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The Story Behind the Birth of the Choo Choo Entrepreneur Award The Startup Institute at Korea University Business School (KUBS) selects innovative and marketable business models through its biannual Startup Express Summer and Winter Seasons, organized by the Myung Ho Seung Entrepreneurship Education Center. Winners gain access to workspace, operational funding, and educational support. In 2024, the Choo Choo Entrepreneur Award was introduced during the Startup Competition, branded as Choo Choo Day. The award was established by the first cohort of the Startup Institute, including Ik Jung Kim, co-founder of Taling, and Young Kyung Kim, head of the Iljin Center for Startup Incubation. It reflects their dedication to nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs. To learn more, we spoke with Young Kyung Kim, one of the founding members of the cohort and an integral part of the award’s creation. Q: We heard you graduated from Korea University Business School. What kind of student were you during your undergraduate years? A: I didn’t start in the Department of Business Administration. Initially, I studied History but transferred to KUBS as a junior. Before transferring, I had a vague dream of starting a business. This was back in 2007, when the mobile market was still in its early stages. Seeing the growth of the web market, I thought about bringing offline fashion businesses online to create value. However, after transferring to KUBS, I set aside my entrepreneurial dreams and focused on developing logical thinking through my involvement in a strategy society. After graduation, I joined a large corporation. Q: What was life like working in a large corporation? A: As a business school graduate, I thought I’d be able to apply the knowledge I’d learned. But in reality, my tasks mostly involved preparing documents and writing emails. While these tasks had significance within the corporate ecosystem, I questioned their broader relevance. Over time, I grew bored and decided to quit. I didn’t plan to start a business right away; leaving was more of a leap of faith. During this time, I searched for inspiration through success stories. I vividly remember a lecture by Professor Ick-Soo Kim, who mentioned reverse-engineering the paths of successful people to uncover patterns. One example that stood out was Steve Jobs learning calligraphy in college, which influenced me to audit Professor Dae Il Nam’s course, New Venture Creation and Management. Q: That must have marked the start of your connection with Professor Dae Il Nam. A: Exactly. I emailed him, asking for permission to audit his class. He responded and invited me to his office. I nervously showed up, and his words still resonate: “If you’re going to be late even once, don’t bother attending. I’ll treat you as an equal student, not as an alumnus.” That class was transformative. For the midterm, we created and presented a business model, which reignited my entrepreneurial aspirations. Q: You later joined the first cohort of the Startup Institute. A: The program provided invaluable support. At the time, Facebook was the dominant social media platform. We created a debate series called Stocks Talk, featuring stock market enthusiasts from Korea University and Yonsei University. The content went viral and even secured Series B funding. The Startup Institute offered resources that were crucial for this success. We filmed the content at their facilities and received legal guidance from Kim & Chang on partnership agreements. It was the perfect environment to develop and refine our MVP (Minimum Viable Product), leveraging school resources to launch projects smoothly. Q: You later returned to school and established the Choo Choo Entrepreneur Award. A: The Choo Choo Entrepreneur Award isn’t just a donation; it’s an investment in future entrepreneurs. For the Startup Institute to grow into a premier incubator, it needs to attract and support strong teams with high potential. Competitions like Startup Express play a pivotal role in this process. The award aims to inspire these teams to surpass us and reinvest in the ecosystem. We’re confident that the teams supported by this award will one day return to invest in the program, creating a virtuous cycle of growth. Q: That’s a profound vision. A: Education, mentoring, and funding are the keys to entrepreneurial success. Besides providing initial funding, building meaningful relationships with founders is crucial for creating a sustainable startup ecosystem. “We must support startups through investment, not charity, so both the teams and the program can thrive.” Q: What does the Choo Choo Entrepreneur Award represent? A: It’s a spark of entrepreneurial energy. I hope it inspires many students to take on the challenge of starting their own ventures. Think of it as a “positive virus”—just as we talk about a “laughter virus,” I want this award to spread the entrepreneurial spirit. With the abundance of government support available today, I believe it’s an excellent time for students to start their entrepreneurial journey. Q: Do you have any advice for current or future cohorts? A: Korea University Business School students are among the top 1%, and with that comes a responsibility to innovate and embrace entrepreneurship. Don’t fear failure—while statistics like a 99.7% failure rate might seem daunting, the infrastructure and support available make entrepreneurship less intimidating. I urge students to take on the challenge with confidence and a sense of purpose.
