The computer game industry in Korea has grown rapidly in every year of its existence. As for the domestic market, a growth curve faltered for a while in 2006, but after that time, it has steadly increased. Especially as far as exports are concerned, it has shown double-digit growth reaching 500 million dollars of trade balance. For last nine years, the Korea Game Industry Agent (KOGIA) has contributed to export promotion, creativity, human resources, and policy development. In addition, KOGIA will maintain its enthusiastic efforts to make the gaming industry a cornerstone of Korea's economy and reach the lofty goal of being in the world's top three. The President of KOGIA, Choy Kyu-nam says: "Gaming features interactive contents with incomparably strong absorption. As gaming attains more influence and creates more ripple effects, it is required for games to have certain functions, good and funny ones. We, KOGIA have developed many functional games tacking social issues.

 

We have designed games on a wide variety of topics that go beyond what is normally expected from video games. ' Choi continues: "The gaming industry has grown as a core cultural industry. By leading an international e-sports symposium, we gathered all e-sports leaders in one place to lay the foundation for Korea to lead the world's e-sports industry. By doing this, we will set a strong example to the rest of the field and try to elevate the international status of Korea and the Korean game industry." He continues: "Moreover, we also try to help domestic companies advance into markets abroad. We hosted exports consultation with representatives from China, Vietnam, America, and Japan. We will also maintain those efforts in Italy, France and other European countries." With all these efforts, Choi sees a bright future for gaming in Korea, especially when one considers year's gaming exhibition, GStar 2008.

Then, what are the bumps in GStar's road to prosperity Choi points out some dark sides of Korean gaming exhibitions. "In Korea, online game oriented users are aggregated, but major global game companies mainly focus on video games. Therefore, the Korean market lacks charm to major foreign companies, which is the main reason why global game companies hesitate to participate in GStar." However, Choi did not miss this dark cloud's silver lining. He says; "Even though GStar is still lacking somewhat, there is a global trend breaking down walls between different platforms. On the other hand, Internet infrastructure in Europe and America spreads very quickly, faster than you think. Therefore, as online games converge with other platforms, the competitiveness of Gstar will be outstanding. As you know, GStar has already specialized online games."