Somsidang Company
Online and offline hobby and leisure platform.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor investor investor | €0.0 | round |
| investor investor investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
* | KRW3.0b Valuation: KRW20.0b | Early VC | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Somsidang Company, established in June 2018, operates a prominent on-demand hobby and leisure platform in South Korea. The company was founded by CEO Jeong Myung-won and core members from his previous startup, iConnect, which was acquired by Naver's subsidiary, Camp Mobile. The team's prior experience in developing and operating mobile platforms like Phone Theme Shop and Dodol Launcher provided a strong foundation for Somsidang's launch in January 2019.
The platform connects users with local artists and instructors, offering a wide array of one-day classes, workshops, and activities. It was designed to address the difficulty of finding and booking local classes, which were previously scattered across blogs and social media, by providing a centralized reservation and payment system. Somsidang's business model focuses on both B2C and B2B segments. For consumers, it offers an app to discover and book offline classes like baking, crafts, and art, as well as online live classes and DIY kits. For the corporate sector, SomsidangBiz provides tailored cultural and welfare workshop programs, which have been utilized by over 1,600 companies, including major corporations like Samsung, LG, and SK.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Somsidang successfully pivoted by enhancing its non-face-to-face services, such as 'Somsi Kit' DIY packages and corporate 'Live Classes', which saw significant growth. The company also provides an integrated management system for its registered artists, allowing them to manage reservations and listings across multiple platforms, including Naver and Coupang, from the Somsidang app. The platform has achieved significant milestones, including surpassing 1.85 million app downloads and registering over 12,000 artists by mid-2023. The company has secured multiple rounds of funding, including a Series A round of 4 billion won in January 2022 and a subsequent 3 billion won investment from LG Uplus in July 2023.
Keywords: hobby platform, leisure classes, one-day workshops, corporate team-building, DIY kits, online classes, employee welfare programs, local artists, crafts marketplace, cultural experiences, B2B services, skill-sharing, Somsi Kit, SomsidangBiz, Jeong Myung-won, experience economy, Korean startup, O2O platform, SaaS, creative workshops