Panel discussion at the 1st Local Startup Festa in Jeju explores how local businesses can drive regional economies
Local firms must grow in ways that benefit their communities, speakers say
Designing place-based experiences is where local entrepreneurs outshine big companies
Panelists see major opportunities ahead for local businesses
"Local entrepreneurs must turn their regions into new travel destinations."
Park Jun-gyu, CEO of Surfybeach, made the call Wednesday at a panel discussion held during the 1st Local Startup Festa in Jeju at the Sheraton Hotel in Jeju.
"The era when government agencies had to build tourist attractions before visitors would come is over," Park said. "Local entrepreneurs must use diverse, place-rooted businesses to turn their regions into travel destinations."
Local startups need business models that contribute to regional economies
Park noted that the travel industry underwent a fundamental shift around July 2014, when Instagram hashtags emerged as a force in shaping where people go. "Even a place with nothing to offer can become a new travel destination if you create just one leisure or experiential space," he said.
He pointed to Surfybeach, the brand he founded, as a prime example. Built around a beach near Hajodae in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon Province, Surfybeach combines surfing, marine leisure and cultural content into a local brand. Through surf lessons, a beach bar, performances and festivals, it played a major role in putting Yangyang on the map as one of South Korea's leading surf tourism destinations.
"Yangyang used to be just a road you passed through on the way to Gangneung or Sokcho," Park said. "I started Surfybeach with the idea of bringing something new to Korean beaches, which had offered nothing but beach umbrellas and inflatable tubes for 40 or 50 years."
On government support for local businesses, Park said it was only fair that entrepreneurs receive public funding when their ventures genuinely benefit the community. He particularly stressed the importance of building a business model that contributes to the local economy while navigating the so-called "death valley" — the grueling early phase of establishing a foundation and winning customers.
Local businesses create new commercial opportunities by drawing on a region's distinctive natural environment and culture. The government, recognizing that the growth of individual firms can draw tourists and revitalize surrounding commercial districts, has been stepping up support for local startups as a new engine of regional economic growth.
"I believe that fair local entrepreneurship means that once you launch a business and survive the death valley, you give back to the region," Park said. "If that happens, a local startup could itself become a kind of 'festa.'"
'Designing local experiences is where entrepreneurs beat big companies'
Mo Jong-rin, a Yonsei University professor who also attended the panel, weighed in on the growth potential of local industries, using singer Lee Hyo-ri's moves to and from Jeju Island as a lens. "Lee Hyo-ri relocated to Jeju Island in 2013, and around that time the island's population began to grow — a phenomenon people started calling 'Jeju migration,'" Mo said. "When Lee left Jeju in 2024, people began saying the island had lost its old charm."
Mo said Korean society began drifting back toward materialism around 2017. "Seoul real estate prices surged and interest in asset investment soared, strengthening a preference for Seoul over the regions," he said.
He added that the expansion of online markets has put pressure on offline industries across the board, making it hard to call the environment for local businesses truly favorable. Still, he said it was encouraging that local firms had accumulated diverse experience and built a track record of success stories.
Mo also cited growing government support for local startups as a factor boosting their prospects. "Local entrepreneurship was included in the previous administration's national policy agenda, and the current government is actively supporting it as well," he said.
He particularly highlighted the ability to offer place-specific experiences as a key competitive edge for local businesses. "Ultimately, we are people who design customers' time and experiences," Mo said. "Designing experiences rooted in a place is an area where local entrepreneurs can outperform large companies."
"As the experience economy grows in importance, the future of the retail industry will also point toward local," he added. "I believe bigger opportunities are coming for local businesses."
Meanwhile, panelists also raised the need for workforce support to help local businesses scale further. Yang Je, CEO of Medals, a Jeju-based citrus brand, said talent recruitment was such a pressing concern that the company had opened a Seoul office just to access a wider pool of candidates. "We need a foundation for cultivating talent region by region," Yang said.
boo@heraldcorp.com
