Startup's Grand Vision Takes Flight Globally with Support from Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)

Korea Creative Content Agency Supports Accelerator Co-Growth Project - ② ICT Convergence
Korean Tutoring Service 'SallangKorea' & Immersive Content English Learning 'Marvelous'

Sallang Korea participated in the Guangzhou Technology Expo and achieved meaningful results.

One out of three domestic startups closes within a year of founding. Of the remaining two, one does not survive beyond five years. The average time it takes for a surviving company to be listed on KOSDAQ is 14 years. They endlessly wander between happiness and emptiness. There is a helping hand. Support ranges from development funding programs to office provision and personnel expenses. However, becoming accustomed to convenience can lead to a loss of self-sustainability. There is also a gap between business plans for support and what private investors and customers want. Since 2017, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) has launched the Content Accelerator Co-Growth Project for effective support. By utilizing private expertise, it discovers startups and supports strengthening their capabilities, creating results, and attracting investment through abundant mentorship. Thirty companies were selected through three accelerators. We explore their current status divided into media, information and communication technology (ICT) convergence, and platforms.

Sallang Korea is an online Korean tutoring service provider. It offers real-time Korean language class-related content to foreigners. It started in 2016 with a capital of 5 million KRW. CEO Lee Gwangheon hopes that many foreigners will take an interest in Korean culture through effective education. His grand vision is materializing through KOCCA and Y&Archer’s ‘Esthetec Program.’ After attracting pre-Series A investment, he is concretizing the business from a long-term perspective. CEO Lee said, “We pay attention not only to sales but also to management,” adding, “Especially, we are focusing on managing customer data intensively to lay the foundation for new business models.”

The most important aspect of the tutoring service is the satisfaction of both consumers and providers. CEO Lee stated, "Verification and advice on the business model were necessary." "With the help of KOCCA and Y&Archer, I was able to meet top experts in this field and set the right direction. Effective solutions were also provided in finance, marketing, and investment." The results exceeded expectations. Sallang Korea’s sales last year were 700 million KRW, growing more than 50% compared to the previous year. Various attempts, such as segmenting existing teaching methods, proved effective. CEO Lee said, "We have laid the foundation for pioneering new markets such as Vietnam and India." "As Korean was selected as a second foreign language in India, visits from locals have increased. We plan to seize opportunities with various programs this year."

New target customers also include Korean foreigners. Customized education will be provided to those born overseas who want to learn Korean. CEO Lee said, “Demand from elementary and middle school students is higher than expected,” adding, “We plan to greatly expand the market with programs tailored to their level.” "As the Korean Wave spreads worldwide, the number of people wanting to learn Korean is increasing. I want to contribute even a little to sustaining their interest."

Marvelous, another beneficiary of the ‘Esthetec Program,’ is also focusing on customer acquisition this year. With immersive content and emotional artificial intelligence (AI) technology leading the way, they expect to secure more than 50,000 customers this year. Their core program is ‘Speakit,’ which provides a learning environment that feels like conversing locally through virtual reality. CEO Lim Sera founded the company in 2015 with a capital of 20 million KRW and developed the program.

Marvelous has participated in many accelerating programs. Among them, KOCCA and Y&Archer have been like mentors providing a foothold for a leap forward. CEO Lim said, "Mentoring allowed us to diagnose the overall status and identify weaknesses." "At the ‘Investor Relations (IR) Demo Day,’ we received feedback from venture capitalists (VCs) that helped us improve many aspects. We are also discussing investment attraction with VCs."

Another leap was aided by the newly developed engine ‘MEE.’ It recognizes facial and voice changes through cameras and microphones on mobile, tablet, and PC devices and reflects them in the content. It enhances communication and response capabilities in immersive content use, enabling emotional feedback. CEO Lim said, "Through the ‘Esthetec Program,’ we were able to clearly organize the core competencies and technology of ‘MEE.’" "We gained confidence by achieving good results in the business plan presentation. The business model was established to expand the proportion of stable subscription-based sales in the sales projection."

Marvelous recorded a 213% year-over-year sales growth last year. From the new product launched at the end of last year alone, they attracted more than 10,000 monthly subscription paying members. They also supplied ‘MEE’ on a monthly subscription basis to a well-known platform. This year, they will strengthen AI development and focus on advancing core technologies. Through this, they plan to massively acquire customers and triple their sales.

CEO Lim also dreams of a great workplace. Last year, mentoring from KOCCA and Y&Archer reminded him of the importance of internal organizational culture. He said, "We created a ‘culture deck’ and completely revamped the personnel system, which resulted in high satisfaction and positive responses," and expressed his ambition as follows: "With the single-minded goal of providing quality jobs, I will grow the company into a startup that young people want to join."