Somssidang Company raises ₩4 billion in Series A funding

Somssidang Company, operator of the online and offline hobby and leisure platform Somssidang, announced on the 11th that it had raised 4 billion won in Series A funding. The round came 18 months after its pre-Series A funding. Since launching in 2019, Somssidang Company has raised funding three times.

The investors were SpringCamp, Coolidge Corner Investment, Capstone Partners, and Lighthouse Combined Investment. SpringCamp and Coolidge Corner Investment, which participated in the seed and pre-Series A rounds, respectively, returned as follow-on investors.

As of January 2022, Somssidang was one of Korea’s leading hobby and leisure platforms, with 1 million cumulative app downloads, 25,000 classes listed, and 12,000 active creators.

Investors highly valued the company’s rapid shift from an offline-focused service to a remote-first model in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Somssidang made the transition with Somssi Kit, which delivers the materials users need to take classes online from wherever they choose, and Live Class, a B2B service for businesses built on the same model.

Since its launch in March 2020, early in the pandemic, Live Class has served more than 35,000 employees at 300 companies. By giving employees unable to participate in offline activities a safe way to enjoy hobbies at home, Live Class has become a new kind of corporate benefit in the “living with COVID” era. As a result, Somssi Kit sales rose 280% last year compared with 2020, while Somssidang Company’s transaction value grew 306% year over year.

“Because Somssidang had built Korea’s largest offline class network, we were able to move our services online quickly,” said Yoo Hee-joo, business division lead at Somssidang Company. “By combining our existing offline strengths with online capabilities, we turned the COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity.”

“Demand in Korea’s hobby market still exceeds supply, and when the market takes off, Somssidang Company will lead it with its advantages in technology and content,” said Jegal Wan, principal at Coolidge Corner Investment. “With success stories emerging in structurally similar markets, such as interior design and crafts, we expect Somssidang to grow even faster.”

With its Series A funding, Somssidang will build an omnichannel system this year to better connect its online and offline services. Location-based searches will show users classes and workshops they can join near areas of interest. The company will also launch “Hobby Road,” a community for sharing information about restaurants and cafes near class locations.

“A major service revamp at the end of this month will bring users a wider range of classes and content,” said Jung Myung-won, CEO of Somssidang Company. “We will become Korea’s first hobby and leisure platform to combine the country’s vast offline content with online services.”