IRKOM Brief

Recently, Korean startups, particularly beauty companies, are actively seeking to enter overseas markets. As many businesses face the prospect of limited growth due to the limited size of the domestic market, the opportunity offered by the Japanese market of 130 million people with a similar culture and consumption patterns is appealing to many Korean startups. However, success in Korea does not always translate into success in the Japanese market. In particular, the case stories of the unicorns that were highly successful in Korea but had to withdraw from Japan indicate that a formula for success in Korea does not always apply to the Japanese market as it is. Against this backdrop, this study makes a comparative analysis of the strategies, entry processes, and performances of Korean startups entering the Japanese market. Going beyond simply reviewing past cases, we aim to enhance the effectiveness of our research by tracking a number of startups that are currently preparing to enter the market. To this end, we will first analyze as a single case an IT service startup, “Healing Paper,” which has recently established its presence in Japan successfully with a business item called “Gangnam Sister.” We will also observe the process of Korean companies' entering the Japanese market in real time by analyzing the services of “Mentree for Biz,” a group of local experts who support Korean startups wishing to enter Japan.