design collaboration tool △ ‘Photorize,’ a four-panel photo archiving service △ ‘Fynd,’ a travel video information search platform and △ ‘Unjeonseonsaeng,’ a driving school reservation platform. Each shared their achievements through a 5-minute presentation and a 10-minute Q&A session. The judging panel included Jin-kyu Park and Jae-ho Jung, directors of Ljin Center for Startup Incubation, In-ho Lee, a judge from the Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs, Tae-joon Noh from Primer, Ji-yoon Lee from Strong Ventures, and Seung-Hyun Kim from Shinhan Venture Investment.      Jae-ho Jung, director of the Ljin Center for Startup Incubation, Sang Yong Kim, dean of KUBS, Jung-bin Moon, director of the Startup Research Institute, Young-deok Kim, CEO of Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs, ‘Dcamp,’ and Seo-kang Jung, CEO of Naeiluri, attended and encouraged the incubating companies. Dean Kim mentioned, “Startup entrepreneurship is, as you know, a tremendous challenge,” and applauded to the passion and efforts of entrepreneurs who aspire to contribute to a better life for humanity with new and creative ideas.  

CDTB Colloquium Held... What is the Present and Future of Blockchain Technology and Generative AI?   Hosted by Korea University Business School (Dean=Kim Sang Yong), the Center for Digital Transformation & Business (Director=Park Kyung-sam, hereafter CDTB) organized a colloquium on October 27th (Friday) at Room 432, LG-POSCO Hall. The lecture featured presentations on "Blockchain Technology and Financial Innovation" by Lee Joon-seok, the representative of Block Security Chain, and Cha Young-min, a team member, and "In the Era of Generative AI, Where Are We Heading?" by Park Geun-young, the representative of Generative Lab, and Shim Jun-yong, a team member.      Firstly, Lee Joon-seok, the representative of Block Security Chain, explained blockchain technology. He then discussed the prospects of innovation in financial structures and the potential spread of cryptocurrencies based on blockchain. The business of Block Security Chain is a newly emerged service in the blockchain world. This service is based on the idea of preventing crime by using blockchain technology and virtual asset technology to allow simultaneous payment when one party delivers goods in inter-business contracts. Lee Joon-seok stated, "The blockchain ecosystem is rapidly changing," and explained, "New forms of hacking and crimes are continuously occurring, and new types of virtual assets such as meme coins are emerging."    Next, team member Cha Young-min explained the concepts and side effects of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. He pointed out that blockchain technology, with its decentralized nature allowing transactions without complex authentication procedures for consumers, could be exploited for crime and money laundering.      Generative Lab's representative, Park Geun-young, presented on Generative AI. He introduced the business, saying, "These days, AI performs various functions, such as product recommendations, better than humans," and explained that they started the business in March based on this observation. Park Geun-young discussed the future that Generative AI will change, including △the past, present, and future of GPT, △the current status of AI startups by sector, △the limitations of Open AI. He diagnosed the limitations, saying, "GPT will become a huge platform in the future," and pointed out, "However, for services utilizing GPT to emerge, specialized data is needed, and that level of data is mainly held by companies that do not easily provide it." Park Geun-young concluded his presentation by stating, "Internship or work experience are crucial assets for starting a startup." 

