Your US landing pads, already paid for
KOSME runs free office space and local support for Korean SMEs in 22 cities. For US-bound brands, four centers matter most. Here is the map and how to use it.
How to actually work the GBC route
Read from KOSME, KOTRA, and MSS source material, rewritten in our voice. Each tip names its source.
Before you apply
It's a real evaluation, so bring a plan
Selection runs in stages: an online application, a feasibility review with an on-site company survey, then an overseas market-viability assessment. They are funding traction, not just a product, so apply with a market-entry plan, target buyers, and a reason this market now.
Apply before you need the space
Applications are open year-round through KOSME's G-SPACE portal, but the screening and market review take time. Apply ahead of your launch window, not after, so the review time comes out of planning and not out of selling.
Check the fee and term before you pick
GBC office tenancy and the related overseas-branch service are not flat-priced. Participation fees and terms vary by city and by the running agency. Compare the cost against what each center actually does for your category before you commit.
Choosing a center
Use the US centers as a free soft-landing
Before you sign a US lease, the four KOSME centers give you a desk, a local address, and legal and accounting help at no cost. We treat them as a brand's first 90 days of US infrastructure while you validate demand.
Pick the city by where your buyers are
New York for retail and beauty buyers, LA for west-coast distribution and Korean-American demand, Chicago for the central logistics belt, Washington D.C. for policy and compliance access. Match the city to your channel, not the other way around.
PCD read on the US center footprint
GBC gives you space; 지사화 gives you a market team
These are two different programs that stack well. A GBC is physical office space and local settling-in support. The overseas-branch service (해외지사화) has a local trade office act as your branch: market research, buyer discovery, deal support. Space alone does not sell; pair the desk with someone working your market.
Making it pay off
You don't have to move in to get value
Tenants get a private room and shared meeting rooms, but non-resident companies can use the shared office on a drop-in basis too. If a full move-in isn't right yet, you can still use the address, the meeting space, and the local network for buyer visits and trials.
The hard part is finance and legal, not the product
Korean SMEs report that the real friction in the US is finance, insurance, legal, and admin, not the product. A GBC's legal and accounting help is there for exactly this. Line up your entity, payments, tax nexus, and category compliance early, before the first order, not after.
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ReadWant help working the GBC route?
We help Korean brands turn a GBC desk into real US sales: the application, the local setup, and the demand work that makes the space worth it.