So why the comparison to Korea? Korea has very restrictive immigration policies which prevent almost anyone from gaining actual permanent residency (citizenship is almost impossible for "non-Koreans"). Israel has very liberal immigration and easy access to citizenship. Israel is democratic and has been mostly free since its founding whereas Korea has had a few dictatorships (and serious military crackdowns on civilian freedom).

The main reason Korea isn't a startup hub is capital. Korean banks are incredibly conservative, they won't even lend money for cars or mortgages to most people. Capital is centralized and mainly allocated to existing projects or proven corporate models. Venture capital is non existent. Israel is the opposite of that with lots of investment and decentralized capital. In short, Israel has risk seeking investors, Korea doesn't.

When no one takes even low to moderate risks with money there cannot be a startup boom.