Street of creative dreams for startup
The opening ceremony of Ewha Startup 52nd St. was held on March 11 at the alley beside the Main Gate of Ewha Womans University. The ceremony commemorated the grand opening of the shops in Ewha Startup 52nd St. and provided a tour around the shops for the participants.
The project Ewha Startup 52nd St., established by Center of Entrepreneurship, aims to expand start-up projects and education beyond the campus, providing real experiences of business in a neighboring area of small merchandise shops and retailers.
“Not only are we looking forward to nurturing talented students with real life experiences, but we are also expecting the vitalization of the business area in the alley next to the Main Gate,” said Park Yun-mi, the manager from Center of Entrepreneurship. “The alley showed the lowest growth rate compared to that of the business areas nearby other universities in Seoul.”
A total of six teams were selected to participate in this project. Accessory brands ‘JE.D’ and ‘HAH’, bag brands ‘JIHONG’ and ‘WEAVOURS,’ a custom made stamp shop ‘DAYGRAPHY’ and a shop selling education kits for children ‘ARISONG’ are the currently running shops. The teams were selected based on the strength and viability of their startup proposals and presentation. Various supporting programs such as scholarships and mentoring will be provided to help them start their businesses.
“I wanted to start my business after taking part in various flea markets,” said Noh Seung-yeon, CEO of the accessory brand JE.D. “However, starting a business on my own is risky and as well as costly, so I was hesitant to challenge myself. Fortunately, I got the chance to pursue my dream with the support and education from the school.”
After being selected as one of the six participants, she mentioned that she felt excited to jump into the business she dreamed of. Her accessories from JE.D specialize in merging softness with funkiness. Bracelets, which are the main items of JE.D, are made from denim pieces taken apart strand by strand. The strands are then attached to jewels, and tied together to make a complete bracelet.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that my bracelets are everything to me,” Noh said. “I wish students would not think of my business as a simple shop, but as a place filled with my enthusiasm.”
Hwang Yeon-jae, representative of ARISONG, described her business as a start of something grander. ARISONG aims to research and produce media art kits for children.
“I hope to create stepping stones to my ultimate goal, which is to create a museum where children can be educated freely,” Hwang said.