Aiming to be one of the world's top three game powers by 2010 With the official launch of Korea's 2010 Advisory Committee for the Game Industry as an impetus, the entry of the Korean game industry into one of world's top three by 2010 is set to become a reality. Domestic game industry, in the meanwhile, has posted a high growth, but the environment at home and abroad is not at any cost favorable in doing continuous and stable development. In terms of external side, there is a boundary for growth with domestic demand market alone. Competition in the world game market is intensifying nowadays, and Korea thus needs a clear strategy to deal with this challenge. The 2010 Advisory Committee for the Game Industry was launched on Nov. 7, 2005 to establish concrete strategies for continuous and stable growth of the domestic game industry to meet the challenges of being a leader in the world game market. Game: two-digit annual growth Committee chairman Oh Jee-chul, who was involved in the game industry for over 8 years in the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, pointed out: "The goal of becoming one of the three powers in the world game industry is certainly not impossible." He added that providing the domestic game industry can continue its current growth trend, it will be able to accomplish this sufficiently. The chairman said that the strategies to nurture domestic enterprises into worldwide enterprises are necessary. Concerning the outlook for the entry of the Korean game industry into becoming one of world leaders, Oh explains that would not be an easy task, but considering the domestic game industry's rapid growth and the government's powerful support policy it would be possible. Game industry is one of the industries which is now attracting the greatest attention globally and is repeating twodigit growth every year among the culture industry, he comments. At home as well, the game industry is seen as an industry with the most global competitiveness in the nation's culture industry, along with the movie industry. Though the history of game industry is relatively short at home, the game industry has undergone dazzling growth over a short period and particularly the online game field accounts for the most specific influence as the largest producing country, driving the growth of the domestic game industry. Oh noted that the reason why China and Taiwan, game latecomers and traditional game powers including the United States, Japan and Europe, are showing high interest in the Korean game industry, is due to the domestic game industry's rapid growth and the government's strong support policy. Identifying problems to ensure continuous and stable growth On the task of the 2010 Advisory Committee for the Game Industry, the chairman underscores that as a first step, the committee will prepare the industrial as well as social environment in the interests of continuous and stable growth of the domestic game industry. For the sake of this, he advises that strengthening game industry's phase at home and abroad will be necessary, referring to the fact that it is important to recognize that game holds industrial/ cultural value, and is not to be seen as merely a plaything. In conjunction with this, the chairman stresses that the game industry is a sustainable industry to survive continuously along with the evolution of modern civilization. What's more he explains that the rate of middle-aged people or men in the prime of life to enjoy game is on the increase. Thus, the 2010 Advisory Committee for the Game Industry will basically play an advisory role for strategy establishment and identifying problems for the continuous and stable growth of domestic game industry. Since the change of the market is rapidly evolving in the game industry, swiftly meeting challenges is the basic direction where concrete action is needed. In that regard, Oh says that it is an urgent priority to map out a concrete action plan for a mid to long-term development strategy by 2010 on the basis of assessment of the established plan mentioned earlier as well as promoting new projects and changing market trends. One of the other key roles for the 2010 Advisory Committee for the Game Industry is to prepare to tackle problems proactively. As the composition of the 2010 Advisory Committee for the Game Industry includes industrial circles, the academic world, and associated institutions, he said he believed more active and concrete alternatives will be able to be prepared through regular meetings among the persons concerned. The chairman pointed out that the domestic game industry has grown a lot, but there are still a number of aspects that are vulnerable internally, emphasizing that the top priority is to nurture superior human resources. Like other industries, a creative workforce is more pivotal in the game industry, he said, mentioning that this was essential for creating the groundwork for a stable game industry. Diversifying overseas exports From an exporting viewpoint, Korea is looking at various ways to expand inroads into overseas markets. This is seen as key to ongoing growth. In this regard, Oh pointed out that this penetration of major foreign markets began in the online game field too giving Korea an edge over game latecomers such as China and Taiwan. This has given impetus to the government's support policy for the nurturing of the game industry. With regard to the government's overseas marketing support plan for the game industry, Oh notes that it is necessary to diversify overseas exports, which are currently too much focused on Asia, to the United States and Europe. He stressed that boosting Korea's profile in the world game market in the years to come as well, will be ultimate goal of industry growth.