The number of solo creative enterprises in South Korea has been growing every year, with their share of all startups expanding to roughly one-quarter of the total.
According to the "2025 Solo Creative Enterprise Survey" released Wednesday by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED), the number of solo creative enterprises in Korea stood at 1,162,529 as of the end of 2023, up 15.4% from 1,007,769 the previous year. By industry, e-commerce accounted for the largest share at 27.9%, followed by manufacturing at 21.2% and education services at 17.1%.
A solo creative enterprise refers to a sole proprietor or a joint business with fewer than five partners who possesses creativity and expertise and operates without any permanent employees. Thirty-two industries are excluded from the category, including real estate, wholesale and retail, lodging, restaurants and bars, mining, water supply, transportation, and finance and insurance.
By region, Gyeonggi Province had the most solo creative enterprises at approximately 342,000 (29.4%), followed by Seoul at 262,000 (22.5%), Busan at 70,000 (6.0%), South Gyeongsang Province at 65,000 (5.6%), and Incheon at 64,000 (5.5%). The Seoul metropolitan area accounted for 668,000 (57.5%) and non-capital regions for 494,000 (42.5%). In terms of business structure, 85.8% were sole proprietorships rather than corporations. Individual consumers were the primary clients at 78%, followed by businesses at 19.1% and government or public institutions at 2.4%.
Average revenue per enterprise was 266.4 million won, with net profit averaging 35.2 million won, up 12.8% and 4% year-on-year respectively. The average age of business owners was 55.1 years, with 70.7% male and 29.3% female. The average business tenure was approximately 13.1 years, with enterprises established before 2011 accounting for the highest share at 39%. Relevance to previous occupations scored 59.7 points, and the average length of employment before starting a business was 16.3 years.
The most common motivation for launching a solo creative enterprise was "to earn higher income," cited by 40% of respondents. "To utilize aptitude and abilities" followed at 36.5%, and "to make a living" at 14.5%. The average preparation period before launch was 13.1 months. After launch, it took an average of 2.6 months to generate the first revenue and an average of 29.8 months to reach the break-even point.