[All auditions across Gyeonggi Province in one place] The NEXT Player Contest for Creators of Interaction Contents and 7 other events

Gyeonggi Province is ‘red hot’ with auditions. If Korea as a nation had ‘Superstar-K’, Gyeonggi Province now has an audition event called the ‘NEXT Player Contest for Creators of Interaction Contents’. Looking at some of the audition programs promoted by Gyeonggi Province, we see that they focus on ‘interaction’ and ‘innovation’, which seems to have attracted the attention of plenty of people. 

With the season deep into autumn, another audition catches our attention this October. News of the 2015 NEXT Player Contest for Creators of Interaction Contents, a public audition to gather people adept at communication with refreshing and vivid ideas, is expected to spread across Gyeonggi Province like red maple leaves filling the landscape. 

The 2015 NEXT Player Contest for Creators of Interaction Contents will receive applications in two separate divisions, the ‘Public Campaigns’ division and ‘Interactive Marketing Communication (IMC)’ division, until October 12. 

With the 2015 NEXT Player Contest for Creators of Interaction Contents just around the corner, Gyeonggi G-News brings you a variety of auditions that are taking place in Gyeonggi Province. 

■ Looking for communication experts: ‘Contest for Creators of Interaction Contents’

◇ Gyeonggi Province hosts the 2015 NEXT Player Contest for Creators of Interaction Contents to take in various voices from Gyeonggi Province’s youths for application in government policies. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News

Gyeonggi Province hosts the 2015 NEXT Player Contest for Creators of Interaction Contents to take in various voices from Gyeonggi Province’s youth for application in government policies.

This audition is unique in that it focuses on a central theme summarized as ‘Your challenge changes the world’. The contest will feature two divisions the IMC division that centers on the ‘NEXT Gyeonggi top-10 Tasks’, and the Public Campaigns division that involves putting forward ideas for the provincial government and assessing execution. 

For the Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) division, contestants should establish strategies for communication with regards to the ‘NEXT Gyeonggi Top-10 Tasks’ – including ‘Good Morning Bus’, ‘Ddabok Community’, and ‘Yeonjeong’ – and recommend ways to utilize them. For the Public Campaign division, applicants should send in ideas for policies and solutions through which the provincial government can take the lead in solving social problems. 

Applications will be accepted until October 12 at the contest-dedicated website (www.nextplayer.co.kr). Depending on the results of the preliminary assessment, applications will advance to the final assessment stage of the 2015 NEXT Player Contest for Creators of Interaction Contents between November 26 and 27. 

The contest is open to all university students interested in the governing policies of Gyeonggi Province, and winners will receive total prize money of KRW 34 million (the amount includes the budget to implement the ideas selected from this public campaign) and commendations from the Governor of Gyeonggi Province. Moreover, a few outstanding recommendations will be noted and implemented in next year’s public campaign project. 

Gyeonggi Province Interaction Planning Bureau Director Jeong Se-hyeon said, “This 2015 NEXT Player Contest for Creators of Interaction Contents will offer a chance to inject ideas from Gyeonggi residents into government policy and implement them across the province.” Director Jeong added, “We will continue our efforts to create government policies from the perspective of Gyeonggi residents.”

■ Innovating budget execution at ‘NEXT Gyeonggi Creative Audition’

The ‘NEXT Gyeonggi Creative Audition’ is an audition for ‘Special Adjustment Grants’ was conducted for the first time in Korea last year. The event was organized to improve Gyeonggi Province’s budgetary efficiency through innovation its budget execution methods and to focus the budget on current local issues urgently in need of solutions. 

With Special Adjustment Grants at stake, the season 2 finals for the NEXT Gyeonggi Creative Audition get under way at 9:30am on October 7 at the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation to find the project which will receive up to KRW 10 billion in expense support. 

The finals will feature assessments from independent experts as well as a citizen judging panel consisting of 100 Gyeonggi residents. Also, a public vote will be broadcast live online. 

