SMEs Ministry: "Supporting Youth to Grow into Future Entrepreneurs"

'2025 Youth Bizcool Festival' to Be Held

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that the 2025 Youth BizCool Festival will be held for three days from October 27 to 29 at KINTEX in Ilsan, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The Youth BizCool Festival, which has been held annually since 2007, is the largest youth entrepreneurship festival in Korea. The event aims to share the achievements of the BizCool program with schools, parents, and the general public, and to promote a culture of entrepreneurship that is friendly to startups.

This year, under the theme "Value in Youth," the festival will focus on showcasing the values and potential of young people. The event will facilitate exchanges and networking among various stakeholders, including experienced entrepreneurs, startup support organizations, and BizCool youth participants. More than 20,000 young people from 82 schools are expected to take part.

Noh Yongseok, Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of the 2025 BizCool Festival held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on the 28th. Ministry of SMEs and Startups

During the festival, exhibition halls and related events will be open at all times. The exhibition halls include: the "School Hall," which displays BizCool achievements from the past year; the "Startup Square," for communication and hands-on experiences with startups with innovative ideas; the "Makers Hall," where attendees can try making prototypes; the "Alumni Village Hall," which introduces successful startups founded by BizCool alumni and provides insights into career paths and entrepreneurship; the "Exciting Zone," where visitors can experience technologies and products based on Fourth Industrial Revolution fields such as artificial intelligence and immersive media; and the "Entrepreneurship Hall," where visitors can take competency assessments and easily understand the spirit of entrepreneurship. Side events include "Stage Up," where students pitch their startup ideas and receive feedback from experienced entrepreneurs, as well as a mentoring program that matches startup founders with young participants.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups also presented awards to individuals who have made significant contributions to youth entrepreneurship education. Among those recognized were Han Gyucheon and Kim Jingu, teachers who served as authors of the youth entrepreneurship textbook; 13 outstanding teachers in entrepreneurship education; 5 outstanding students; and Gong Myeonghyeon, principal of Samgoe High School, the first school to introduce the entrepreneurship textbook, as well as four others in the field of educational support.

Noh Yongseok, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, stated, "The free imagination and fearless spirit of challenge among young people are the seeds of innovation. Through a variety of BizCool programs, we will spare no effort to support youth so they can grow into future entrepreneurs."