Startup Events

Must Attend Startup Events in Seoul, South Korea

Seoul's startup calendar is built around COEX and fintech: Korea Fintech Week (25–27 November 2026) and COMEUP, Korea's national startup festival (9–11 December), with the K-Startup Grand Challenge demo day inside it. In 2027 come SEMICON Korea, InterBattery, the robotics conference ICRA (24–28 May) and Smart Tech Korea.
This guide lists startup, tech, investor and women-founder events in Seoul from November 2026 to the end of 2027. We checked every date on the organiser's own website; many are in Korean only. We mark each event as Confirmed (date on the official site), Announced (date from a reliable second source) or Expected (based on past editions only). Prices are in Korean won (₩).
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.

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Must Attend Startup Events in Seoul 2026–2027: Calendar from November 2026 to June 2027

DatesEventVenueTypeStatus
19 Nov 2026Startup Alliance Press Day: digital and healthcareD.CAMP MapoStartups meet tech reportersConfirmed
25–27 Nov 2026Korea Fintech WeekaT Center, YangjaeGovernment fintech expoConfirmed
9–11 Dec 2026COMEUP (with the K-Startup Grand Challenge demo day)COEX Hall CNational startup festivalConfirmed
17–19 Feb 2027SEMICON KoreaCOEXSemiconductor showConfirmed
10–12 Mar 2027InterBatteryCOEXBattery and energy showConfirmed
24–28 May 2027IEEE ICRACOEXRobotics conference and expoConfirmed
2–4 Jun 2027Smart Tech KoreaCOEXAI, robotics and data centre showConfirmed

Autumn 2026: late October and November

Startup Alliance Press Day: 19 November 2026

📅 Startup Alliance Press Day: Digital and Healthcare StartupsConfirmed
DatesThursday 19 November 2026, 19:00–21:00
WhereD.CAMP Mapo (Front1), 4F Seminar Room A, 122 Mapo-daero, Mapo-gu
TypeEvening where startups meet the reporters who cover them
Who it's forDigital and healthcare startups
TicketsNot published; startups apply by 6 November
Official sitestartupall.kr
Startup Alliance's themed press evenings are a rare chance to meet Korea's startup reporters in one room. This one is for digital and healthcare startups; earlier 2026 editions covered defence and aerospace, physical AI and content.

Korea Fintech Week: 25–27 November 2026

📅 Korea Fintech Week 2026Confirmed
Dates25 November 2026, 10:00–18:00; 26–27 November, 09:00–18:00
WhereaT Center, Exhibition Halls 1 and 2, Yangjae
TypeGovernment fintech expo with an open stage and business meetings
Who it's forFintech startups, financial institutions and overseas buyers
TicketsOnline pre-registration open; price not published
Official sitefintechweek.or.kr
The national fintech expo, backed by the Financial Services Commission and run by the Korea Fintech Support Center. Useful for meeting Korean banks, card companies and regulators in three days.
Also expected in November but not announced yet: the Korea Women Venture Association's Women Venture Week and World Women Venture Forum (6 November in 2025, at the Grand Hyatt Seoul) and Global Entrepreneurship Week Korea (18–23 November in 2025).

Winter 2026–2027: December to March

COMEUP and the K-Startup Grand Challenge demo day: 9–11 December 2026

📅 COMEUP 2026: Unleash the UnseenConfirmed
Dates9 December 2026, 10:00 to 11 December, 18:00
WhereCOEX Hall C, 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu
TypeKorea's national global startup festival
Who it's forFounders, VCs, corporates and international startups
TicketsFree; pre-registration and business matching until 4 December, 23:30
Official sitecomeup.org
Run by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, COMEUP is Korea's biggest startup event of the year. It has AI-based investor matching with 30-minute one-to-one meetings and COMEUP Stars, 30 startups presented in six country tracks. The K-Startup Grand Challenge holds its final demo day here, where the foreign founders in Korea's accelerator programme pitch (the exact day is not published). Register on event-us.