For the public vote, anyone can log on to the Creative Audition website (www.nextaudition.kr) using their smartphones or PCs and cast their votes from 9:30am on the day of the event until approximately 11:40am when presentations for the final project conclude. 

Gapyeong County, which presented its ‘Gapyeong Music Village Project’, took home first place honors at last year’s NEXT Gyeonggi Creative Audition and received the Good Morning Award as well as KRW 10 billion for the project’s budget. Siheung City and Bucheon City won second and third place (the NEXT Awards), respectively, with ‘Building the Gyeonggi Western Integration Support Center (KRW 8.2 billion)’ and ‘Job Creation through a Global Contents Project of Webtoons (KRW 3.3 billion). 

Pocheon City and Ansan City came fourth and fifth, respectively, for the Creative Award with the ‘Establishing Hanyeoul Happy Community (KRW 6.7 billion) and the ‘Youth Startup Incubating Center (KRW 1.9 billion). Finally Paju City and Yangpyeong County came sixth and seventh, respectively, for the Innovation Award with ‘Establishing the Gamaksan Mountain Healing Theme Park (KRW 6.7 billion)’ and ‘Building a Healing Health Zone (KRW 3.2 billion).  

◇ Gyeonggi Province selects 8 finalists for the NEXT Gyeonggi Creative Audition Season 2 and hosts the finals at 9:30am on October 7 at the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. The image is from last year’s NEXT Gyeonggi Creative Audition held on December 29. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News Heo Seon-ryang

■ Upgrading startups: ‘Up Creative Audition’

The ‘Up’ in Up Creative Audition refers to ‘up’ (business) found in the Korean words ‘changup’ (startup), ‘saup’ (private business), and ‘giup’ (corporation). It also refers to the ‘Up’ in ‘Boom-up’ and ‘Up-grade’.

The ‘Up Creative Audition’ offers (potential) startups with great ideas the opportunity to explain their business models in front of investors who gauge their business value. For items that hold potential as products, the audition provides the support necessary to advertise and attract capital through crowd funding. 

The audition is open to all business fields including manufacturing, and knowledge-based services. Eligibility is restricted to startups in their early stages with prototypes (services) almost ready for release or new ventures (startups) preparing for their investor relations (IR) sessions. 

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government plans to provide consulting and marketing support for crowd funding for selected teams. If capital is successfully raised through crowd funding, Gyeonggi Province will match the amount from anywhere between KRW 2 million to 5 million. 

Applications will be examined by Twosun Venture Capital evaluator Kim Min-hyeong, Mirae Asset Venture Investment evaluator Jeong Eun-ho, Big Bag Angels CEO Hwang Byeong-seon, and Wadiz Director Choi Dong-cheol. The 5 teams selected during the assessment process will participate season 2 of the Up Creative Audition on October 28. 

■ Looking for startups in Gyeonggi Province: ‘Superman Creative Audition’

Ten finalists for the ‘Superman Creative Audition’ have been selected. The Superman Creative Audition is a contest on the lookout for future business owners with innovative ideas and startups with outstanding technology. 

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government and the Gyeonggi Small and Medium Business Support Center have confirmed the 10 team that will now advance to the final stages of the Superman Creative Audition scheduled on October 22. 

The selection process was separated into the commercialization division (early startup businesses) and the idea division (individuals). The audition saw some fierce competition among the 236 participating teams – 129 teams for the commercialization division and 107 for the idea division. 

Gyeonggi Province opened the application process in July and conducted a first preliminary application screening, second preliminary interview assessment, and final presentation assessment to select 10 finalists. 

Five independent experts including investment companies and accelerators participated as judges during the selection process and assessed originality, practicality, business value, and ripple effect. 

For the 10 finalists, their ideas and technical issues will be examined and their business plans assessed by corporate assessment experts throughout a preparation period of approximately one month. They are expected to offer improved business plans at the final competition. 

