Korea’s First Overseas Online Game PR Center

The first-ever overseas PR center for Korean online games opens today.

According to the game community yesterday, the opening ceremony for the “Korea online game PR center” will be held at 6:00 p.m. today (local time) at the “LA Korea Center” in Los Angeles.

Installed in the PR center are four kiosks and a large screen from which visitors can see games played in competition. There is also an experience center with guides so that Americans who visit the center can try Korean online games.

The PR center is made possible by the collaboration of Korea Culture and Content Agency (KCCA) and Korean game developers which entered the U.S. market, including NC Soft, Webzen, Nexon, and NHN.

The KCCA said, “As the U.S. online game industry is in its initial stages, the growth potential is enormous,” adding, “Taking advantage of the first overseas PR center, we will employ aggressive marketing strategies to dominate the market and support the culture and content of this business on a national level.”

Major Korean game developers, including NC Soft and Webzen, have already established their U.S. offices to distribute their products in the local market. The PC game “Guild War,” released by NC Soft this year, has posted sales of more than 1 million copies in North America, ranking near the top in PC game sales in the U.S..

Those in the game industry have said, “The establishment of the PC center is significant because that means the government recognizes online games as a major cultural industry.”

imsun@donga.com