CNBC tells us the story of Yanolja founder and chairman Lee Su-jin, who got his start in the travel industry as a motel cleaner.

The experience inspired him to launch hotel booking site Yanolja, which means “Hey, let’s play” in Korean, in 2007. Now that it’s also a popular travel app, the brand has become a global phenomenon with more than 57 million downloads, according to its website.

This unexpected success helped Lee amass a fortune of his own. According to Forbes, his net worth today stands at $1.2 billion, due to the fact that he, along with his wife and two daughters, owns nearly a third of Yanolja. This spring, he debuted on the publication’s “Korea’s 50 Richest” list.

Despite being among the richest people in the world today, Lee’s childhood was very difficult. He was orphaned at a young age and lived with relatives for most of his childhood, according to Bloomberg. When Lee was 23, he began cleaning rooms at a “love hotel” – a type of motel known for offering short-term lodging on an hourly basis – in exchange for a steady paycheck and a place to stay.

Despite the difficulties, Lee doesn’t give up and is constantly thinking of ways to make his life better. He saves his money and invests in stocks. He even started a salad business, according to Bloomberg, but it wasn’t long before he suffered a setback and went back to the hotel business – but this time fate was smiling on him.

When South Korea passed an anti-prostitution law in 2004, Lee worried that the motels that gave him security would go bankrupt.

So he decided to rebrand the love hotels. In 2005, he set up a hotel review platform, which two years later became Yanolja. His goal was to modernize the hotels and convince young couples and travelers that they were safe, comfortable and cost-effective.
Kim says that Lee’s job as a cleaner, where he was able to observe guests’ experiences in love hotels, was actually an advantage: it gave him the opportunity to adapt the platform to users.

In June 2019, Yanolja became South Korea’s eighth “unicorn” startup, achieving a valuation of more than $1 billion during a funding round.

Two years later, investment firm SoftBank Vision Fund 2 bought a minority stake in Yanolja for $1.7 billion at a valuation of $6.7 billion, according to Forbes.

The SoftBank deal has sparked much speculation about a potential IPO of Yanolja. However, the company has yet to go public, and Kim even stated in a July 2022 press release that Yanolja is in no rush to announce an IPO as the hospitality industry is still recovering from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the company is launching Yanolja Cloud, a proprietary artificial intelligence software for other hospitality and entertainment platforms. Today, 19 million combined users use Yanolja’s software platforms for reservations, travel and property management operations, according to the company’s website.

Lee is not only proud to have achieved the unachievable, but he has also changed people’s attitude towards this type of motel.

The ministry has spent €387,000 on its platform, which is designed to promote the EU’s Global Gateway initiative. It envisages an investment of €300 billion to build new infrastructure in different countries.

“After initial puzzled conversations with the approximately five other people who showed up, I was left alone. I am alone.”

tweeted Vince Chadwick, who was one of the few who showed up to the event.

I’m here at the “gala” concert in the EU foreign aid dept’s €387k metaverse (designed to attract non politically engaged 18-35 year olds — see story below). After initial bemused chats with the roughly five other humans who showed up, I am alone. https://t.co/ChIHeXasQP pic.twitter.com/kZWIVlKmhL

— Vince Chadwick (@vchadw) November 29, 2022

“24-hour beach party” in the metaverse

The concept of the event is clear enough: the aim is to introduce young people to the bloc and bring them into a space where they can learn more about the EU’s activities.

A spokesperson for the Commission told Euronews Next that “the target audience is 18–35-year-olds who identify as neutral about the EU and are not generally engaged in political issues”.

Euronews Next has contacted the European Commission for comment. A spokesperson pointed out that the Gala event was the online event held on 29 November from 9 to 10 pm.

“Our statistics show that 300 people were contacted during the gala and over 5,000 people on that day (29 November)”,

the spokesperson states.

