The Gyeonggi Content Agency’s Pangyo Gyeonggi Culture Creation Hub has become a key platform for supporting female-led startups in the content and ICT fusion sectors, reflecting a growing influence of women entrepreneurs in reshaping South Korea’s competitive content industry.

Since the center's establishment in 2014, K-content and AI-driven platforms have grown in tandem over the past decade, creating synergies with startups and SMEs at the forefront of this evolution.

“As South Korea’s content industry expands rapidly with exports surging 5.7 times over the past 14 years, the role of women entrepreneurs is more important than ever,” said an official from the Pangyo Gyeonggi Culture Creation Hub.

Notable female leaders driving this change include Kim Ji-hyun of Korea Deep Learning, Kim Jung-eun of GemGem Therapeutics and Min Hyun-kyung of Studio Boldy. Their ventures illustrate how women are combining creativity and technology to meet consumer demands and advance the industry overall.

Vision AI solutions: Korea Deep Learning

Founded in 2019, Korea Deep Learning specializes in vision artificial intelligence solutions for public and corporate sectors.

The company’s flagship product, Deep Image, is a large vision model capable of processing multimodal data such as images, video, text and audio. Its applications range from optical character recognition and object detection to 3D model generation.

With nine AI technology patents and five years of operation, Korea Deep Learning has achieved cumulative revenue of 10 billion won ($7.1 million). The company is currently working on an exclusive data supply agreement with a major 3D model marketplace. Recognized as an NVIDIA Inception Elite Company in 2024, it also became the first Korean company to win first place in the Edison Awards’ Engineering & Manufacturing Tools category.

“Our success lies in identifying market challenges and proposing tailored solutions,” Kim said. “By addressing complex issues such as budget constraints, efficiency, data security and reliability, we’ve developed AI technology that meets the unique needs of public institutions.”

AR games for rehabilitation: GemGem Therapeutics

GemGem Therapeutics, founded in 2022, develops augmented reality games for rehabilitation and special education, a venture inspired by the personal experiences of its CEO Kim Jung-eun. As a former game designer at Nexon and a mother to a child with cerebral palsy, Kim combined her 10 years of professional experience and personal insight to address the challenges of rehabilitation therapy.

“Rehabilitation is costly and time-intensive, especially for working parents,” Kim said. “As a working mom myself, I wanted to create an accessible and engaging way to support children with disabilities. Our goal is to help these children realize their limitless potential.”

Originally launched as a one-person startup, the company transitioned into a corporation in 2023 and has experienced consistent growth since. Its innovative AR game solutions for early childhood rehabilitation have garnered significant recognition, including the Grand Prize at the 2023 Women’s Startup Competition organized by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.

GemGem Therapeutics has secured 900 million won in funding, including a recent bridge investment of 400 million won for further development of its therapy solutions.

AI-driven UI/UX platform: Studio Boldy

Studio Boldy, founded in June 2024 by designer-turned-entrepreneur Min Hyun-kyung, operates UI Bowl, an AI-powered platform designed to streamline the workflow of user interface and user experience designers.

The platform provides access to over 35,000 UI/UX design images from 300 apps, enabling designers to quickly find inspiration and references without the time-consuming task of manually researching apps.

“Before UI Bowl, designers had to install multiple apps just to gather references,” Min said. “Our platform simplifies this process, allowing professionals to focus on creativity.”

Within months after its founding, the company has already received accolades, including the top prize in the Startup Networking Festival’s IR Demo Day and the Grand Prize in Suwon Startup Audition. With a growing user base of over 30,000, UI Bowl is gaining traction as a valuable tool for design professionals, according to the CEO.

Reflecting on her journey, Min acknowledged the challenges and strengths of being a female entrepreneur. “Being a female entrepreneur can sometimes feel isolating, but I’ve found that women-led teams often excel in strategic planning,” Min said. “Our all-women team brings a unique perspective that strengthens our business.”