[2021 Startup Station Lecture #4] Ibookee "Housing Business for youths and Social Enterprises" The 4th special lecture of the 2021 Lecture Series, hosted by KUBS(Dean=Bae Johngseok) Startup Station(Director=Prof. Hojung Shin), was held on June 1st(Tue). The Lecture Series are part of the Entrepreneurship Academy program of the Seung Myeong-Ho Center for Entrepreneurship Education, an education institution within the Startup Station. Lectures are given by startup mentors who are working in the field. CEO of Ibookee, Lee Kwang Seo, gave an online lecture about housing business targeting youths and social enterprises.''   Ibookee is a startup that pursues social value in the housing business while refraining from get-rich-quick-ism of the real estate market. Mr. Lee introduced an apartment's idle community space that was remodeled into a children's library with facilities such as an auditorium and display room. The moto of Ibookee, facilitating sustainable activities by gathering people in a common space, started from this project.   Mr. Lee said, "social impact is at the heart of the money and fame that is made by corporate activity." Mr. Lee said that, while running the business, he felt exhilarated by the impact that a company can have on society. "An entrepreneur will always ponder about how a product or service will impact society, just like an artist that wants to deliver a message through his/her work," he said. Mr. Lee also emphasized that social enterprises should have an artistic mind that ponders about social impact.   Article | Hyejung Park (Department of Korean Language and Literature 19th)

“2021 Spring CHOO CHOO DAY” Ends Successfully, Full of Creative Ideas The “2021 Spring CHOO CHOO DAY,” organized by the KUBS (Dean=Jongseok Bae) Startup Station (Director=Hojung Shin), was held in the SBS Studio of Media Hall on May 14th. CHOO CHOO DAY is a Demo Day where startups from the KUBS Startup Station, that have been committed to startup for the past year, present their business models and visions. The 9th CHOO CHOO DAY event was broadcasted online through the KUBS Startup Station Youtube channel due to Covid19. Investors, to-be entrepreneurs, and startup associates participated through live chat.   Dean Jongseok Bae of Korea University Business School stated in his congratulatory speech that “Considering that a startup is a product of 3Cs (Creation, Collaboration, and Contribution), I am looking forward to their stories of hard work and effort.” He continued, “Since the ultimate goal of business management is to help everyone enjoy better lives altogether, we will continue to actively support young entrepreneurs in making their stories. Please look forward to our support.”         Next, the opening remarks of Director Prof. Jungbin Moon of “, the director of Iljin Center for Startup Incubation” followed. Director Moon emphasized that “All startup teams of KUBS Startup Station are continuing their progress, and such adaptiveness is the key to building a startup’s competitiveness.” He signaled the start of CHOO CHOO DAY by saying, “I send a big round of applause for the five teams who will present their business models to investors and accelerators today.”   Before beginning the presentations, CEO Ryunhwan Kwon of Petpeotalk (7th class of KUBS Startup Station, Iljin Center for Startup Incubator) gave a keynote speech. CEO Kwon mentioned, “I started a pet-related startup while I had a pet bird.” He then introduced Petpeotalk’s service, which provided pet CCTVs and an analytical system for the behaviors of pet dogs. He continued, “I didn’t know much about startup. However, after receiving an Award in the Startup Express event and joining the KUBS Startup Station, I could receive investments.” He encouraged the participating teams by saying, “I hope you show your strengths as university students and gain confidence.”         The five teams that participated in this year’s CHOO CHOO DAY were: △ “LIKENOT (CEO=Yerin Lee)”, which runs a bra shopping platform “Poola” based on AI body type analyzer △ “Collectors (CEO=Youngjae Jang),” a platform where people save and archive fashion images/sources △ “Popinbridge (CEO=Kibaek Song),” which uses collective intelligence to run music contents platform △ “Complexion (CEO=Chiho Park),” which runs a physical education service “OnSports” based on AI-powered posture sensor △ and “EDUMANAGER (CEO=Sungwoo Cho),” an automated service for analyzing students’ educational achievements in private sectors. All teams showed a short video clip introducing their business item and gave a presentation. Next, both offline panels and online participants were given time to ask questions.   CHOO CHOO DAY came to an end with a word of appreciation from the Director of KUBS Startup Station, Prof. Hojung Shin. Director Shin stated, “The current trend of startups is a cultural phenomenon as well as an economic one,” he continued, “I hope startups grow to function as space where many people can participate and communicate.” CEO Cho of EDUMANAGER, who participated in this event as one of the 9th CHOO CHOO startups, expressed his gratitude by saying, “Thanks to the five professors – Professor Hojung Shin, Professor Jungbin Moon, Professor Jaeho Chung, and Professor Jinkyu Park – who looked after us and gave positive feedbacks, our team could make progress and participate in this event.” CEO Yerin Lee of LIKENOT also said, “At first, I was quite anxious about participating in a big event like CHOO CHOO DAY. Still, we were able to end the event successfully thanks to the mentoring given by the professors of KUBS Startup Station.” She continued, “It was a very fruitful and meaningful experience.” CEO Chaeyoung Lee of Collectors, the last participating team, stated that “Although I hoped the event could take place offline, it was still very worthwhile since it is such a great event. I am looking very forward to upcoming CHOO CHOO DAYs that will take place after the end of Covid19.”     Article | Sangbong Chung (College of Political Science & Economics, Department of PSIR 17th) Photo | Serim Shin (College of Political Science & Economics, Department of Economics 18th)  