2024.12.03국제실
Korea University Business School Concludes 2025 Spring Part-Time MBA Admissions The 2025 Spring Part time MBA admissions process at Korea University Business School, which offers Korea’s top MBA programs, has successfully concluded. The Business School hosted admissions briefings for the Korea MBA, Executive MBA, and Finance MBA programs, followed by online applications and document submissions from September 13 to October 11. The results of the document screening were announced on November 1, 2024. Interviews were held on November 9 for the Executive MBA, November 23 for the Finance MBA, and November 24 for the Korea MBA. After further deliberation, the final admission results will be announced on December 6, 2024. The Korea MBA, an integral part of the history of Korea University Business School, is designed for working professionals seeking continuous career development. To this end, the program employs diverse instructional methods such as discussions, presentations, and group projects. Students can select one of eight specialized concentrations—International Business, Marketing, Human Resources and Organization, Strategy, Finance, Accounting, LSOM (Logistics, Service & Operations Management), or MIS (Management Information Systems)—to build professional knowledge and competencies. The Executive MBA adopts a modular class format, where each module consists of intensive, short-term courses conducted over a two-week period. Classes are held for two weeks, followed by a one-week break. A semester typically includes 5 to 7 modules. The Finance MBA is a program designed to cultivate skilled and visionary financial professionals. True to its reputation as a finance-focused MBA, it offers a comprehensive curriculum covering all aspects of finance, featuring highlights such as an overseas field trip, special lectures on financial practices, and a CFA Program Partnership.
2024.12.02국제실
KUBS Challenge Case Competition: A Step Toward the Global Stage Korea University Business School (Dean: Eonsoo Kim) hosted the final round of the KUBS Challenge Case Competition on November 8 in Room 218 of the LG-POSCO Hall. The competition featured teams of four undergraduate students analyzing a given business case within 24 hours, preparing presentation materials and a video for the preliminary round, and delivering a live presentation with a Q&A session with judges in the final round for a comprehensive evaluation. This year's competition focused on the case of Helpseeker, a software company headquartered in Canada. Four teams—Crimson Consulting, Case Commanders, KU Tigers, and Insight4—participated. During the preliminary round, teams had 24 hours to analyze the case, create presentation materials, and produce videos, which were then evaluated. The same case was presented at the final round. The judging panel included Professors Tony Garrett, Jeunghyun Kim, and Kyuhong Han. As a result, the KU Tigers team, which won the Gold Award, earned the right to compete in the Sauder Summit Global Case Competition 2025 hosted by UBC Sauder School of Business. The Crimson Consulting team, awarded Silver, secured a spot in the UW Global Business Case Competition 2025 hosted by the University of Washington. Finally, the Bronze-winning Case Commanders team qualified for the John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition 2025 hosted by Concordia University.
Digital Transformation and K-Business Experience: BMI Global Immersion Program The EEC (Executive Education Center) at Korea University Business School invites prestigious universities worldwide to participate in its programs and offers various short-term courses. From October 21 to 25, the center hosted the BMI Global Immersion Program (hereafter referred to as "the Program") for students from Brussels ASBL EMBA, Belgium. This Program was conducted under the theme of "Digital Transformation and Innovations," with Professor Janghyuk Lee serving as the lead professor. The Program was structured around two main components: classes on Digital Transformation and Innovations, and site visits to domestic companies. The classes on Digital Transformation and Innovations included the following sessions: ▶ Doosan B2B Transformation (Taewon Park, Vice Chairman of Hancomm) ▶ Digital Customer Engagement (Professor Janghyuk Lee) ▶ Start-up Ecosystem in South Korea (CEO of Mark & Company) ▶ Digital Transformation: Theory and Practice (Professor Byung Cho Kim) ▶ Algorithm Literacy (Professor Gun Woong Lee) ▶ Global Scale-up (Gyu Bum Ko, CEO of Medit) The participants visited leading domestic companies, including Hyundai Motor Group’s ZER01NE and Hyundai Glovis, where they toured the facilities and attended special lectures. Additionally, they explored Korea’s K-food and K-pop industries through visits to CJ CheilJedang's Blossom Park and SM Entertainment.
