During the event, which was jointly held by the World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Association and Yonhap News Agency to help young South Korean businessmen and women, innovative business ideas were shared including Kim’s VR-based room escape cafés as well as the Atlanta-based runner-up team’s ‘Korea Shared’, a service designed to help South Korean businesses branch out into the U.S. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – Shanghai-based South Korean businessman Kim Hae-soo has won this year’s ‘Next Generation Rising Venture Conference’ with his business of virtual reality-based room escape cafés.
During the event, which was jointly held by the World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Association and Yonhap News Agency to help young South Korean businessmen and women, innovative business ideas were shared including Kim’s VR-based room escape cafés as well as the Atlanta-based runner-up team’s ‘Korea Shared’, a service designed to help South Korean businesses branch out into the U.S.
Kim, who won the venture competition, says his VR room escape cafés tackles the commonly faced issue of having to renovate the room frequently, as customers who visit once and successfully escape a room often don’t return to the same business establishment.
Kim’s VR game rooms allow owners to change the setting often, and for a much lower financial outlay, without having to change the interior design of the café every three to six months.
The aspiring businessman is hopeful his business idea will prevail in the Chinese market, where more than 4,000 room escape cafés are already in operation around the country.
“Our products have already been introduced at some of the room escape cafés located in Beijing and Dalian. We plan to work together with VR arcades in Nanjing and are looking to receive an angel investment of up to six billion won,” Kim said with ambition.
Kim, who was also a beneficiary of a different World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Association’s business support scheme in 2008, is scheduled to receive a trophy during the closing ceremony of the event on Wednesday.
Another team based in the city of Atlanta in the U.S ranked second with its business model ‘Korea Shared’, a service offering help in various fields for South Korean startup companies with plans for a foray into the U.S. market, including consulting and information regarding housing and local staff.
Shanghai-based South Korean businessman Kim Hae-soo has won this year’s ‘Next Generation Rising Venture Conference’ with his business of virtual reality-based room escape cafés. (Image: FUN VR)
Lee Myung-hwa came third in the competition with a vision for a game studio dedicated to helping small South Korean mobile game makers branch out into the Chinese market, with plans to focus on low spec games targeting low-end smartphone users who make up over 50 percent of the Chinese smartphone user base.
The top three contestants will also receive venture capital for their ideas from the World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Association.
M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
Congratulation to escape cafe.