Rapid Rise in Popularity of Korean Games in the Middle East and South Asia

Criticism of Biased and Uniform Genres and High Item Costs...

The Middle East and South Asia have become captivated by Korean games. According to the '2022 Overseas Market Korean Game Users Survey' report recently published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency, the average Korean game usage time across sixteen countries is 146.16 minutes on weekdays and 192.43 minutes on weekends. South Asia significantly exceeded this with 168 minutes on weekdays and 225 minutes on weekends. The Middle East also surpassed these figures with 159 minutes on weekdays and 218 minutes on weekends. By country, India (172.28 minutes on weekdays), Pakistan (237.44 minutes on weekends), United Arab Emirates (235.35 minutes on weekends), and Egypt (170.07 minutes on weekdays) showed relatively longer usage times.

Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates ($76.21) and Qatar ($68.98) also had higher average monthly game usage costs. These figures far exceeded the average of sixteen countries, which was $38.51. The only region with higher costs was East Asia ($50.7). Cha Da-hee, a senior researcher at the Korea Creative Content Agency's Industry Policy Team, stated, "The game usage costs are higher than in North America or Europe, confirming that this is an attractive emerging market." Regarding reasons for enjoying Korean games, many cited interest, fun, and companionship. Areas for improvement varied by country. For example, Qatar pointed out biased and uniform genres, while Egypt highlighted high item purchase costs. Researcher Cha added, "It is necessary to establish new entry strategies tailored to the characteristics of local users."

This survey was conducted with 6,800 Korean game users aged fifteen and older residing in China, Japan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. It is significant in that it comprehensively investigated and analyzed the general game usage behaviors of actual users.