I instructed an employee via intercom. "Please organize the materials I mentioned and bring them to me."
[Yes, Sunbae... I mean, CEO!]
Less than an hour later, Yuri came up carrying a pile of documents.
"Here you go."
"Good work."
Taek-gyu and I looked through the materials together.
The global game market is currently worth about $180 billion. It's experiencing rapid growth exceeding 10% annually, and recently, the growth trend has accelerated further with the integration of new technologies like VR.
The Korean game market size is approximately 15 trillion won. Exports increased by over 20% compared to the previous year, earning $8 billion last year alone. China accounts for half of the major export destinations. However, imports are also significant. The largest share of imports also comes from China.
"The idea that Chinese games suck is old news. They've invested massively, and recent Chinese games are believable even if you were told they were Korean or Japanese."
As the Chinese game market grew, Chinese game companies also grew at tremendous speed. Like other sectors, Chinese game companies leveraged their huge domestic market, government support, and technology copying to become global players. Recently, Chinese games hitting it big in Korea have become increasingly common.
The most famous among these companies is WeChant. It's a comprehensive internet conglomerate investing not only in games but across the entire internet industry, including messengers, SNS, and cloud services. Its influence in the gaming world is truly immense; besides developing and publishing games directly, it hosts the world's largest e-sports events and has acquired or holds stakes in famous game companies in the US, Japan, and Korea. Its current market cap is 2.4 trillion yuan. It was once the top company in China and Asia, but has now yielded that position to Seoseong Electronics.
In its early days, WeChant went around to Korean game companies, begging them for publishing rights. But now, the situation has reversed 180 degrees. Since the Chinese market holds an overwhelming share of Korean game exports, domestic game companies are now lining up in front of WeChant, begging them to publish their games.
"Aren't game regulations pretty strict in China these days too?"
"Even so, it's nothing compared to MOGEF's regulations. And their domestic market is enormous."
I continued examining the documents.
MOGEF imposes regulations not just on the game industry but across the entire cultural sector, including broadcasting, film, and music. They're trying to revive the pre-censorship system for music albums and strengthen standards for media deemed harmful to youth. Recently, they've even extended their reach to one-person broadcasting platforms like A-Tube, identifying violations of gender equality and announcing plans to issue guidelines and regulatory directives.
In fact, it's no exaggeration to say that regulation of the Korean cultural industry began with the history of the industry itself. Korea underwent military dictatorships and rapid industrialization, where economic growth was the supreme goal. Therefore, elements hindering study and labor were targets for eradication. Before games, comics (manhwa) were designated as harmful media for youth, suffering all sorts of censorship and hardship. As a result, the Korean manhwa industry essentially collapsed, becoming dependent on Japanese manga imports. The manhwa market experienced a long stagnation until the webtoon market eventually opened up.
"Not all manhwa died out. There was one magic word that could transform 'delinquent comics,' supposedly scarier than tigers and smallpox, into excellent content."
"What was it?"
"Education."
"Ah..."
Manhwa is harmful and evil. But add 'education' to make 'educational manhwa,' and it becomes beneficial and excellent. While the general manhwa market was devastated, the educational manhwa market was a veritable safe zone. That's how educational manhwa like 'Magical Thousand Character Classic' or 'Greek and Roman Mythology in Manhwa' could emerge.
"The game industry is incomparably larger than the manhwa industry. And unlike manhwa, which can be produced by individuals, games require specialized personnel and huge capital investment. Once the industry collapses, it's difficult to rebuild."
Naturally, regulations are necessary for any industry. The problem is the extent. Appropriate regulation ensures the soundness of an industry and provides a foundation for further growth, but excessive regulation nips it in the bud entirely.
It would be somewhat better if all countries worldwide imposed regulations together. But if only Korea imposes unusually severe regulations, it's like telling its industry to fight with its hands tied.
Let's say domestic game companies are eradicated this way. Does that solve all problems? Not a chance. As the scale of game industry imports and exports shows, the void left by domestic games will naturally be filled by foreign games. If MOGEF tried to apply the same regulations to foreign companies, they would immediately be sued at the WTO. Ultimately, excessive regulation only destroys the domestic game industry without achieving anything positive.
***
OTK Company Headquarters Main Conference Room.
About 50 people entered the company's largest conference room. Representatives from game companies who received Team Leader Jung Gi-hong's Buster Call had gathered secretly. LC Soft's CEO Kim Jin-taek, NA Games' CEO Joo Won-hong, Letmarble's CEO Ha Yoo-sik, and so on. Major domestic game companies—large corporations, SMEs, listed companies, unlisted companies—were all present.
Taek-gyu, dressed in a grey tracksuit, sat at the head of the table, flanked by me and Sang-yeop sunbae. Taek-gyu placed his elbows on the table, clasped his hands, and deliberately put on a serious demeanor. While a few major game company CEOs seemed to recognize him from parties, most reacted with confusion.
'Who's that kid?'
'Why is someone who looks like a part-timer sitting there instead of Kang Jin-hoo?'
'Did we come to the wrong conference room?'
'Or could that person possibly be...?'
'No way...?'
Glances conveying roughly these thoughts were exchanged.
I stood up and introduced Taek-gyu. "This is Oh Taek-gyu, Vice President of OTK Company."
Except for a few, everyone was startled.
"Oh! The Vice President of OTK Company!"
"The one leading OTK Company's investments in the cultural industry!"
"The very person who established the OTK Award for the development of subculture!"
The existence of OTK Company's Vice President was well-known in the game industry. He was the one who invested in Ichikawa Shigeru and led Lost Fantasy M to success.
