Opening of Dongjak-gu Startup Development Center Express

Equipped with Startup Cafe, Collaborative Creation, and Makers Education Spaces on 1st to 3rd Floors... Pilot Operation This Month, Full Operation from March... Collaboration with University Students by Major Fields

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) has opened the youth startup culture space ‘Startup Development Center Express’ (hereinafter referred to as Startup Development Center) and will conduct a pilot operation this month, followed by full-scale operation starting in March.

‘Startup Development Center Express’ (Heukseok-dong 207-10) is a shared space created as part of the Chung-Ang University comprehensive campus town project, where (prospective) entrepreneurs, startups, and residents can share startup ideas and create prototypes in collaboration with university professionals.

The district completed remodeling for the Startup Development Center starting from May last year and finished renovations last month.

With a total floor area of 240㎡ across three floors, it consists of ▲1st floor: meeting rooms and startup cafe for interaction ▲2nd floor: training rooms and shared creative spaces ▲3rd floor: makers education and prototype production spaces.

Makers education refers to experience-based training where participants directly create various forms of outcomes from their ideas and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills during the process.

The Startup Development Center offers solid programs including ▲active exchange of startup ideas ▲more than 40 makers education sessions for technology convergence ▲startup support mentoring.

Going forward, the district plans to establish an operation plan for the Startup Development Center in cooperation with Chung-Ang University, linking university students from various majors who have both educational and equipment utilization capabilities, to build a forward base for youth startups.

Additionally, since February last year, the district has been operating the ‘Youth Startup Support Center’ (Sangdo-ro 47agil 44-1) to provide a startup hub space for local youth.

The center is equipped with coworking spaces, meeting rooms, and dedicated startup incubation staff, and through tailored programs for each startup cycle, systematic management, and professional consulting, a total of 130 youth and startup companies participated in seven programs.

2nd Floor Shared Creative Space

Park Beom-jin, Head of Strategic Projects Division, said, “We hope that through the operation of Startup Development Center Express, young people can nurture their dreams of entrepreneurship,” adding, “We will continue to provide unwavering support so that Dongjak Campus Town Belt can grow from youth education to employment and startup.”

Following Soongsil University’s selection as a target for the Seoul City comprehensive campus town project in December last year, the district will invest 10 billion KRW over the next four years to develop the Soongsil Dongjak Startup Campus and conduct startup fostering programs.