"Persistent Imbalance in Korea-China Game Opportunities... Losing 10 Trillion Won" [Bu Aeri's Game Dictionary]

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Concerns from academia have emerged that the opportunity imbalance in the game industry between Korea and China remains severe. Although rosy prospects poured out recently as China began issuing game licenses (game service permits) for domestic games, there are still calls for the government’s meticulous efforts.

The Korea Game Society held a policy forum on the 15th in collaboration with the Democratic Research Institute of the Democratic Party of Korea under the theme "Policy Directions for the Next Government’s Game Industry and the Form of the Responsible Government Organization."

Professor Wi Jeong-hyun of the Department of Business Administration at Chung-Ang University, who serves as the president of the Korea Game Society, mentioned the situation where Korean game companies are suffering due to China blocking market entry. In fact, China has maintained the Hanhanryeong (Korean Wave Restriction Order) policy in response to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Since March 2017, China has issued only three game licenses for Korean games. This year, Pearl Abyss’s "Black Desert," last year’s domestic indie game "Rooms: The Unsolvable Puzzle," and Com2uS’s "Summoners War: Sky Arena" were the only ones to receive licenses.

Professor Wi said, "In contrast to American and European game companies receiving about 100 licenses, China arbitrarily decides whether to issue licenses or not, and the damage falls entirely on Korean games." According to Professor Wi’s estimates based on past performance, sales worth between 10 trillion and 17.5 trillion KRW have disappeared over four years. This means the amount that could have revitalized the Korean game industry was completely lost.

Meanwhile, Chinese games are thriving domestically. According to Mobile Index by data analytics company IGAWorks, Chinese games accounted for 35% (7 titles) of the top 20 mobile game revenues in Korea last month. According to the "2020 China Game Industry" report, last year’s overseas sales of Chinese games reached approximately 17.5 trillion KRW. Among these, Korea ranked third (8.8%) in China’s total overseas sales, estimated to have earned about 1.5 trillion KRW from the Korean game market.

Recently, the domestic game industry has also begun preparations to enter the Chinese market following Pearl Abyss’s license issuance. Netmarble CEO Kwon Young-sik previously stated, "We are thinking that we need to prepare for the Chinese market more quickly with expectations." Wemade CEO Jang Hyun-guk also said the day before, "The licensing situation for Korean games in China is improving, so we are negotiating for a better environment," adding, "We plan to finalize the contract for Mir4 in China within this year and launch it in China next year."

Because of this, academia pointed out that the next government should take a more proactive stance this time. Professor Wi identified resolving the licensing issue as the top policy task. He also proposed establishing a "Game Industry Strategy Committee" under the president in the next government. Professor Wi urged, "The next government must actively move forward, including lifting the Hanhanryeong."

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