Busan is good

‘Startup City in Asia, Busan’ – Joint Initiative by City and Universities through the Busan-U Startup Package

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) and Pusan National University (President Choi Jae-weon) announced that they are now accepting applications for the “2025 Busan-U Startup Package” (hereinafter referred to as the “U-Package”), a program designed to promote technology-based startups from universities through collaboration among local governments, universities, and public and private organizations.

The U-Package is a university entrepreneurship program that develops startup talent by offering a structured, stage-based system in which Busan City, local universities, and support organizations combine their capabilities to connect participants to real-world business opportunities.

This year’s U-Package is linked to the launch of the “Busan-type RISE” project and aims to achieve tangible results such as increasing the university-based startup rate by 20%, which is one of the project’s key performance indicators. To achieve this, Busan City is working in close partnership with Pusan National University and five specialized support organizations.

Pusan National University, designated by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups as the Startup Hub University for the Southeast region, will serve as the lead institution for the U-Package beginning this year.

The program will be implemented in collaboration with the following organizations:

• ●Busan Startup Investment Agency

• ●Korea Business Angels Association (Southeast Angel Investment Hub)

• ●Google for Startups

• ●V-SPACE (a specialized lab)

• ●Korea Startup Forum

These institutions will combine their expertise to provide education, business model advancement, technology verification, and network expansion as part of an integrated program.

Seven-Stage Program Structure

This year’s U-Package has been upgraded to a comprehensive seven-stage system designed to support the commercialization of promising technologies:

• ●Practical Training
  Participants will undergo experience-based training, including startup management simulations to refine ideas and hands-on maker sessions with V-SPACE.

• ●Networking

• ○Technology Workshop: Hands-on workshops featuring AI and cloud experts organized in collaboration with Google for Startups.

• ○Mentor-Mentee Networking: Teams will be matched with early-stage startups, providing opportunities to learn from experienced entrepreneurs and expand their networks.

• ●Business Model Advancement (BM Enhancement)
  Conducted in collaboration with the Busan Startup Investment Agency, all teams will receive one-on-one consulting to improve their business models. After business plan evaluations, 20 top teams will advance to the next stage.

• ●Technology Verification
  This stage is tailored to each team’s item and operates under two tracks—Digital and Manufacturing. It consists of a three-step process:

• ○Design Review

• ○Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Development

• ○Functionality Verification
  The 20 selected teams will each receive up to KRW 10 million in commercialization funding.

• ●IR (Investment Pitch) Competition
  In partnership with the Korea Business Angels Association’s Southeast Angel Investment Hub, ten teams selected after the technology verification phase will compete in an IR pitch competition.

• ○The top team will receive the Busan Mayor’s Award.

• ○All ten teams will be invited to participate in a global startup camp.

• ●Investment Linkage
  The top ten teams from the first-year cohort that have registered their business entities will receive support to connect with investors.

• ○Teams will be recommended to the “Busan Future Growth Venture Fund” and can join the Korea Business Angels Association’s “Angel Investment Bridge Program.”

• ○Additional opportunities include investor meetups during major startup events like FLY ASIA.

Application Eligibility and Deadline

Startup teams (with two or more members) from universities or graduate schools in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region with a technology-based business idea are eligible.
This year, the program will recruit 50 teams, expanding from last year’s 38 teams in Busan alone.
Applications are open until June 9 and can be submitted via:

• ●Busan Startup Portal

• ●K-Startup Portal (Ministry of SMEs and Startups)

Lee Jun-seung, Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs, remarked:

“We are delighted to launch the 2025 Busan-U Startup Package with enthusiastic participation from many institutions to foster top university talent into future entrepreneurs.
As this marks the first year of the RISE initiative, we will continue strengthening Busan’s startup ecosystem through robust cooperation between the city and universities.”