KUBS Faculty News for October to November 2024 1. Professor Sang Yong Kim (Marketing) Professor Kim Sang Yong served as a peer review team member for AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) re-accreditation and conducted an on-site review at Chulalongkorn Business School in Bangkok, Thailand, from November 10 to 12. Professor Kim Sang Yong participated in this capacity as a former dean. 2. Professor Young Kyu Kim (Strategic Management) The Korean Strategic Management Society (KSMS), chaired by Professor Young Kyu Kim, held its Fall Academic Conference on November 8 at Hyundai Motor Hall and the LG-POSCO Building. Under the theme "Exploring Sustainable Growth Amid Uncertainty," the conference featured special sessions on "Corporate Growth through the Diffusion of Intrapreneurship" and "Sustainable Growth in the Entertainment Industry." Additionally, 21 papers in the field of strategic management were presented across six sessions. At the awards ceremony, alumnus Wook Je Cho, CEO of Yuhan Corporation, was honored as the recipient of the Korean Strategic Management Society Award.
2024.11.29국제실
Leveraging Data and AI to Solve Business Challenges: The 5th KUBS DT DAY Concludes Successfully On November 1, Korea University Business School (KUBS, Dean: Eonsoo Kim) hosted the 5th KUBS DT DAY at the LG-POSCO Hall. Organized by the Center for Digital Transformation & Business (CDTB, Director: Kyung Sam Park), the event showcased innovative ways to address business challenges using data and AI technologies. The day included the finals of the DAB (Data Analytics for Business) competition, a networking luncheon, and the presentation of capstone projects by MSBA (Master of Science in Business Analytics) students. The DAB competition invites teams to propose business solutions by analyzing data. This year, 12 teams participated, with five finalist teams presenting innovative solutions to address diverse business and societal challenges, including improving safety for vulnerable road users, promoting environmental sustainability, resource recycling, flood prevention, and enhancing spam detection systems. The Golden Navi team that won the competition developed a navigation system specifically for vulnerable road users, focusing on accident-prone areas in Seoul’s Songpa District. Their system provides safe routes to help reduce traffic accidents for this demographic. Addressing environmental sustainability, the Dolido team identified optimal locations for reusable cup return stations in Seoul. By analyzing population density and traffic flow, they proposed a profitable and efficient resource recycling system. The Urban Lock team reimagined public telephone booths as small parcel lockers. Their solution maximizes the use of underutilized urban spaces, promotes secondhand trading, and enhances urban safety. Tackling recurrent urban flooding, the Aqua Guardians team designed a system to predict high-risk flood zones using geographically weighted regression models. Their approach offers actionable insights for preventive measures and policy development. Leveraging large language models (LLMs), the Spam Opner team built an advanced spam detection system capable of identifying altered spam messages with special characters, addressing limitations in existing detection methods. After the competition, the luncheon brought together MSBA students, faculty advisors, and corporate partners to foster connections and discuss ongoing projects. Dean Eonsoo Kim emphasized the importance of collaboration between academia and industry, welcoming the participation of external experts and corporate representatives. Finally, the MSBA capstone projects serve as a substitute for traditional theses, allowing graduate students to tackle real-world business challenges using data provided by corporate partners. For 2024, seven companies, including Hyundai Motor Company, LG CNS, PwC Consulting, Woori Card, LG Household & Health Care, E-Land, and the Korea Credit Information Services, collaborated by supplying data and supporting regular interactions with their teams. Ten out of 11 project teams presented their mid-term findings, receiving constructive feedback from corporate partners to refine their final deliverables. Notable project topics included: Customer targeting to increase engagement through LMS messaging. Causal inference models for effectiveness analysis and visualization. Structuring image documents using Vision-Language Models (VLM). Advanced QA systems using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) with LLMs. Development of credit card recommendation algorithms targeting young parents. Forecasting optimal inventory levels to minimize supply risks for LG Household & Health Care. Product quality improvement strategies based on customer reviews of shampoos and body lotions. Deriving optimal discount rates using price elasticity analysis. Financial behavior analysis of foreign residents in Korea. Insights into insurance ownership and cancellations based on credit levels. Corporate representatives provided detailed feedback from a practical perspective to guide teams toward actionable solutions. Director of CDTB Kyung Sam Park expressed gratitude to the faculty, corporate partners, and students for their contributions to the event, which concluded with a group photo. As CDTB’s flagship event, DT DAY continues to inspire innovative uses of data and AI in addressing real-world challenges.