Once everyone was seated, Taek-gyu looked around at them and spoke. "I have gathered you all here today to listen to the difficulties facing the game industry. It is a great pleasure to meet in one place the developers of the games I have enjoyed since childhood."
First was a round of self-introductions. Everyone took the microphone, stood up, and stated their names. Taek-gyu listened quietly and then spoke. "The CEOs of Hoon Game and Paming Game. You two may leave."
The two men were stunned. "Excuse me?"
"Why is that?"
Taek-gyu stated flatly, "I do not consider Go-Stop and Poker to be games. They are simply gambling. So please discuss those matters amongst yourselves."
Hoon Game CEO Jang Soo-hwan argued defensively, "We also have Badugi!"
"..."
Anyone hearing that might think it was the board game Go (Baduk). Although the two companies grew through Go-Stop, Poker, and Badugi, they were also actively investing in mobile and online games to launder their image. It's just that those ventures all failed. The two men eagerly explained this point, and other game company CEOs spoke up in their defense. Taek-gyu reluctantly allowed them to sit back down.
Self-introductions continued. It was now the turn of a middle-aged man with a protruding belly.
"I am Joo Dong-soo, CEO of Under the Sea Soft."
"What? Under the Sea?"
Taek-gyu roared furiously, "Get out!!!"
"W-wait a moment, Vice President!"
"Wait for what? Drag him out immediately!"
Security staff dragged CEO Joo Dong-soo outside. This time, no one intervened.
'What on earth is this situation?'
Confused, I nodded after hearing an explanation. "Ah, the legendary Sea Story."
The time was 2004. During an era when the arcade game industry struggled due to the rise of PC bangs (internet cafes), an arcade game called Sea Story appeared like a comet. Though called an arcade game, it was actually closer to Pachinko. Its addictive nature and gambling elements were so strong that the Sea Story craze swept the nation. Everyone rushed to install Sea Story machines, and similar copycat games mushroomed. This led to people losing fortunes and committing suicide, escalating into a social problem. Eventually, the CEO was arrested, all machines were confiscated and destroyed, and the game company closed down. This incident severely damaged the public perception of games and led to the creation of the Game Rating and Administration Committee. The problem was that not only gambling games but also regular games became targets of regulation. Under the Sea Soft was a company re-established by individuals previously involved in creating Sea Story. Considering the damage they inflicted on the game industry, they had no grounds to complain about being kicked out.
Team Leader Jung Gi-hong bowed his head. "My apologies. I invited them without knowing what kind of company it was." It's understandable if you're not familiar with the game industry.
After the self-introductions and seating arrangements were settled, the meeting began in earnest.
The biggest concern currently facing the Korean game industry was the 'Act on Prevention and Healing Support for Internet Game Addiction' proposed in the National Assembly. If this bill passed, the game industry would effectively fall under MOGEF's control. All game companies were trembling in fear, busy formulating countermeasures. In this situation, when contacted by OTK Company, they had rushed over immediately.
CEO Kim Jin-taek of LC Soft was the first to voice his difficulties. "We hire people, earn foreign currency through exports, fill people's leisure time. What exactly have we done wrong?"
"MOGEF regulates games, while the government itself tells us to export more games. How is this different from Korea phasing out nuclear power while encouraging nuclear power exports abroad?"
"I feel a sense of despair, wondering if we're doing something wrong, even if not illegal."
"Many developers are leaving the industry, tired of regulations and censorship."
"Sometimes I even feel guilty, as if I'm creating harmful substances."
"I just want to create games that everyone can enjoy. But these days, I'm ashamed to tell my children I make games."
"At school, one child bragged about his dad making condensing boilers, but my child couldn't say anything in front of him. Is making games a crime?"
Money aside, professional pride is crucial. But when gaming is treated like an illicit industry, developers naturally lose motivation.
The discussion continued for several hours.
After everyone had aired their grievances, Taek-gyu spoke with a serious expression. "I have listened carefully to all your words. The situation is far more serious than I thought. I feel that the Korean game industry could truly collapse at this rate. However..."
Taek-gyu looked around the conference room and continued. "You must also acknowledge that game companies, obsessed with making money, have neglected their social responsibilities. If the industry had established measures to regulate gambling elements and addiction, the perception of games wouldn't have become this bad, and such strong regulatory bills wouldn't have emerged. The major game companies must first take responsibility for this issue and create reasonable, self-regulatory measures."
A few faces flushed, and some cleared their throats awkwardly, but no one could refute his point. As Taek-gyu said, the major game companies bore significant fault for the situation reaching this point. Were there not gamers so fed up with loot boxes and excessive monetization that they sided with MOGEF?
Taek-gyu pushed up his glasses and deliberately lowered his voice. "From now on, you must trust me completely. Trusting me means not being afraid no matter what situation arises and expecting that we will achieve the best possible outcome."
At those words, the game company CEOs' faces brightened. "I-is that true?" This statement was tantamount to OTK Company taking the lead on the game regulation issue. There was no need to explain OTK Company's influence in political and business circles.
CEO Kim Jin-taek of LC Soft shot up from his seat. "I will trust the Vice President completely."
Following his lead, other CEOs stood up one by one.
"Me too."
"I will not be afraid, no matter the situation."
"I will expect the best possible outcome!"
"I believe!"
"I will trust and follow!"
"..."
This wasn't exactly a religious testimony session.
Taek-gyu nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Let me reiterate, leave the game regulation issue entirely to me, and all of you just focus on making good games."
[TL/n: I'm sure most you have already figured out which game companies are these. And Letmarble is Netmarble]