Expanding Pohang’s Startup Network Nationwide
From Regional Beginnings to Metropolitan Connections
September Main Event to Foster a Privately Driven Startup Hub in Pohang
Pohang City, the Handong Corporate Business Group (headed by Lee Dongyoung), and Olive Studio (led by CEO Kim Jisung), a local company specializing in networking, are expanding Pohang’s flagship startup event from the region to the metropolitan area and extending its networking nationwide.
The "2025 Summer Networking Night," held on August 23 at Heyground in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, was hosted by Olive Studio. Speakers who had previously been invited to Yeongilman Startup Day participated again, continuing the connections that began in Pohang into the metropolitan area.
Pohang City held the "2025 Summer Networking Night," a side event of Yeongilman Startup Day, on the 23rd at Heyground in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. Photo by Pohang City
This event, which was designed for young people in their 20s interested in entrepreneurship and startups, carried special significance. Over 60 participants attended, including Kim Wootak, a designer at Tesla headquarters; Kim Kwanghyun, team leader at Patagonia Korea; Choi Dongcheol, CEO of Wadiz Impact; Lim Jungtaek, CEO of Hyangginaneunsaramdeul; Lee Dongyoung, head of the Handong University Corporate Business Group; as well as global experts, startup founders, investors, and university students from Pohang.
Participants shared their startup experiences and explored opportunities for collaboration through a variety of programs, including entrepreneur pitching, panel talks, and one-on-one mentoring.
In particular, it was noted as a rare case for a regional startup event that local university students and entrepreneurs were able to directly connect and achieve tangible networking and collaboration results with entrepreneurs and investors from the metropolitan area.
The 4th Yeongilman Startup Day, scheduled for September 20 in Pohang, has become the city’s representative startup networking event, drawing more than 1,000 domestic and international speakers and startup stakeholders over the past three years. This year, startup founders based in Pohang will gather in one place to actively promote nationwide startup collaboration, revitalize private investment, and foster a sustainable regional startup community.
A city official said, "It is a meaningful achievement that global experts and entrepreneurs from the metropolitan area have shown great interest in Pohang’s startup events," adding, "Through the main event in September, we will not only spread startup exchanges globally but also actively support Pohang’s leap forward as a privately driven startup hub."
For the past three years, Pohang City has continued to hold Yeongilman Startup Day to vitalize the startup ecosystem, building a startup network and providing participants with opportunities for exchange.
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