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Busan’s Leading Global Startup Event, “BOUNCE 2025,” to Be Held in September

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will host “BOUNCE 2025,” Busan’s leading global startup event that connects the regional startup ecosystem, on September 22–23 at BEXCO.

Now in its ninth year, this event will be co-hosted with the “Asia Startup Expo, FLY ASIA 2025.” Accordingly, it is expected to attract extensive participation from local startups aspiring to expand globally, as well as major corporations, mid-sized companies, and investment firms with keen interest in such opportunities.

A wide range of programs will take place at BEXCO Exhibition Hall 1, including conferences, corporate investment presentations, one-on-one meetings, open innovation showcases, and networking events.

The event is jointly hosted by Busan Metropolitan City and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and organized by the Busan Center for Creative Economy and Innovation.

This year’s “BOUNCE 2025” will focus on “connection with regional strategic industries,” with particular emphasis on Busan’s future strategic sector, “Smart Ocean,” while significantly expanding opportunities for collaboration and networking with startups.

At the newly introduced “Smart Ocean Specialized Booth,” participating institutions—including Korea Maritime & Ocean University, Busan Port Authority, and the Research Institute of Medium & Small Shipbuilding—will hold regular meetups on topics such as marine R&D, technology transfer, and startup support policies.

The “Conference” will cover diverse themes such as Smart Ocean, investment, open innovation, global expansion, and university startups, with experts from the domestic and international startup ecosystem presenting case-based insights.

In a departure from conventional formats, sessions will adopt an “unconference” style, encouraging interactive talks and panel discussions between speakers and the audience instead of one-sided presentations.

The “Meetup” program will feature private one-on-one sessions, with participation from 20 large and mid-sized companies (including NAVER Cloud, DRB, and Lotte Construction) and 26 investment firms, resulting in over 300 meetups focused on open innovation.

A newly established networking session will allow participants without prior reservations to freely exchange business cards and build on-site connections.

The event will also expand on-site engagement programs, including a “Global Office Hour,” where experts from Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, and other countries will provide mentoring to support startups seeking global expansion.

Additional side programs will include collaboration events with local startups, popup booths for “Early Startup Package” companies, and information booths introducing university-led projects.

Pre-registration is available free of charge for all participants, including startup ecosystem stakeholders and the general public, via the official website (bswbounce.com) until September 9. Further details on the event are also available on the official website.

Jin-soo Lee, Director General of Financial Startup Policy at Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “We will do our utmost to foster cooperation and connection with international startup ecosystems so that Busan can leap forward as a ‘Global Startup Hub City’ beyond Asia,” and added, “We ask for the enthusiastic interest and participation of startup stakeholders in BOUNCE 2025.”