Webzen chief predicts best year yet in 2006

Webzen isn’t playing games. Kim Nam-joo is president of Korea-based Webzen, which started just six years ago and is now listed on the Nasdaq. Its computer games are played by millions worldwide. The JoongAng Ilbo met Mr. Kim recently at company headquarters in Dogok-dong, southern Seoul. In May Webzen released its latest game, “Huxley,” at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Targeted for the North American market, “Huxley” was developed for Microsoft, and is available for both the Xbox360 and online. Webzen is serious about winning market share in the United States. It recently hired Cindy Armstrong, former vice president at Sony’s game division, as head of Webzen’s U.S. office. “Huxley has impressive three-dimensional graphics, stereo sound, and a diverse plot,” Mr. Kim said. “We hope to create a ‘digital Korean wave’ with locally developed games in order to conquer the global game market.” Also in May, Webzen released another new game called Soul of the Ultimate Nation (SUN), aimed at Asian game players. “While SUN was being developed we sold the Chinese publishing rights to a Chinese game distributor for $13 million,” Mr. Kim said. SUN began a free trial in Korea, acquiring more than 200,000 users in the first few weeks. “We will face an obstacle when we convert to a paid service system later this year, but the players are giving the game great reviews so I smell success,” Mr. Kim said. Mr. Kim has huge expectations for this year, predicting sales of 60 billion won ($63 million) ― double that of last year. In a nod to public concerns, he is also starting a game addiction prevention campaign. As part of that effort, the game SUN is programmed to show a message reading, “You are tired” if anyone plays the game for more than 12 hours. In addition, the player will not receive any extra points should they continue playing. After graduating from Seoul Yerim Art High School, Mr. Kim went to an institute for computer design. That opened his eyes to the game world. “When I was little I loved animation films and I was deeply into art. I didn’t have the talent to go to a good university, so despite my parents’ objections, I decided to jump into society after high school,” Mr. Kim said. Mr. Kim uploaded amateur games that he designed. In 1993 he joined Mirinae Soft, the largest game firm in Korea at the time. After completing his mandatory military service, Mr. Kim found himself jobless for a time as the Asian foreign exchange crisis tore through Korea in 1997-98. With friends who had worked with him at Mirinae, Mr. Kim established Webzen in 2000 with an initial investment of 200 million from Lee Soo-young, the investment evaluator at Mirinae. Ms. Lee joined the company as president. In 2001, the firm released the online game MU, which generated 2.4 billion won in sales and attracted 3 million users. In 2002, the game was sold to Taiwan and China. In 2003, the company was listed on the Kosdaq in May and the Nasdaq in December, posting record sales of 56.9 billion won. Though sales fell to 29 billion won last year, Mr. Kim attributes that slip to investment in new games. At the age of 40, Mr. Kim faces a new challenge: finding a lifetime partner. “I was too busy developing SUN and this year I have to travel frequently between Korea and the United States,” he said. “But I do want to get married.” by Lee Weon-ho