Google Play said on the 18th that it completed selecting 100 companies to join the "Changgu Program" cohort 8 in partnership with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED).
The Changgu Program is a startup support program that selects domestic mobile app and game startups to help them grow and enter overseas markets, now in its eighth year. Google, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and the Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) jointly made the final selection of 100 companies among developers that applied, based on content completeness, innovativeness, and potential for global expansion.
The 100 corporations selected for this eighth Changgu cohort drew attention with apps that combine the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) with new ideas in fields including education, daily life, gaming, and health. Representative examples include "Ssada Voca," an ultra-low-cost English learning app that implements automated production of learning content based on AI; "Guiguisaljeon," a real-time tag-and-deduction game app that uses a Korean traditional afterlife setting and ghost and yokai characters; and "Maimory," an emotion-recording app that automatically generates diaries by analyzing user messages with AI.
The Changgu Program, a flagship domestic startup support program named by taking the "chang" from entrepreneurship and the "gu" from Google Play, has had a cumulative 660 domestic startups participate through the seventh cohort since its launch in 2019. Among the 100 companies that took part in cohort seven last year, combined sales during the program period (May–Dec. 2025) rose 70%, from about 30.05 billion won to 51.69 billion won year over year, and exports grew about 90%, from 2.83 billion won to 5.4 billion won. App downloads increased about 53%, from about 5.48 million to 8.39 million.
For the mobile app and game startups selected for this eighth Changgu cohort, Google Play will provide support for overseas market entry, monetization, and service advancement. It will also expand AI-specialized programs for participants using AI technology.
Yoon Goo, president of Google Korea, said, "We hope Changgu becomes a growth momentum that can expand beyond the domestic market to the broader global stage, and Google will work to help participants advance their services and expand their markets."