(by guest blogger, R. Elgin)
So what happens when one combines video games with their cell phone in Korea?
This is the question that the Korea Game Development Institute (KGDI) and the Korean Culture & Content Agency (KOCCA) take very seriously. According to statistics from the Korea Game Development Institute, the global mobile game market is almost $2.2 billion and the KOCCA and others want Korea to be global players. Oddly enough, the KOCCA is part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which is an indication of just *how* seriously Korea takes its development of online gaming content development. Part of the mission statement of the KOCCA states:
KOCCA actively promotes Korean companies involved in animation, character licensing, music, comic publishing, Mobile and Internet and Education by serving as a global bridge between Korean culture content providers and international partners. KOCCA is committed to developing and promoting the Korean culture content industry; To build infrastructure for developing creativity and technology for culture content; To foster industry professionals and ensure sustainable development; To develop global partnership to enhance and support industry marketing efforts; To encourage industry investment and strengthen Korea as a global content provider.
(I’m still trying to figure out how the music and culture fits in here.)
(From Gamevil’s upcoming “Three Kingdoms” handset game)
All this presages the now of games for people with hand-held gadgets or even cellphones. As Samsung and LG handsets, with their better graphics and features, becomes more common place in the U.S. and EU, a new platform for gaming has developed for people who want to kill time on the go, namely games that can be played on one’s handphone. Mind you, the Seoul subway has its own form of the “Zerg Rush” — which can be played without a handphone — but almost anyone with a newer model phone can game.
Part of this trend involves something called “Digital Multimedia Broadcasting” (DMB), which is a digital transmission system for sending data, radio and TV to mobile devices such as mobile phones. South Korea started DMB service in 2005 and it is only a matter of time before one can watch their favorite K-drama on their handphone, listen to CD-quality music or play online games like “Starcraft”.
One cutting-edge developer (and major coffee “qwang”) in Bongcheondong, Seoul — Gamevil — is one of the leaders in Korea and is up and coming in the global market as well. Gamevil was distinguished by the Chicago Tribune as having the “best cell phone game of 2005″. As per the Joongang Ilbo:
. . . Gamevil, which launched a branch in Los Angeles last March, presented four new games. In Korea, Gamevil is developing Tom Clancy’s “Splinter Cell - Pandora Tomorrow.” which will be available for SK Telecom users in June.
Considering such, one could say there is more to Korean culture than Samulnori and Pansori. Nowadays, however, it is only the content that is Korean and not the medium — a medium which no one one country can call its own — unlike Samulnori and Pansori.
7 Comments
How can people even see those little game characters to play them, they’re so damn small… God I’m getting old.
Fixed.
Three Kingdoms is a pretty time consuming game. I could picture it in my head, someone playing 3 kingdoms. With the right approach, it could have a guy stuck to his phone for hours and hours and hours. My appeal for the game was always trying to fictionally have Liu Bei unite China. There’s always an emotional appeal to that, if you read Sam Gook Ji, Yun Hee, which is heavily biased towards Liu Bei.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of those things that drew me into the idea of brotherhood, loyalty, etc. In the real world, very few people are like that. In fact, I read an op/ed somewhere stating that if you lived like Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun, you’ll get scammed, hurt, and taken thoroughly advantage of.
Nice work of fiction, though. Very long read.
I think gamers play this game, because they aren’t happy with the ending.
You folks know about SKs entrance into the global market with the new Helios telephone right? I do believe they are about to dominate the market back here in the States now with a little help from Myspace.com.
The thing that I found interesting about the subject was this dichotomy between “content” and “medium” and the sponsorship of a ministry that promotes Korean culture yet seems more concerned with the money side of things. It is a bit like writing Korean music that, instead of using Korean instruments, uses generic instruments that can be found in almost all other countries. It makes one pause and consider just what makes one culture different from other cultures. How can the “content” be representative of an unique culture if the context is as common as air?
I also wonder about the close association of “culture” with money in the mindset of the Korean Government. Just like back in the times of Lorenzo the Great, it does take filthy lucre to make great art but where is the art? Consider that, in Korea, when one applies for a government grant to create a work of art, in Korea — like an opera — after having applied and recieved the grant, one is expected to spit out the opera within three to six months!! Basically this means that those applying often need to do some “creative”, possibly fictional paperwork and put together much of the work before actually getting the grant or else the work becomes another “wait until the last moment then rush like hell” work of art. Thus, having the mechanisms of bureaucracy drive the culture this much results in work without the spark of genius and more the smoky fire of desperation.
“the work becomes another “wait until the last moment then rush like hell” work of art”
That’s the way everything else is done in Korea (especially in the work and business world), so why should the art world be any different?
the helios venture is great for sk. very innovative for a telecom. the recent partnership with warner music korea is also very interesting. don’t think it can map to other markets, but sk is all about exploiting niche markets and has been doing it very well.