Press

In the autumn of 2018, when I began my presentation with 'Come to Yeosu, With Yeosu, Yeosu-wa,' I was still a teacher. I had taken a one-year sabbatical to better understand Yeosu and to find and experience work that could contribute to Yeosu's future. Unlike my original plan to return to teaching, I took on the challenge of the Local Value-Up Project, an LG Group regional innovator development program—an opportunity that led me to connect with Underdogs. This shift transformed me into a local content entrepreneur. Now in my third year as a founder, the world of entrepreneurship still feels unfamiliar and challenging, yet simultaneously filled with novelty and excitement. Recently, when I met Jo Sang-rae, the CEO of Underdogs and my first startup coach, he said, 'Yeosu-wa is a point of pride for Underdogs.' This prompted me to reflect on what Yeosu-wa has accomplished and find meaning in our work, even though we're still in our early stages. Yeosu-wa was created with the purpose of developing Yeosu as a sustainable tourist destination. Over 10 million tourists visit Yeosu annually, a city with a population of less than 300,000. Initially, witnessing tourists' visits and spending transform Yeosu felt purely gratifying. However, I soon discovered that we were unprepared to address the waste, noise, and traffic problems their consumption created. Yeosu-wa began as a project to create travel experiences that allow tourists themselves to solve these problems. We continue to promote communication between residents and visitors, and through this, we work to discover stories that make Yeosu a place people want to visit again and again. As I've been working as a local entrepreneur for three years, I'm often asked what's most necessary for starting a business in a region. My answer, which I once explained at length, has now crystallized into a single word: 'pride.' As the name 麗水 (beautiful water) suggests, Yeosu is a place where you can always see beautiful sea wherever and whenever you go. It's certainly a great joy that this beautiful place where we lived has become known nationwide and attracts ten million tourists, but there's also a sense of regret. We regret that it took this long to become known, and that we can no longer have it exclusively. However, working as a local content entrepreneur based in Yeosu, this regret has transformed into pride. After starting my business, when I had to visit various places, I discovered that Korea's transportation system developed radially centered on Seoul. As a result, transportation connecting different regions remains inconvenient. Yet this inconvenience holds a paradox: it has preserved the uniqueness of regional cultures, which has become a force drawing people from outside to our region. If this affection based on such discoveries was the core that led me to start local entrepreneurship, then practicing 'network building and collaboration'—lessons taught by Underdogs—proved effective in the process of gradually growing and achieving results in my first venture. In local entrepreneurship, networks within the local area are extremely important. And by expanding that network nationally and broadening our perspective, we can attract outsiders to our locality. For example, Yeosu-wa created drip bags promoting Yeosu with a roastery café in Yeosu, made beer promoting Yeosu with Mudeungsan Brewery in Gwangju, and created diffusers discussing the Yeosu-sun Incident with Smov in Seoul. Through this process, I experienced my local expanding. When collaborating with entrepreneurs from other regions, I develop affection for those areas and gain understanding of items based on those regions. Through this approach of increasing touchpoints, my local has expanded to include: Suncheon, Namhae, Gurye, Gokseong, Hwasun, Gunsan, Busan, Cheongju, Chungju, Siheung, Jochiwon, Daejeon, Sejong, and more—so many it's difficult to list. At gatherings of local entrepreneurs, there's always a recurring conversation: while regional uniqueness is preserved, there might be a lack of diversity within the region. However, what our region lacks exists in other regions, and when they connect with our region, unimaginable synergies occur. The changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic have created great opportunities for local entrepreneurship. I believe that by acknowledging each other's uniqueness while meeting with entrepreneurs from more regions and industries for diversity, and creating opportunities for sharing and collaboration, we ultimately expand our local presence. So today, I continue to broaden my Yeosu. By Ha Ji-su / CEO of Yeosu-wa Hello. We are Yeosu-wa, Come to Yeosu, With Yeosu—a local content company working to create Yeosu as a sustainable, attractive travel destination. Yeosu-wa's content begins with deeply contemplating and understanding our region. We discover the raw, authentic appeal of our region that is undeniably attractive yet not well-known, and create content that both travelers and residents can enjoy. For sustainable travel where travelers cherish and love Yeosu more, and residents can welcome visitors more warmly—satisfying everyone—Yeosu-wa continues to work hard today. We hope Yeosu becomes a city with much to enjoy. ※ Local Game Changer is a local press corps jointly conducted by Startup Recipe and Underdogs, introducing diverse voices from regional startup ecosystems. Local Game Changer Started in 2015 with the purpose of 'discovering good entrepreneur colleagues,' we have transformed the one-way lecture-focused trend in startup education into practice-oriented coaching education. As a result, as of 2022, we have produced over 10,000 startup education graduates—'Underdogs Alumni'—across the nation. We believe that advancing the world to a better place is 'innovation,' and that innovation is born through 'entrepreneurs.'