The final competition will get under way on October 22 at the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation located in Pangyo. With current CEOs of major corporations in Korea and representatives of venture capital firms invited to judge the proceedings, the final competition will be a reliable platform to gauge the business value and probability of success for the projects.  

In all, seven teams will take home awards from the final competition – one Grand Prize, two First Prizes, two Second Prizes, and two Third Prizes. Winners will be given a chance to invest using Gyeonggi Province’s Superman Fund in addition to various incentives when participating in support projects implemented by the provincial government and the Gyeonggi Small and Medium Business Support Center. 

■ Creative Audition for public officials in Gyeonggi Province: ‘Young Idea’

Gyeonggi Province has a new form of idea contest through which the person who proposes the idea becomes directly involved with implementing the idea. Also, according to the contest, the person will be rewarded with unprecedented incentives if the project is successful as well. 

Gyeonggi Province announced that this contest will be limited to working-level grade 6 government officials or below. The provincial government expects the competition to function as a platform through which refreshing ideas from working-level officials in the field get utilized directly in government policies. 

Gyeonggi Province recently announced its plan for the ‘Young Idea’ competition that specified such details. Applications will be accepted until October 12 from grade 6 officials and lower at the provincial government.

Ideas will be collected in reference to key national and provincial tasks as well as all fields involving local self-government. Contestants can apply individually or as teams of 2 to 3 people. 

Once the application deadline of October 12 passes, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government will conduct a preliminary application screening process and select approximately five teams. With these selected teams, the ‘Young Idea’ creative audition will be held in early November. To ensure fair evaluation, the entire judging panel will be selected from external experts. 

The team that passes the final audition will be offered a chance to take a 6-month training course either domestically or overseas, or they can receive administrative·financial support. 

■ Heartwarming technology and a happy world: ‘Idea Competition on Assistive Devices’

The first assistive technology service organization in Korea established by Gyeonggi Province, the ‘Gyeonggi Assistive Technology and Assistive Center (ATRAC), is hosting the ‘8th Idea Competition on Assistive Devices’.

With its slogan of ‘Heartwarming technology! Happy world!’, this year’s competition gets under way to select future-oriented assistive devices capable of providing convenient services to all people including the disabled and elderly. 

A wide range of ideas have won at the contest in the past including an intelligent walking assistant robot for senior citizens and the infirm (Grand Prize at the 6th annual event), and information robot and voice information kit (Grand Prize at the 3rd annual event), and a sound-detecting vibration device on bicycle handles for people with hearing disabilities. 

This year’s competition is divided into the ‘non-specified project’ division in which contestants submit their hardware, software, or designs, and a ‘specified project’ division using 3D printers. 

Contestants can participate as individuals or teams (up to 4 team members) in the non-specified project or specified project division. Up to 2 ideas for assistive devices without any prior history of winning at other competitions can be submitted to the event. 

First, 12 teams (6 specified project teams and 6 non-specified project teams) will be selected through an application screening process. These teams will be ranked according to their point totals awarded by the judges and the audience during a public audition on December 22 at the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. 

The contest will be brought to you by the Hyundai Motor Group, and winners in each division will receive KRW 3 million in prize money along with a Hyundai Motor Group CEO Award and a Gyeonggi Province Governor Award. 

Gyeonggi Province intends to review winning products and ideas from a number of angles, including their business value as well as the possibility of mass production, and pursue commercialization. Winning products and ideas will be exhibited at the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation on December 23. 

Applications can be made until November 20 through the competition-dedicated website (www.atidea.or.kr), or you can deliver your applications by mail or in person (3F, Gyeonggi Comprehensive Labor Welfare Center, 46-16, Homaesil-ro, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province).

■ Creating jobs for our youths and stimulating our game industry: ‘Game Creative Audition’

◇ On June 30, winners of the ‘Game Creative Audition’ at the Pangyo Center for Creative Economy and Innovation pose for a photo. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News Yoo Je-hoon

The ‘Game Creative Audition’ is the first game contents audition in Korea in which ‘super’ CEOs from domestic game corporations participate as judges. The audition was created to establish a creative game environment and to actively develop the gaming industry. 

