This October, New York will witness a festival unlike any other — one that blends entrepreneurship, culture, and creativity into a single, transformative experience. KOOM Festival 2025, organized by United Korean Founders (UKF), will take place October 16–18 at the Duggal Greenhouse in Brooklyn Navy Yard, bringing together Korean founders, investors, artists, and innovators to share how Korea’s creative DNA drives global innovation.
Beyond an ordinary startup event, at KOOM Festival lies a declaration of how Korea’s lifestyle, technology, and culture are shaping the future economy. From K-beauty and F&B to AI and venture capital, the festival celebrates the convergence of industries that define Korea’s global influence.
KOOM Festival: A Vision by United Korean Founders and Saeju Jeong
The KOOM festival is spearheaded by Saeju Jeong, KOOM Chair and Co-founder of Noom, whose journey from Yeosu to New York embodies the modern Korean startup story.
After building one of the world’s most successful digital healthcare platforms, Jeong founded United Korean Founders (UKF) to empower the next generation of global Korean entrepreneurs.
KOOM, which means “dream” in Korean, is UKF’s flagship initiative — a platform to connect Korean lifestyle and innovation with global culture. Jeong envisions KOOM as a movement that redefines what Korean entrepreneurship represents: not only economic success but also cultural and creative leadership.
About this vision, Saeju Jeong said,
“Global curiosity about Korean lifestyle is soaring. Even the simple act of eating ramyeon at a Han River convenience store can become a new cultural export.
Only about four percent of Americans have directly experienced K-beauty products, yet the market already generates multi-billion-dollar revenue. This shows how vast the potential of Korean culture remains”
KOOM Festival 2025: Three Days of Innovation, Ideas, and Inspiration
Unlike regular business conferences, KOOM Festival 2025 represents both cultural and social movement. In three days, participants will enjoy the untold stories of Korean entrepreneurship to the world, featuring K-food, K-fashion, K-drama, K-film, and K-pop in one integrated experience.
Along with its insightful business sessions, KOOM Festival also features performances by leading K-pop artists, presenting a fully immersive experience of both Korean innovation and creativity.
As Saeju Jeong portrayed,
“KOOM is like ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ — a fusion of art, technology, and story. This festival will showcase the excellence of Korean innovation and culture together, from cosmetics to cuisine, from startups to storytelling.”
Day 1 — The Day of Pioneers (Oct. 16)
Starting from the first day. KOOM Festival 2025 opens with the Startup Pitch Competition followed by “Every Journey Begins with One Step” featuring industry titans:
- Hyuk-bin Kwon (Smilegate),
- Oh-hyun Kwon (former CEO, Samsung Electronics), and
- Jong-nam Oh (Kim & Chang).
More sessions and talks on Day 1 include:
- “Delivering Korea Beyond Food” with Bong-jin Kim of Woowa Brothers,
- “Webtoon: The Global Rise of a New Storytelling Format” with Jun-koo Kim of Webtoon Entertainment,
- “Turning Lunchbox into a Global Business” with Jim Kim of Snowfox,
- “Interactive Retail in the AI Era” with Sung-joo Kim of Sungjoo Group.
The evening culminates with the first K-Pop Night, featuring Soyou, Sam Kim, So-hee Song, and Sohyang, turning the startup celebration into a cultural showcase.
Day 2 — The Day of Experts (Oct. 17)
Next, on the second day, industry leaders and global investors take the stage to discuss finance, AI, and the global expansion of K-startups.
Panels at the KOOM Stage will include Mi-hyun Lee (Korea Exchange), Sung-woon Kang (Yoon & Yang LLC), Soo Kim (AWS), Jaeman An (VESSL AI), and Hee-eun Park (Altos Ventures). And the topics range from “Global IPO Trends” to “AI Infrastructure from Korea to the World.”
Meanwhile for the Dream Lounge, there will also be sessions such as “Healthy Scaling: Innovation Across People and Companies” feature Richard Park (CityMD), April Koh (Spring Health), and the one and only Saeju Jeong himself.
Then, the day closes with performances by Seori, Jiselle, Yves, tripleS, and DJ Raiden — celebrating creativity as the driving force of innovation.