"Developing Problem-Solving Talent in the Era of Digital Transformation" - The 4th KUBS DT Day 2023   Hosted by Korea University Business School (Dean=Kim Sang Yong) and organized by the Center for Digital Transformation & Business (Director=Park Kyung Sam, hereafter CDTB), the 4th KUBS DT Day took place on November 10th (Friday) at the LG-POSCO Management Hall. KUBS DT Day is an event held to foster talent capable of solving problems in the era of Digital Transformation (DT) and to explore collaboration with industries and DT-related institutions. The event included activities such as, △MSBA Capstone Project showcase, and awards ceremony. The all-day-long event preceded in the order of △the final presentations of the Data Analytics for Business (DAB) competition, △General review and award ceremony, △MSBA Capstone Project showcase, and △General review and wrap-up.    Dean Kim Sang Yong emphasized the significance of the event in his opening speech, stating, "KUBS DT Day is the largest event conducted by the CDTB, a platform actively engaged in activities related to talent development in the era of digital transformation." He expressed hope that the event would be meaningful for those leading the Digital Transformation era.      During the morning session, the final presentations of the Data Analytics for Business (DAB) competition were held. The DAB competition focuses on discovering innovative business models using public or corporate data. The judging panel included CDTB Director Professor Park Kyung Sam and Business Analytics Program Coordinator Professor Lee Hyun Seok.    The final presentations featured projects such as △Timing Matters (Optimization of smart traffic signal flash cycle), △Let's Ride Together (Suggestions for increasing the convenience of public transportation for traffic-impaired individuals - Determining the priorities of where to introduce low-floor buses and designing routes for traffic-impaired buses using big data), △Jemechu (Recommendation service for recipes and ingredients based on AI model for object detection in refrigerator interior photos), △Would you like to move? (Personalized recommendation platform for alleviating local population decline and promoting residential population increase), and △Rain-Avoiding the sun (Establishment of a Seoul city shared umbrella rental system and platform site selection). Each team presented their findings, followed by feedback and Q&A sessions with the judging panel.      Following the final judging, an award ceremony was held. The encouragement award went to the teams "Timing Matters" (Jeong Ha-yoon, Lee Hyun-jeong, Lee Seung-min) and "Jemechu" (Song Tae-hoon, Kim Jong-hyun, Lee Jung-soo), the excellence award went to "Would you like to Move?" (Go Ye-bin, Shin Eun-byeol, Woo Yoon-gyu, Yoo Ho-jun, Cha Seung-eun) and "Rain-Avoiding the sun" (Kim Do-yoon, Kim Yu-jin, Han Ji-eun, Kim Hyun-moo), and the grand prize was awarded to "Let's Ride Together" (Kim Hee-jae, Jung Hyun-soo, Choi Jung-won, Hwang Sun-joo). The morning session concluded with a commemorative photo.      In the afternoon session, the public presentations of the MS in Business Analytics (MSBA) Capstone Projects began. The Capstone Project is a crucial part of the MSBA program, where students, instead of writing a thesis, work on developing a business model in collaboration with partner organizations. The presentations at DT Day were mid-term presentations, aimed at receiving feedback from advisory members to further develop the projects. Representatives from collaborating organizations such as △LG CNS, △LG Household & Health Care, △ELAND, △Korea Credit Information Services, △Kyobo Life Insurance, △Hyundai Motor, and △PwC Consulting attended.    The Capstone Projects included topics such as △Building a Customized Chatbot Using LLM for Corporate LG CNS Consulting Data CS Chatbot Service Development, △Marketing Strategy Proposal for 'The History of HU' Brand to Enter the Japanese “Department-cosmetic” Market - Based on Text Analysis of the Japanese Beauty Comprehensive Platform @COSME, △Analysis of Multiple Debt Risk for Vulnerable Borrowers, △Prediction of Delinquency and Support Measures for Small and Medium Enterprises through Analysis of Technology Finance Information, △Corporate Customer Characteristic Segmentation for Expanding Market Share in the Retirement Pension Market, △Reconstruction of the Distribution System of the Domestic SPA Fashion Brand SPAO - Using Machine Learning for Sales Forecasting Models, △The Impact of Blue Member Activities on Vehicle Purchase Decisions - Relationship Management Strategy Based on RFM Cluster, and △How can we maximize GPT’s creativity & usability in real-world marketing communications? - Focused on Advertising Production and UI/UX. Each team explored business problems presented by collaborating organizations, proposed strategies and models using real data, and outlined future analysis plans. After each team's presentation, representatives from collaborating organizations provided advice.      After the presentations, Professor Lee Hyun Seok concluded with remarks, stating, "After six months, you have overcome a significant hurdle with the mid-term presentation. I hope all teams achieve success until the end." Professor Park Kyung Sam expressed gratitude to the guiding professors and collaborating organizations for their efforts in the Capstone Project, concluding the event. The 4th KUBS DT Day came to a close with a commemorative photo. 

“In hope of more alumni spreading “good influence”... CeraArt Co., Ltd., Representative Eun Kyoung-Ah (KMBA ‘81) donating 100 million won to the KUBS Development Fund    On Thursday, November 9th, at the Main Building of Korea University (President=Kim Dong-One), the Development Fund Donation Ceremony of CeraArt Representative Eun Kyoung-Ah to the KUBS (Dean= Kim Sang Yong) took place. The ceremony, attended by President Kim Dong-One, Shin Hojung, Director of the External Cooperation Office, and Dean Kim Sang Yong, attended the occasion.    During this donation ceremony, Representative Eun Kyoung-Ah, who donated 100 million won to the KUBS Development Fund, mentioned the 2023 QS Business School Master's Program evaluation, stating, "Congratulations on the achievement of CEMS, in which Korea University Business School participated as a member school, ranking 11th in the world." She added, "I hope that Business School alumni, with a 'good influence' that can contribute to society through donation and sharing while making the world healthier with good products and services, will increase in number with an entrepreneurial spirit." In response, President Kim Dong-One expressed gratitude, saying, "I am thankful to Representative Eun Kyoung-Ah, who has been contributing to the development of Korea University through various means such as scholarships every year. Thanks to your precious support, I will do my best to ensure the further development of the Business School."      On another note, Representative Eun Kyoung-Ah, a member of the Korea MBA ‘81 class, founded CeraArt Co., Ltd., exporting 100% of globally recognized luxury brand customers and ceramic material components. She is actively engaged in various activities, serving in the areas of global, women, youth, education, and ESG through the Presidential Committee on Young Generation, the Presidential Committee on Youth, and the Regulatory Reform Committee. In recognition of her contributions, she received the Presidential Commendation in 2012 for 'Youth Entrepreneurship Spirit' and in 2017 for 'Merit in Promoting Venture Start-ups.'