ABSTRACT
The Korean online game market has rapidly emerged as one of the most dynamic in the world. Within a relatively short period of time, Korea1 has become known for widespread broadband deployment to households, along with a technologically receptive and literate public, which has resulted in the rapid growth in online gaming. Ever since Nexon, a Korean games corporation, introduced the world’s fi rst graphic massively multiplayer online game Kingdom of the Winds in 1996, Korea has played a central role in the PC-based online game market and digital economy. In 2005, the Korean online game market was worth $1.4 billion, accounting for 56% of the entire Asia Pacifi c market share. The Korean online game market is expected to continually grow about 20% annually, reaching $2.9 billion by 2009.2 Due to the rapid growth of users, the structure and dynamics of the interactive game business becomes a key node in the networked environment of virtual capitalism.3
