Business Support Program 1 - Entrepreneurial Support for the Women with Career Breaks

South Korea has been experiencing a movement fighting for gender equality. There are many supports programs for women with career breaks in Gyeonggi.

It has been long known for a fact that many women go through a natural disadvantage in their career, especially if they decide to go through childbirth. In Korea, one in three women experience these abrupt cut-offs due to childbirth or childcare. In the recent 2019 survey on women’s career disconnection published by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the average age a woman experiences a career break is 28.4 years and thereafter, it takes an average time of 7.8 years to get a job again. On top of this, women take a pay-cut of an average 270,000 won or 223 USD or in other cases, a 15% pay-cut.

These women, who wish to enter the market again after a break in their career as a member of society struggle. This is why the famous Korean novel “82-year-old Kim Ji-young” garnered so much support and love from these ‘Kyungdan Girls’. The words ‘Kyungdan Girls’ is derived from the Korean words “Kyungryeok Danjeol Yeoseong” which means women with a break in their career.

Lee Kyeong-ju the CEO of YOYO Interactive Corp. ⓒ경기뉴스광장  

How to get back on your feet?

Step 1: Reduce trial and error with pre-training on start-ups

The CEO of Yoyo Interactive Co. Ltd., Lee Kyung Ju, successfully transformed herself from a Kyungdan Girl due to pregnancy and childbirth to a start-up CEO in the field of AR & VR. As the CEO of a 5-year start-up, she says that there is much to say to women who are currently in the same situation she was in 5 years ago.

“It is unfortunate that many talented women have to give up their jobs due to pregnancy, childbirth and parenting,” she said. “I suddenly found myself starting a business while I was looking for a new job. There was a lot of trial and error in the process, but as it is now the fifth year, we know how to run the business well.”

Gyeonggi-do free “Business Start-up Education”

The Gyeonggi-do Jobs Foundation provides free start-up education for residents and foundation companies interested in starting a business. This project is for any hopeful start-up founders in the province who are unable to participate in education due to regional limitations.

Promotional Marketing, Start-up Procedures and Commercial Analysis, Writing a Business Plan, are some of the basic information and hands-on training provided to aspiring business owners to create and plan a business.

Education will be held from April to September in the provinces Gwacheon, Siheung, Yeoju, Gunpo, Goyang, Gimpo, Yangpyeong, and Seongnam.

Step 2: Make the most of the Start-up Support Project

“Start-ups have to watch the game closely within the first two years. You have to receive investments or you have to finish product development. That’s why you need to make the most out of the Start-up Support Project, which only helps start-ups in their beginning phase.”

Lee, who was the CEO since 2015, advised that if it’s a start-up in the early phase, it will actively utilize various start-up support programs and government-funded projects.

"Startups at the start line should take advantage of support programs from the government" said Ms. Lee ⓒ경기뉴스광장

“We were able to receive many different training guidance necessary for the operation of the company, such as the creation of the business plan, hiring employees and advice for the company’s growth through the support program. It Is a strong shield for a notice CEO who has just entered the start-up market.”

Yoyo Interactive Co., Ltd started the Children’s Museum of the Yongsan War Memorial Museum in Seoul in 2015, the Jamsa Insect Museum of the National Academy of Agricultural Science, and the Gijang-gun Childcare Support Center in Busan in 2016, Andong Confucian Land, etc during the first two years of its founding.

“The first two years from foundation is precious and it serves as the foundation for the company to grow,” she said. “If you want to grow a company properly, you should spend this time wisely.”

Korea’s first female entrepreneurship platform ‘Dream Floor’

Gyeonggi-do runs ‘Dream Floor’, a women-only start-up platform for female entrepreneurs in the Gyeonggi region. The Dream Floor, located in the north and south sections of Gyeonggi-do Job Foundation Women’s Competency Development Headquarters, is a free-to-use platform that can be used by anyone interested in starting a business in the region.

In addition to supporting entrepreneurial infrastructure via common office space and various meeting rooms, professional entrepreneurship managers are available to support entrepreneurs such as start-up counselling, special lectures, and field visits.

Step 3: Stand tall through selection and concentration

“After the third year, it is no longer a company in the early phase. Without the benefits provided, it is time to make careful selections and focus completely.” CEO Lee emphasized that as the benefits decrease after they have fallen out of the eligibility criteria, the mind-set of the representatives who run the company has to change. 

Oftentimes, the 3 to 7 years after the beginning of a start-up is called the ‘death valley’.

“In the market, companies that have been around for more than three years are more meticulously checked and verified,” said Lee.

The strategy that Lee chose to overcome the valley of death is ‘selection and concentration’. 

YOYO Interactive Corp. produces 'VR wing' a hands-on flight simulator ⓒYOYO Interactive Corp.

In the first or second year, although a variety of projects were conducted for performance and experience, a field needs to be chosen from the third year onward to pursue and determine the company’s expertise.

“I decided to move to the defence and education field with the thought of securing the expertise of Yoyo Interactive,” she added. “We focused on reinforcing the technology and content of the company.”

As a result, it produced significant achievements such as the Seoul City Bamseom Eco-Experience AR & VR Center, where people can learn about earthquake safety through ‘Super Shock’, and the Gwacheon Drone Racing World Cup augmented reality T-shirt.

Lastly, Lee said to those who are preparing to start a business, “Simply starting a business is not a difficult task. We need to increase the probability of success through various entrepreneurship education and support programs.”

Lee, who has succeeded in the start-up business through the education and support programs offered by the Gyeonggi-do Jobs Foundation in 2015, shares her experience with prospective entrepreneurs through case-sharing workshops and start-up lectures.

2020 Women’s Entrepreneurial Support Program in Gyeonggi-do

Gyeonggi-do will support 23 companies this year under the 2020 Women’s Entrepreneurial Support Program. The purpose of this program is to solve business difficulties and strengthen competitiveness by providing customized support such as marketing and commercialization to female companies within the region with high growth potential.

If selected, marketing fields such as establishing public relations, social network online marketing, participation in domestic and foreign exhibitions, product design, mold manufacturing, design commercialization, overseas patent rights, domestic and foreign standard certification, expert consultation etc can be supported within 10 million won per company, or roughly 8225 USD.

From this year, the maximum support amount for each detailed business item was raised to reflect the demand of companies, and support items such as production support were added.