Day 3 — The Day of Trendsetters (Oct. 18)
At the final day, KOOM Festival 2025 captures the full spectrum of Korea’s cultural and creative economy, examining how identity, lifestyle, and business intersect on the global stage.
Speakers such as Angela Buchdahl (Central Synagogue), Hee-kyung Cho (HWAYO Group), Tae-ho Kim (HYBE), Ryan Lee (The Pinkfong Company), and Hannah Yang (The New York Times) share how Korean creativity has evolved into a global movement.
Programs range from K-beauty and F&B storytelling to media transformation, AI-era IP management, and cultural leadership, reflecting Korea’s growing influence in both consumer and creative markets. Sessions like “From Code to Copyright: Rethinking IP in the Age of AI” and “The Next Chapter of K-Culture: Beyond ‘Made in Korea’” showcase how Korean founders, creators, and brands are redefining innovation across entertainment, lifestyle, and design.
The festival concludes with a grand K-pop night, headlined by Epik High, Zion.T, Giriboy, Sokodomo, CORTIS, and DJ Spray — a fitting finale that turns the celebration of startups and ideas into a global cultural experience.
Beyond Business: K-Beauty, Food, and Cultural Experiences
At the Startup and Brand Zones, founders will showcase next-generation solutions across sectors, while visitors can directly engage with the creators behind Korea’s most exciting startups.
The K-Beauty Brand Zone will preview upcoming product launches from leading innovators, and the F&B Zone will host over 15 Korean and New York food brands collaborating on a vibrant culinary market — from street flavors to modern fusion.
Through exhibitions, pop-ups, and interactive experiences, attendees will discover why K-innovation and K-culture are becoming one ecosystem of creative entrepreneurship.
Major Sponsors and Partners Powering KOOM Festival 2025
KOOM Festival 2025 is made possible through the collective support of Korea’s leading corporations and innovation institutions, all contributing entirely through donations and sponsorships.
Platinum sponsors include Naver, Webtoon Entertainment, Fursys, Cosmax, Genesis, and Korean Air — representing the cross-section of Korea’s technology, mobility, design, and lifestyle industries.
Key ecosystem backers such as Smilegate Investment, Krafton, Upbit, and Nongshim further reinforce KOOM’s mission of linking entrepreneurship, technology, and cultural storytelling.
In addition to private companies, KOOM Festival is al supported by Korean government agencies including the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), KVIC, KOVA, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) join the effort alongside partners like The Korea Society, Flitto, and DoctorHere, symbolizing strong collaboration between the public sector and private innovators.
Their collective support underscores KOOM’s collaborative spirit — “built together, not for profit but for progress.”
KOOM Festival: Innovation as Korea’s New Global Language
At first glance, the 2025 KOOM Festival might seem like just another high-profile event. Yet behind the lights and excitement lies a deliberate vision — a strategic showcase of Korea’s innovation diplomacy. KOOM stands as a living symbol of how creativity, technology, and entrepreneurship together define Korea’s modern global identity.
By bringing together founders, investors, creators, and cultural leaders on a single stage, KOOM redefines how the world understands Korean innovation. It demonstrates that the next wave of Korea’s global influence is not limited to entertainment alone but extends deeply into entrepreneurship, design, and technological imagination.
Founders see it as a bridge to global investment and collaboration. Artists and creators treat it as a platform to express the evolving rhythm of Korean culture. Policymakers and ecosystem builders recognize it as proof that innovation and culture can thrive as one unified economy of ideas.
KOOM Festival 2025 ultimately signals a turning point — where Korean creativity becomes a universal language of connection, progress, and purpose.
Register Today and Be Part of the K-Innovation Movement with KOOM
KOOM Festival 2025 takes place October 16–18, 2025, at the Duggal Greenhouse, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York. Choose your experience — All-Inclusive, Conference-only, or Concert-only — and witness how Korean innovation and culture reshape the global stage.
Register today and seize this rare opportunity to be part of the global K-Innovation movement.
Korean Brilliance, One Global Stage
Get ready — this fall, New York becomes Korea’s next frontier of innovation.
Visit unitedkoreanfounders.com or follow @koom_official on Instagram for updates on programs, speakers, and tickets.
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