Implementation of talent-nurturing KUBS Concentration Track System   The Concentration Track System of Korea University Business School (Dean= Dr. Bae, Johngseok) took effect since last May 1st. KUBS established this system to respond to changes in the times and nurture creative talents that will lead our future society. The purpose is to provide demand-driven education to help students design and implement academic plans in a way that fosters knowledge and strengthens their capabilities in certain fields of study.   The Concentration Track System is composed of three areas: ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation’, ‘Business Analytics’, and ’Social Value & Sustainability in Business’.   ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ is a track that can foster capabilities as a startup leader with a challenge spirit and problem-solving skills and also as a member of an organization with a sense of sovereignty combined with entrepreneurship. It consists of a curriculum that emphasizes startup, innovation, and collaboration in conjunction with lectures and activities of the KUBS Startup Station.   'Business Analytics' is a track that can foster data-driven decision making capabilities that cover the collection, integration, analysis, and inference of data needed to support a company's rational decision making. It consists of a curriculum that comprehensively learns major processes of Analytics that lead to technical analysis, predictive analysis, and prescriptive analysis.   ‘Social Value & Sustainability in Business’ is a track that can foster an understanding of social values, social responsibility and sustainability based on management philosophy and corporate ethics, along with the economic value of pursuing profits. It consists of a curriculum that understands the importance of social values in corporate management and seeks various ways to pursue them.   Depending on the curriculum (accredited courses), a certificate of completion of the track will be issued once the required 18 credits are completed. Students in the Department of Business Administration (including those who are in Interdisciplinary Studies), and students of intensive major, double major and dual degree programs are eligible for application, and this is also applied to students who have taken the courses prior to the effective date. Certificates are awarded to those who are scheduled to graduate in August 2021 (including candidates) only after going through the deliberation of the concentration track certification.     Article | Management Support Team

[2021 Startup Station Lecture Series #3] BE THE SEED – “Startups are our companion” The third round of the 2021 Startup Station Lecture Series, hosted by KUBS (Dean=Jongseok Bae) Startup Station (Director=Hojung Shin), was held on May 4th. The Lecture Series is a program organized by the Entrepreneurship Academy of Seung Myung-ho Entrepreneurship Education Center, the educational department of Startup Station. Various Startup mentors are invited to give lectures in this series of events.   In this event, CEO Yuhwan Lee of BE THE SEED gave a lecture on the topic “Startup Accelerating and Investment Environment.” The lecture was broadcasted online due to Covid19.   BE THE SEED is a Company Builder that discovers, commercializes, and accelerates competent business ideas designed by entrepreneurs. Before joining BE THE SEED, CEO Yuhwan Lee had been working for a major company and went through two times of failure in starting a business. However, he mentioned that he was not interested in the stratup at the time he was a student at Korea University. He stated, “After graduation, I jumped into the world of startups while working for a company. As a result of several twists and turns, I finally joined BE THE SEED.”   CEO Lee added, “As a ‘Company Builder,’ BE THE SEED considers investment as a part of the whole development process. In other words, Company Builder doesn’t only invest money, but is more like a ‘companion’ to startups.” BE THE SEED discovers competent early-stage startups, thereby providing them customized development consulting in business areas such as branding, networking, advertisement, and operation. This enables them to attract seed investments that will help the startup gain stability. The major source of profit of BE THE SEED is the compensation for management and achievement that occurs in this process.   CEO Lee also introduced cases of failure and success that he experienced while he was involved in Company Building. He explained how in one case, the absence of a leader and conflicting ideas among members caused a failure even before they started operating. On the other hand, “Hong Madam,” a brand of BE THE SEED, was introduced as a successful case where they were able to gain profit and benefit from advertisement effect through Instagram Live.   As a startup mentor, CEO Lee advised on what to expect when starting a business. He mentioned the pros and cons of partnership, as well as how hierarchy is organized in a team. Also, he stated that startups should think about why they need to start a business, and how they will operate a business.   Moreover, he explained the factors to consider when choosing a business item, the difference between a general business and a startup, and the point of differentiation of BE THE SEED. A Q&A session followed. CEO Lee concluded the lecture by comparing business to a “fight,” stating that “It’s not that the stronger one survives; the one who survives is the stronger.”   Article | Sunwoo Lee (School of Media & Communication 18th) Photo | KUBS Startup Station

