South Korea is calling on the world’s most innovative entrepreneurs to compete for a spot in one of Asia’s most prestigious foreign startup programs. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) officially launched applications for the 2026 K-Startup Grand Challenge, with the recruitment window open from May 6 to June 17, 2026.
The K-Startup Grand Challenge is an annual foreign startup competition that has been running since 2016, designed to identify outstanding overseas startups and support their commercialization within Korea. A total of 100 startup teams will be selected this year, split across two tracks: 80 spots for the General Track, open to foreign nationals with startups founded within the last seven years, and 20 spots reserved for the newly created International Student Track, which targets international students currently enrolled at Korean universities.
Teams accepted into the program will participate in an approximately 10-month market entry program, receiving support that includes office space, settlement funds, corporate partnership introductions, and investor networking opportunities. Top-performing teams will compete at a final Demo Day for prize money of up to ₩100 million won
Applications are submitted online through the official website at Here, with all documentation and evaluation stages conducted entirely in English.
