Busan teams with startups to expand global tourism reach

Busan city and the Busan Tourism Organization announced Tuesday they will provide tailored growth support to 20 companies selected through the "2026 Busan Tourism Startup Competition," while stepping up efforts to attract more foreign tourists.

To help the selected startups grow on stable footing, the tourism organization is rolling out a support program covering everything from launch to overseas expansion — offering startup funding, office space inside the Busan Tourism Business Support Center, expert consulting, and marketing assistance for breaking into overseas markets.

Among the selected companies, startups focused on K-beauty products favored by foreign visitors to Korea and on improving short-stay infrastructure in Busan are drawing particular attention.

▶Devdy (CEO Kim Ki-tae) operates Zipup Pay, a real estate fintech service that lets tenants pay monthly rent and commercial lease fees by credit card.

Zipup Pay uses a lease-contract-based security verification system to allow tenants to pay rent by credit card without requiring landlord consent. This lets operators of short-term rental accommodations used by tourists manage monthly rent and lease payments more systematically, while card point accumulation and digitized payment records improve financial flexibility and tax-processing efficiency.

Devdy has built its competitive edge through partnerships with major financial institutions including Hana Bank, Hana Card, Woori Financial Group, BNK Kyongnam Bank, iM Bank and NH NongHyup Bank. In 2024, it teamed up with Hana Card to launch a co-branded credit card.

▶Korea Bio Beauty Industry Cooperative (CEO Hyeon Mi-hui) focuses on developing a range of products — cosmetics, household goods and tourism souvenirs — based on local specialty ingredients and tourism content.

The cooperative holds a patent for a cosmetics container equipped with microneedles to enhance skin absorption, as well as a container designed to hold two different cosmetic products. It provides customized souvenir production services for tourist attractions, public institutions, local festivals and businesses. Beyond the domestic market, it is expanding exports to the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Malaysia, Vietnam and China, and has secured placement in K3 Mart — a Korean-style convenience store and mart chain — in Indonesia, strengthening its position in the global K-beauty market.

▶Noir Co. (CEO Song Gang-u) goes beyond running a hair salon to offer tourist-tailored services combining beauty content — hair, makeup and hanbok experiences. The company also runs training programs for overseas beauty professionals from China, Mongolia and Vietnam, and is working to attract international visitors to Busan.

"We will support business models that target foreign consumer spending — including attracting overseas tourists and beauty professionals and developing tailored tourism content — to drive Busan's leap from 3 million foreign visitors toward becoming a global tourism city of 5 million," a tourism organization official said.