From KRW 1 million to unicorn
Prologue — from KRW 10 billion in debt to a KRW 1 trillion valuation
Before it is a success story, the story of Galaxy Corporation is the record of a comeback. A founder who started out in his twenties — and was crushed under KRW 10 billion in debt — began again in 2019 with just KRW 1 million. Six years later, that company was a unicorn valued at KRW 1 trillion. Choi Yong-ho calls the journey "proof that anyone can build a unicorn, even with just KRW 1 million."
The next destination in that comeback story is Physical AI. Choi frames Galaxy's future as a world where humans coexist with AI embodied in robots — Embodied AI.
Choi Yong-ho's failure in his twenties left him KRW 10 billion in debt, but with eight friends and KRW 1 million he refounded Galaxy Corporation and built a KRW 1 trillion unicorn in six years.
A startup at 22, a failure at 29
Choi started early. He launched his first business at 22, and in 2011 founded the Korean Wave magazine K-Wave in Lyon, France — working with some 700 celebrities and building it into a publication distributed in 136 countries. That same year, he gathered friends from his elementary, middle and high school years to co-found K-Culture Co.
But an overreach into fashion shows, studios and restaurants proved his undoing. By around age 29 the business was effectively bankrupt, leaving KRW 10 billion in debt and billions of won in personal guarantees.
"Starting a company at 22 and failing at 29 taught me to treat loyalty and standing by your people as core values in life."— Choi Yong-ho
KRW 1 million — and eight friends
In August 2019, he refounded Galaxy Corporation with just KRW 1 million. With no capital, even signing an artist to an exclusive contract was out of reach. Yet eight co-founders stood beside him — not classmates from a single homeroom, but a team drawn together from his elementary, middle and high school friends.
After the first venture collapsed, Choi reached out to his friends once more. "Give me one more chance — we'll be a unicorn within five years," he told them, and they pooled their money bit by bit. The eight have now walked 14 years together, and that trust became the foundation of Galaxy Corporation.
What's in the name
The company name "Galaxy" has deeply personal roots. His first son is named Galaxy; his second son is named Universe. Needing the courage to stand back up after the failure of his twenties, he rebuilt the company on his sons' names.
His English name is Scofield, after the protagonist of Prison Break. Galaxy's headquarters includes a prison-themed room called the "Space Prison" — a symbol of limits. The philosophy of the space: we build our own limits, and we can break them, too.
"In a space where you can do nothing and there's no one around — maybe that's where the most creative thinking comes from."— Choi Yong-ho · on the Space Prison
The strategic pivot — IP, not people
The experience of being unable to sign celebrities without capital ended up producing a strategic pivot. Choi set a new direction — "focus on characters and IP, not the celebrities themselves" — and built an alter-ego character IP business. The company then began fusing technology into entertainment, including bringing the late entertainers Song Hae and Kim Ja-ok back as AI avatars.
He read the market early, too, predicting that "after K-pop, K-film and K-drama comes a global boom in K-variety." The prediction came true with the worldwide success of Netflix's Physical: 100 — the only unscripted show in Netflix history to top the global chart two years in a row.
Chief Happiness Officer
Choi's official title is not chief executive but Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) — because he puts "thinking about people, and talking with them" at the center of how he runs the company. Galaxy keeps a list of "10 organizational values that matter more than money," and the first four are people, love, dreams and family.
Unicorn — and back to being a startup
Fourteen years of persistence showed up in the numbers. Galaxy Corporation turned profitable in the first half of 2025 and posted FY2025 revenue of KRW 298.8 billion. In December 2025 it raised a KRW 100 billion pre-IPO round, reaching unicorn status at a valuation of roughly KRW 1 trillion.
But Choi doesn't see the unicorn milestone as a finish line. In 2026 he introduced Galaxy to the world from the New York Stock Exchange, and he is opening the next chapter with Robot Park, Dubai and Nasdaq. That chapter is called Physical AI — Choi defines Galaxy as a Physical AI company building the future of entertainment through humanoid robotics and Embodied AI.
"We became a unicorn worth KRW 1 trillion — but this is just a new beginning, a return to the startup mindset."— Choi Yong-ho