Celebrating the 116th Anniversary of the Foundation of Korea University and KU Alumni Day – KUBS makes itself proud The 116th Anniversary of the Foundation of Korea University and KU Alumni Day was held in Inchon Memorial Hall on Wednesday, May 5th. Jongho Lee, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, moderated the ceremony, and many faculty members and alumni attended the event. The event strictly followed COVID-19 guidelines such as wearing facial masks and limiting the number of participants.   Professor Mannsoo Shin of KUBS received the Long Service Award, and Professor Wooseok Choi received the Seok-Top Excellence in Teaching Award as a representative. Moreover, Assistant Manager Dooran Park of KUBS Administration Office received the Long Service Award, and staff Yoonyoung Kim received the Staff Achievement Award.          Jaeho Kim, the Board Chair, welcomed all Korea University members by saying that “When all members of KU pull together, we can overcome the difficulties caused by COVID-19 and raise ourselves to become the best educational institute with global competitiveness.”   Jintaek Chung, the President of Korea University, also stated in the opening speech that “Korea University took the lead in overcoming the difficulties that our country and people currently face, with its upright and strong spirit.” “We will do our very best so that Korea University will be recognized as a university that brings positive changes to the world, not one that runs after the changes,” he continued.   Jayeol Koo, the President of KU Alumni Association, mentioned in the congratulatory speech that “KU Alumni Association, with its strong connection among graduates, will always work hard to show unstinting love and support for its alma alter.” “We wish Korea University eternal progress and wish all KU family members happiness,” he said.   In the event, KU members were awarded △Long Service Award △Seok-Top Excellence in Teaching/Research/Technology Award △Staff Achievement Award △Achievement Award for KU Development △KU Pride Club Award △Alumni Achievement Ward △Commendation Award for Exemplary Department △Alumni Academic Award △Community Service Award △Proud KU Alumni Award and more.     Article and Photo | Hyejung Park (College of Liberal Arts, Department of Korean Language and Literature 19th)

CDTB Colloquium, “Digitalization is the key to a successful business in the future” CDTB Colloquium, hosted by the Center for Digital Transformation & Business (CDTB) of KUBS (Dean=Bae, Johngseok), was held on Friday, April 30. Sehoon Min, the Senior Managing Director of Deloitte Consulting, was invited as the speaker and gave a speech on the topic “How will the company’s challenge shape my future career?” The lecture was hosted both online and offline under the governments’ COVID-19 guidelines.   Senior Managing Director Min started the lecture by introducing the role of the Analytics & Cognitive Department that he is part of. The Analytics & Cognitive Department provides various companies with a decision-making tool that enables advanced digitalization.   Next, he spoke about “the perspective on the new era” as a business consultant. He stated that “Now is the time for a transition from the Linear World to the Exponential World.” He continued, “As newly founded companies are quickly reducing the time necessary to produce meaningful value, companies that are stranded in the past are easily outperformed by its successors.”            Senior Managing Director Min pointed out Amazon, Uber, and Airbnb as examples of companies that took powerful control of the market in a short period of time. The commonality among these companies is that they chose the Platform Business Model. He further explained that Digital Transformation (DT) is necessary in order for companies that focus on traditional physical assets to transition into such an innovative business model. He stated that this is “a process of digital-based efforts by companies with physical assets to make their business worthwhile in the future.”   Min mentioned that “The most important thing in a company’s DT is ‘transforming both the business and the organization at the same time.’” He continued, “Even if the company introduces a new, innovative Information Technology (IT), no actual change will take place if the organizational management does not transform accordingly.”   The process of establishing a business strategy in a business consulting firm has also changed, following this trend. According to Min, “The traditional method was to establish a To-be Goal and set up a procedural roadmap.” “However, we now set a long-term goal in the bigger picture, identify smaller short-term goals, and then run Trial & Error to reflect the experience of success and failure into the final system,” he said.           When giving advice on starting a career in the digital transformation era, he stressed the importance of “coming up with one’s own methodology.” He suggested that students should check whether they ▲ have an understanding of new technologies and changes in paradigm they bring about ▲ are ready for the exponential growth, which involves thinking and experiencing, rather than traditional linear growth, which requires building knowledge ▲ have an understanding of “diversity” and “inclusion,” which are values required in the digital platform era.   Meanwhile, KUBS has established CDTB in 2019 to act as a platform that connects the education, research, and industry, while leading digital transformation in the field of education and research. CDTB has been hosting many special lectures since then.     Article | Hyejung Park (College of Liberal Arts, Department of Korean Language and Literature ’19) Photo | Serim Shin (College of Political Science & Economics, Department of Economics ’18)