SEMICON Korea: 17–19 February 2027

📅 SEMICON Korea 2027Confirmed
Dates17–19 February 2027, 10:00–17:00 (until 16:00 on 19 February)
WhereCOEX, Halls A–E, Grand Ballroom and ASEM Ballroom
TypeSemiconductor trade show and conferences
Who it's forChip, hardware and deep-tech founders, suppliers and buyers
TicketsSee the official site
Official sitesemiconkorea.org
SEMI's show fills COEX and two hotels next door. For hardware and AI-chip startups, it is the place to meet Samsung and SK hynix suppliers and the companies that buy from them.

InterBattery: 10–12 March 2027

📅 InterBattery 2027Confirmed
Dates10–12 March 2027
WhereCOEX, Halls A–D, Grand Ballroom and The Platz
TypeBattery industry trade show
Who it's forEnergy, EV and battery startups and buyers
TicketsSee the official site
Official siteinterbattery.or.kr
Korea's battery show, organised by the Korea Battery Industry Association, COEX and KOTRA. The dates come from the event data on the official site; climate-tech founders working on storage or EVs will find the big Korean cell makers here.

Spring and early summer 2027

April brings two large COEX shows whose 2027 dates so far appear only on listing sites: AI EXPO KOREA, the 10th edition (14–16 April 2027, per listings; aiexpo.co.kr), and the World IT Show (21–23 April 2027, per one listing; worlditshow.co.kr). Check the official sites before you book.

IEEE ICRA: 24–28 May 2027

📅 IEEE ICRA 2027 (International Conference on Robotics and Automation)Confirmed
Dates24–28 May 2027
WhereCOEX, 513 Yeongdong-daero, Gangnam-gu
TypeWorld's largest robotics research conference, with an industry expo
Who it's forRobotics and physical-AI founders, researchers and investors
TicketsNot published yet
Official siteieee-icra.org
The flagship conference of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society comes to Seoul. Robotics founders can recruit researchers and meet the corporate labs that exhibit; see our robotics startup events list for the other big ones of 2027.

Smart Tech Korea: 2–4 June 2027

📅 Smart Tech Korea 2027Confirmed
Dates2–4 June 2027
WhereCOEX, Seoul
TypeTrade show for AI, data centres, robotics and physical AI
Who it's forAI and hardware founders and corporate buyers
TicketsNot published
Official sitesmarttechkorea.com
A large B2B show where AI and robotics startups exhibit next to Korean corporates. Good for founders selling into Korean industry.

Dates not announced yet

  • BIO KOREA 2027: the biohealth convention with one-to-one partnering, last held on 28–30 April 2026 at COEX. biokorea.org
  • AWS Summit Seoul 2027: last held on 20–21 May 2026; expected in May. aws.amazon.com
  • NextRise 2027: the Korea Development Bank's startup and investor matching fair, last held on 18–19 June 2026 at COEX. nextrise.co.kr
  • Women Inventors Expo 2027: last held on 16–18 July 2026 at COEX; exhibitors applied in April and May.
  • Try Everything 2027: Seoul's own global startup festival, held every September; the 2026 edition was on 9–10 September at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. tryeverything.or.kr
  • Korea Blockchain Week 2027: the 2026 edition was on 29 September–1 October at Walkerhill; side-event applications are open. koreablockchainweek.com
  • Seoul Fintech Week, Korea Fintech Week and COMEUP 2027: all yearly, expected again in October, November and December 2027.
Paused or gone: Upbit D Conference is taking 2026 off (udc.dunamu.com), NAVER's DEVIEW has not run since 2023, and Google for Startups Campus Seoul was reported paused in March 2026.

Past events

  • Seoul Fintech Week 2026: 26–28 October 2026 at Conrad Seoul and IFC The Forum, Yeouido, Seoul.
  • D.CAMP D.DAY Batch 4 (October 2026): 29 October 2026 in Seoul.

Recurring meetups and communities

  • Startup Alliance: the Tehran-ro Coffee Club talk series (its 219th session was in October 2026) and themed Press Days. startupall.kr
  • D.CAMP: monthly office hours with VCs and partners, plus batch demo days. dcamp.kr
  • Founders Running Club Seoul: an easy run every Saturday at 09:00, then coffee and networking. Luma
  • Seoul Startups: the English-speaking founder community, with monthly networking. seoulstartups.com
  • Startup Grind Seoul: irregular events (March, April and June 2026); none listed right now. Startup Grind
  • Luma Seoul: AI, developer and builder meetups most weeks. luma.com/seoul
Quieter now: Founder Institute has no Seoul cohort, we found nothing recent from Girls in Tech Korea or Lean In Seoul, and Women Who Code closed in 2024.

