[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Hyesoo] On the afternoon of the 28th, Namgoong Hoon, CEO of Kakao Games, appeared as a one-day master on SBS's 'Master in the House.'
On this day, the members of Master in the House welcomed Namgoong Hoon, the CEO leading one of South Korea's representative companies, as their one-day master. The production team revealed that the one-day master they were meeting today actually communicates with all employees through an anonymous group chat on SNS. Accordingly, the members also had a brief conversation in the one-day chat room before meeting the master.
The one-day master explained that he uses English names for horizontal communication and asked the members to each come up with an English name. Lee Seunggi chose Vincent, Yang Sehyung chose Bari (from Yang Sebari's Bari), Shin Sungrok chose Rocky, Cha Eunwoo chose Felix, and Kim Donghyun chose Stun Gun.
The company where the one-day master serves as CEO allowed employees to freely enjoy free draft beer during working hours. Additionally, they boasted fantastic welfare benefits such as starting work one hour later on Mondays, leaving one hour earlier on Fridays, and having the last Friday of every month off, called "Nolgum" (play Friday).
After a brief anonymous talk with the one-day master, the members visited the Kakao office where the master was located. There, they met today's master, Namgoong Hoon, CEO of Kakao Games.
Regarding the common concern of parents about the side effects of gaming, Namgoong Hoon stated, "Instead of worrying about games unconditionally, it might be good to use them as a means of communication with your children." However, when Yang Sehyung brought up an anecdote about a PC room that caught fire while gaming, Namgoong hurriedly said, "Just edit that out," which made the members laugh.
Namgoong Hoon also revealed that he was one of the three founding members of the game portal Hangame. Hangame is famous as Korea's first online game site that contributed to the popularization of games. He said that the three founding members started with 50 million won, and when Cha Eunwoo asked, "How old were you then?" he answered, "28, I think," which made the members envious.
Next, the members toured the Kakao Games office. Spaces for private phone calls, a focused work area separated from the main office, and a nap room for rest caught their attention. Especially in the space lined with a vast collection of comic books arranged like a small library, the members were left speechless.
Meanwhile, at a mini convenience store they encountered, the members immediately made and ate ramen without hesitation upon hearing that all the menu items were free. At this moment, Cha Eunwoo showed his youngest member side by nervously saying, "A-are you... really going to eat now?"
While resting briefly at the mini convenience store, Cha Eunwoo and Lee Seunggi asked, "What are the hiring conditions?" Namgoong Hoon shared a tip: "When I look at resumes, I can tell if someone wrote it specifically to apply to our company or if they just changed the title after writing it. I also see whether the person has a clear goal or if they just applied randomly. In gaming, this is called a 'tech tree.' I look at the entire process of what techs a student used to reach their goal."
In the VR game space that transformed an amusement park into a virtual reality world, Cha Eunwoo, who is too scared to ride the actual gyro drop, experienced VR. Seeing Cha Eunwoo's genuine terrified reaction, Namgoong Hoon said, "I'm very proud." Finally, through conversations with employees, they were able to hear some hidden stories about CEO Namgoong Hoon.
The eccentric masters' life coaching and camaraderie are featured on SBS's 'Master in the House,' which airs every Sunday at 6:25 PM.
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