Seoul has once again demonstrated its global entrepreneurship competitiveness. The city announced on the 6th that from September 11th to 12th, it achieved a record high result with 8,578 visitors and a total of 200 billion won in investment attraction at the ‘Try Everything 2025’ event held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP).
In June, Seoul was ranked 8th globally and 2nd in Asia by Startup Genome in its ‘2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Report’. For two consecutive years, Seoul has been listed among the global top 10 startup cities, securing 5th place globally in fundraising and 1st in knowledge accumulation.
Try Everything is a public-private partnership global startup festival that Seoul has hosted every year since 2019, marking its 7th edition this year. This year saw the participation of 875 startups (87 from overseas) and 337 investment institutions (35 from overseas), an increase of 1.8 times and 1.4 times respectively, compared to last year, achieving the largest scale to date.
Held under the slogan ‘Dive Deep, Fly High’, this year’s event featured 37 programs including lectures and forums related to startups on deep tech, global expansion, and open innovation on three stages inside the DDP Art Hall. Seoul’s Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has attended the opening ceremony every year since 2021, presented three strategies for global expansion, expanding open innovation, and fostering future industry startups in his opening speech.
Out of the 120 exhibition and promotional booths at the venue, 71 were operated by startups. They showcased advanced industries such as AI, biotech, aerospace, and CES Innovation Award winners, highlighting the technological prowess and innovation of Seoul’s startup ecosystem to the world. This reflects Seoul’s strengths in AI, big data, biotech, and robotics, as noted in the Startup Genome report.
Seoul strengthened investment networking by increasing the number of meetup booths from 15 to 41 this year. There were 541 meetups, involving 104 institutions (56 VCs, 16 ACs, 19 large and midsize enterprises, and 13 startup agencies). A total of 177.1 billion won worth of investment reviews (63.8 billion won domestically, 113.3 billion won overseas) were conducted on-site, and it is expected that investments exceeding 200 billion won will be attracted by the year’s end. Notably, foreign capital accounted for 64% of the total, indicating Seoul’s rise as a ‘global investment-centric city’.
Participation by global venture capitalists (VC) and large corporations expanded as well. Unlike last year’s participation of five institutions from five countries, this year saw 12 institutions from nine countries. Global VCs such as 500 Global and Antler, as well as four major corporations including Samsung C&T, KT, Microsoft Korea, and Shinhan Financial Group, participated to collaborate on technology cooperation and Proof of Concept (PoC) with 13 startups, which is a fourfold increase compared to the previous year.
Through Try Everything, Seoul has collaborated in open innovation with a total of 1,038 startups and 202 large and midsize enterprises since 2020, creating 3,810 investment attraction cases. This event has solidified its position as a core startup platform implementing a private cooperation base.
This year’s event evolved into a startup festival with direct citizen participation. Among the 8,578 visitors, 3,951 (46%) were ordinary citizens, nearly half, and 580 fans of the idol group PLAVE, appointed as the event’s ambassadors, attended. Around 80 influencers, university student supporters, and international students participated in managing and promoting the event, creating a festive atmosphere involving both the MZ and global generations.
This event was supported by institutions such as the Korea Startup Forum, the Korea Venture Investment Corporation, the Korea Venture Capital Association, the Association of Initial Investment Accelerators, the Venture Business Association, and the U.S. Embassy, enhancing the credibility of startups’ overseas expansion and investment attraction.
Seoul plans to hold ‘Try Everything 2026’ at DDP in early September next year. The city aims to further strengthen the competitiveness of its startup ecosystem by expanding the recruitment of foreign VCs, enhancing global meetups, and linking with private funds.
Joo Yong-tae, head of Seoul’s Economic Policy Division, stated, “Seoul supports startups throughout the entire process—from providing the necessary space, networking, investment attraction, to global expansion—through over 20 startup support facilities, including the four startup hubs (Gongdeok, Magok M+, Seongsu, Chang-dong). Through Try Everything, we will expedite the realization of ‘Seoul as a global top 5 startup city’.”