“We believe that metaversion is an innovative approach to reaching young people who do not read newspapers and websites, while recognising that the user interface can be made more convenient and appealing”,

he continued.

Attracting the younger generation to the political issues on which their future depends is proving difficult. The EU’s efforts have proved futile for some, but neither the enticing concept nor the multi-million organisation has been a success.

The AEA 2021 will bring together 30 selected startups from across Asia providing solutions in the areas of healthcare, work & lifestyle reform, and sustainability, all of which have become key issues globally. During the event, the startups will deliver business presentations showcasing their services and products, with the winners being selected on the basis of a wide range of criteria. These will include innovativeness, the social and economic impact of their products and services, their commercial viability, the potential for collaboration with Japanese companies, and the opportunity for business expansion in Japan. The entire event will be held online.

Over 200 tech startups from 14 countries & regions across Asia have showcased their solutions at AEA since 2012

Since its launch in 2012, AEA has provided a stage for promising entrepreneurs and startups from rapidly growing countries and regions in Asia on which they can showcase business ideas and technologies aimed at addressing social issues. To date, a total of 217 tech startups from 14 countries and regions across Asia have participated in AEA events. All entrants were nominated by key notable institutions such as the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the University of Tokyo, as well as by incubators, accelerators, universities and other institutions supporting start-up companies in their respective countries and regions.

AEA2021 to offer 1.5 months of mentoring sessions and access to an online community to accelerate startups’ entry to the Japan market

The AEA2021 event will feature several new initiatives that will further accelerate collaboration between Japanese companies and participating startups. This year, to boost the chances of the startups entering the Japanese market, they will receive mentoring for 1.5 months aimed at brushing up their business plans for the Japan market. This is expected to help entrants acquire a better understanding of the market and facilitate their collaboration with prospective Japanese partners.

Last year’s AEA2020, the first AEA to be held fully online, resulted in a total of 51 matching opportunities and 31 meetings between startup entrants and participating Japanese companies. Aiming to promote even greater collaboration this year, AEA2021 will provide additional business-matching sessions providing opportunities for deeper discussions; communities and gatherings that will allow startups to expand their networks will also be hosted. Startups participating in previous AEA events took advantage of these opportunities to accelerate their business development, with some of them successfully achieving IPO or entering into M&A discussions.

AEA2021 will also enhance the online networking and community-building opportunities it offers to participants using the chat tool “Slack”, enabling a new online community consisting of more than 200 startups that have participated in previous AEA events as well as Japanese companies, sponsors, and overseas nominators. This will provide opportunities for ongoing business collaboration between Japanese companies and startups after the event, including the opportunity for direct communication, the chance to build relationships with overseas nominators, and to disseminate information about Japanese companies’ own efforts in support of startups.

Founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus to share his vision of social businesses

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of AEA, this year’s event will feature a special keynote speech by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who will share his vision of social businesses – businesses established to address specific social or environmental problems—and next-generation leadership. Dr. Yunus is a Bangladeshi social entrepreneur who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 in recognition of his founding of the Grameen Bank, which pioneered the concepts of microcredits and microfinance with the aim of alleviating poverty and promoting peace. Dr. Yunus was also awarded the Olympic Laurel for his work at Yunus Sports Hub, the global social business network creating solutions in and through sport.

Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City to host the event and serve as a launchpad for the startups’ entry to the Japan market

The Kashiwa-no-ha area is promoting an urban development model based on the three themes of “environmental coexistence,” “health and longevity”, and “creation of new industries.” In 2019, Kashiwa-no-ha launched an initiative aimed at accelerating the creation of new industries whereby the entire city serves as a platform for companies and organizations to conduct trials and demonstrations. In the past, start-ups that participated in AEA events have used Kashiwa-no-ha as the launching pad for their entry to the Japan market, running demonstrations of their solutions there with some of them subsequently securing commercial production of these. Japanese companies in turn use Kashi-no-ha as a demonstration facility when seeking collaboration with startups.