KH Global Hanbang Raises $360K Seed Round to Bring Clinically Backed Traditional Korean Medicine Supplements to Global Markets

KH Global Hanbang, a Korean wellness startup co-founded by faculty from Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital, has raised a seed round of approximately $362,000 (KRW 500 million) from Korea Investment Accelerator.

The company was co-founded in March 2025 by three active clinicians at Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital. All three founders remain practicing medical professionals and are directly involved throughout the product development process — from concept and ingredient selection to clinical review. That combination of over 50 years of accumulated clinical experience at the hospital with an evidence-based approach drawn from modern medicine is what the company says sets it apart in the crowded functional health supplement space.

The founding team sees structural shifts in the global premium wellness market as the backdrop for the venture. Post-pandemic demand for preventive healthcare, rapidly aging populations, and growing international awareness of traditional medicine have all expanded the market for nature-based health supplements. Companies with hospital-grade clinical records and prescription data, they argue, are better positioned to earn the trust of overseas buyers and distribution partners.

The flagship product in development is a throat health supplement derived from a respiratory herbal formula with more than 30 million cumulative prescription records at Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital. Beyond that initial launch, the company has a pipeline of more than 60 candidate compounds targeting areas such as cerebral blood flow improvement, metabolic and muscle-loss prevention in middle-aged adults, and hair loss care.

The near-term go-to-market strategy focuses on general food and pre-approved functional health product categories, with plans to expand progressively into individually recognized functional health products and international markets. On the manufacturing side, the company signed an MOU with Biostream, a GMP-certified facility, in February and has begun negotiations on dedicated equipment investment and contract manufacturing for troche-form products.

“Traditional Korean medicine has built globally differentiated capabilities as a pillar of Korea’s dual healthcare system, particularly in preventive care,” said Woohyun Nam, team lead at Korea Investment Accelerator. “We believe KH Global Hanbang will leverage the heritage of Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital to deliver a new wave of K-wellness innovation to the global market.”

“The clinical history of prescriptions we’ve given patients over decades in the hospital is the starting point for every product we make,” said Heejae Jeong, CEO of KH Global Hanbang. “Our goal is to bring scientifically validated traditional formulas into everyday health management for modern consumers — and ultimately to deliver the value of K-traditional medicine directly to a global audience.”