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Gunsan, which flourished as a port city after opening in 1899, became a strategic hub for trade and military during the Japanese occupation period. In modern times, it has grown into an industrial city with shipyards and manufacturing factories. However, the bustling city began to lose its vitality due to the decline of major industries and factory closures. In 2017, Hyundai Heavy Industries' Gunsan plant announced a halt in operations, followed by a closure decision for GM Korea's Gunsan plant in 2018. Gunsan was hit hard. Economic downturn and population decline began to follow like a label.\n\nThe winds of change blew through Gunsan in March this year, as new things began to sprout in the wake of the old. A space for Gunsan entrepreneurs called Localize Town was established in the old downtown Yeonghwadong, and entrepreneurs operating in Gunsan experiment with business models using Gunsan as content. It's the 'Localize Gunsan Project.'\n\n"This train is heading to Gunsan." The Teheran Road Coffee Club was held at Localize Gunsan on the 12th. Hosted by Startup Alliance, the Teheran Road Coffee Club is held as a venue for sharing startup founding stories related to the theme each time. It is normally held in Seoul, but in October it was held in Jeju, and in the first week of November in Silicon Valley. The goal is to meet entrepreneurs who consistently create their own stories and build brands in their regions. In the second week of November, a coffee table was set up in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do.\n\nNewBlack CEO Kim Jung-heon introduced the project: "The Localize Gunsan Project is an urban regeneration project initiated to recharge and revitalize the region through various youth startups and innovation projects based in the region." As part of SK E&S's corporate social responsibility activities, Underdogs took charge of program design and operations.\n\nCEO Kim explained the project's background, saying "Everyone knows that regional regeneration is important, but I believe that regional talent and entrepreneurs are what can make it happen." The work started with creating a space. After purchasing a building in Yeonghwadong, located in Gunsan's old downtown, they converted it into a space for local entrepreneurs. The logo contains the meaning of "taking root in the region and rising like the sun to float the region." The logo design is reflected throughout the Localize Town space, including round tables, arched passages, and signage.\n\nThe space spans 4 floors in total. Each space is designed to allow people to work, rest, learn, and play with the local community. The first floor features a cafe and select shop that both prospective local startups and Gunsan residents can use. It can be used as a coworking space that anyone can visit. The second and third floors are used as office spaces by a total of 23 business teams. The second floor has a coworking space, and the third floor has a conference room and shared kitchen. The fourth floor features a rooftop with a panoramic view of Yeonghwadong, the center of regional regeneration in Gunsan.\n\nSince March, a total of 23 startup teams have used or passed through the space. Of the 23 teams, half are Gunsan-based entrepreneurs and the other half are entrepreneurs from other regions. It was determined that it would be difficult to change a city in a different direction using resources from within a single region. CEO Kim said, "We believed that bringing new resources and sourcing from elsewhere would breathe life into the region." There was also a calculation that the influx of youth from outside areas would help revitalize the region, given the relatively small youth population in the area.\n\nEducation proceeded in two fields: incubating and accelerating. The 13-week education program included startup specialists and Gunsan-based coaches. According to CEO Kim's explanation, this was to increase understanding of the region and create businesses suitable for Gunsan. Accommodations were also arranged to focus on education and execution. Through long-term contracts with guesthouses near Localize Town, entrepreneurs from outside Gunsan were able to stay in Gunsan and participate in the program.\n\nIn the program's first year, a network of sorts was formed as startup teams established new bases around Localize Town. At the Localize Festival held at the end of the program, about 1,000 Gunsan citizens and tourists participated, breathing vitality back into the old downtown. CEO Kim said, "Whether a city like Gunsan would remain and settle down for business was one of the criteria for measuring business success or failure. Given the achievements of this year, next year we will expand the network through new teams and inform Gunsan citizens about the program," with the future goal of creating urban regeneration that local residents desire.\n\nStartup Alliance Center Director Lim Jung-wook shared the startup ecosystem centered on Teheran Road in Seoul and the current status of the regional startup ecosystem with Gunsan-based entrepreneurs gathered at the event. Director Lim pointed out that "as of October, 594 startups in Korea have received venture investments of over 1 billion won, with a low proportion in regional ecosystems, with 92% concentrated in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and the metropolitan area."\n\nAccording to Director Lim's presentation, in Gyeongnam Province, Yum Table, a fresh food online commerce company based in Tongyeong, is the only company to receive investment of over 1 billion won. Yum Table is a startup founded by Ju Sang-hyun, a native of Tongyeong, and is a fresh food online commerce business that has grown as the fresh food market, including Market Kurly, has emerged. The accumulated investment is 11 billion won, and the expected sales for this year are 35 billion won. In Jeollabuk-do, Kwen's Bucket, a sesame oil startup, was listed among companies attracting investment of over 1 billion won. Kwen's Bucket has a factory in the Iksan region and operates mainly in Seoul.\n\nDirector Lim said, "Symbiotic startups that solve problems in existing traditional industries and increase (regional) competitiveness will have strengths." Examples include SuaLab, which successfully exited after detecting defects through AI in manufacturing plants, and Fabric Time, which transferred Dongdaemun fabric to an online database, connecting Dongdaemun merchants with designers worldwide. Director Lim emphasized, "It's not important to create similar models of existing successful ones, but to look at local problems and find solutions. What will be important is fostering entrepreneurs who see regional strengths and solve market problems, and startups that capture changing market opportunities and grow."\n\nMeanwhile, the Teheran Road Coffee Club on this day included Reesl, a Jeonju-based Korean traditional dress brand famous for BTS hanbok, and Localize Gunsan teams, a small-town free travel guide production company in Korea.