A cool Co-working Space in Seoul

My Home away from Home

I will be in Seoul for five months and my micro-apartment is not conducive to work or networking 🙂 Within five minutes I’m at Honghap Valley Co-working Space. It’s in Hongdae, which is the heart of Korean indie music and has four universities nearby.

I’ve already met cool people here: Yesterday a fellow freelancer invited me for lunch and then guided me to a place where I could get my defunct iPhone battery changed. He’s a marketing copywriter for global brands. It turns out both his parents studied medicine in Düsseldorf, my former hometown in Germany. I bet I can help him revive his German (he was there from age 2 to 8).

Today I met a young female entrepreneur and we had a very inspiring conversation. She also saved my rear twice: 1. pointing me to some sensitive wording for a difficult text to a Korean friend, and 2. reading a menu for me that I had brought back from a nearby restaurant – because I was completely lost making a selection. These are the kind of people you meet at co-working spaces.

Refreshing Rules that Canadian Co-spaces wouldn’t dare

Here are the rules that are on every table:

You get one coffee per day served by friendly staff, and 10 pages of free printing a day. The space is co-funded by a foundation and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. This makes it possible to offer a free membership!

The Startup Scene in Seoul is mind-boggling

There is a well-coordinated network of incubators, maker spaces and co-working facilities throughout Seoul. Since last month, Seoul has surpassed the entire rest of Korea in population – over 25 million! Korea has recognized the innovative power and growth prospects of tech startups. Like anywhere else, starting a fashion business or a carpentry does not receive nearly the same support. Sad!