The Game Creative Audition will be held in December and, unlike the commercialization division audition back on June 30, this competition will be open to mobile game projects at the idea phase. Anyone from students to the general public, experienced game developers, and developing companies can take part in the audition as long as they have an idea. 

Applications will close on October 12 and 40 teams will be selected after a screening process (October 14 to 15). Thereafter, 20 teams will be selected at the 1^st audition (October 20 to 21), and then the 10 finalists will be chosen after a month-long mentoring process. 

The 10 finalists will be given a chance to participate in the final public audition on December 2 at the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. The event will be a public audition at which the general public can attend and participate. The audition will also be available on the internet. 

For the top 5 teams at the finals, Gyeonggi Province will offer KRW 50 million for contestants who win first place (one team), KRW 30 million each for second place contestants (two teams), and KRW 20 million each for third place contestants (two teams) as support for their development activities. The provincial government will also partially match expenses linked to commercialization and offer support for regular ‘Pitching Days’ (a form of investment briefing session where the developer can reveal projects at their planning and development stages and explain them in front of producers, investors, and buyers). 

For more information, please refer to the Gyeonggi Contents Agency website (www.gcon.or.kr/archives/21034) or call the Gyeonggi Contents Industry Division (032-8008-4627) or the Gyeonggi Contents Agency Global Marketing Team (032-623-8084).

■ Public policy contest: ‘Gyeonggi Province Creative Suggestion Audition’

◇ On the afternoon of September 17, the ‘2015 Gyeonggi Province Creative Suggestion Audition’ contestants pose for a photo inside Giga Hall at the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation at Pangyo. ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News Heo Seon-ryang

The ‘Gyeonggi Province Creative Suggestion Audition’ is an audition for policy suggestions that was created as a platform to ensure that the voices of Gyeonggi residents are heard more clearly. It offers a chance for policy suggestions to be implemented as actual policies rather than remaining mere ideas.  

In particular, this audition veered away from conventional assessment methods only involving evaluation committees. Instead, it invited more than 30 people to act as a judging panel and asked them to take on part in the assessment. 

Contestants Kang Won-gu (24, 3rd year of Department of Business Administration, Korea University) and Ko Young-ji (2nd year Department of Food Engineering, Korea University) won the Grand Prize at the 2015 Gyeonggi Province Creative Suggestion Audition on September 17 with their idea of ‘Dispatching university student play-coaches regionally to improve the right to play for our children’.

From 3:00pm to 5:00pm on September 17, Gyeonggi Province hosted the final rounds of the Gyeonggi Province Creative Suggestion Audition inside Giga Hall at the Gyeonggi Center for Creative Economy and Innovation at Pangyo and selected five event winners including contestants Kang Won-gu and Ko Young-ji. 

With a total of seven teams participating in the final audition, Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly Planning and Budget Committee Chairman Bae Soo-moon, Gyeonggi Province Policy Planning and Budget Bureau Director General Lee Jae-cheol, Gyeonggi Research Institute Vice President Lee Sang-hoon, Fairtrade Marketing Organization Korea CEO Ji Dong-hoon, Innoiz Interactive CEO Hong Soon-gi, Yeoincheonha CEO Yang Jae-young, and Hanseol International CEO Park Min-gyu formed the judging panel alongside another judging panel comprised of audience members. 

The Gyeonggi Provincial Government plans to implement the five winning suggestions in its 2016 governing policies. 

Meanwhile, a total 316 suggestions were submitted via the audition which sought contestant suggestions related to the main theme of ‘a Gyeonggi Province created by me’ for 4 weeks from July 20 to August 16. Gyeonggi Province selected seven suggestions and put them up for the final audition after three separate evaluation sessions.

ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News | Kim Jin-kyoung jinkyoungkim@kg21.net 

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