Events for women founders in Seoul

Seoul has no women-founder conference with a published date in this period. These are the regular ones to watch:
  • Women Venture Week and World Women Venture Forum: the Korea Women Venture Association's yearly forum with investment sessions, last held on 6 November 2025. kovwa.or.kr
  • Women Inventors Expo: women inventors and women-led product companies at COEX, every July.
  • Women's Startup Competition (여성창업경진대회): the 27th edition gave its awards on 3 July 2026, and the top 13 teams went on to the national "Challenge! K-Startup" finals.
  • Seoul Women's Start-up Idea Contest: run by the Seoul Saeil Center; the 2026 call ran from 30 March to 23 April.
  • Women-led business support: the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 2026 programme includes a FemTech track with up to ₩80 million per company. KoreaTechDesk
Run an event for women founders in Seoul? Send it to us and we'll add it.

Funding and support to know before you go

  • Startup visa (D-8-4): for founders with a new Korean corporation and a degree plus at least 80 points in the OASIS programme, a top-20 place in the K-Startup Grand Challenge, or a government startup grant of over ₩30 million. Korea Immigration Service
  • K-Startup Grand Challenge: the government accelerator for foreign founders offers up to ₩950 million in equity-free grants, flights, living stipends and free office space in Pangyo, just south of Seoul. ksgc.global
  • Seoul Global Center: free OASIS training, consulting and mentoring for foreign founders, through to incorporation; near Jonggak Station. Seoul Media Hub global.seoul.go.kr
  • TIPS: in 2026 the government raised TIPS R&D support from ₩500 million to ₩800 million per startup; founders apply through an accredited TIPS operator. Unicorn Factory
  • Registering a company: registration tax is 0.4% of paid-in capital, often three times that in large cities, plus education tax and a small court fee. Gyeonggi Province FAQ

How to get the most out of Seoul startup events

  1. Register early, even for free events. Seoul Fintech Week closed its registration a week before the event; COMEUP's business matching closes on 4 December.
  2. Book investor meetings in advance. COMEUP's one-to-one matching and NextRise are built around pre-booked meetings.
  3. Bring Korean materials. Many event pages, and some sessions, are in Korean only; a one-page deck in Korean helps.
  4. Stay near COEX. Most big shows are in Samseong-dong, Gangnam; the fintech events are in Yeouido and Yangjae.
  5. Follow your sector. Fintech and robotics founders get the most from Seoul's calendar; see our fintech startup events list and more startup competitions.

List your event in this guide

Do you run a startup, tech or investor event in Seoul? Send us the name, dates, venue and official link, and we'll check whether it fits this guide. We list events for founders, with a real date and an official page.
This article is regularly updated with new events. Do you know about an event that needs to be added? Send us some info and we will see if it's a fit.

🔗 Add an awesome event

Startup events in other places

FAQ

What are the main startup events in Seoul?

Korea Fintech Week (25–27 November 2026), COMEUP (9–11 December 2026), IEEE ICRA (24–28 May 2027) and Smart Tech Korea (2–4 June 2027), plus D.CAMP's demo days.

When is COMEUP 2026?

9–11 December 2026 at COEX Hall C in Gangnam. Entry is free; pre-registration and business matching close on 4 December.

Is the K-Startup Grand Challenge demo day open to visitors?

It takes place inside COMEUP, which is free with pre-registration. The exact day has not been published yet.

Are there events for women founders in Seoul?

There are few. Watch the Korea Women Venture Association's World Women Venture Forum (usually November), the Women Inventors Expo (July) and the Women's Startup Competition.

Can foreign founders get a startup visa in Korea?

Yes. The D-8-4 startup visa needs a new Korean corporation plus 80 OASIS points and a degree, a top-20 place in the K-Startup Grand Challenge, or a government startup grant of over ₩30 million.

About the Author

Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
2026-10-24 15:39 By city