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November 16, 2009
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Yu Hyeon-oh won his place on the cutting edge of Korea’s online social networking scene with Cyworld, the hugely popular Web site launched by SK Communications a decade ago, when Yu was its head. Cyworld changed the language of the Korean Web, with its most significant contribution being dotori, or “acorn,” the online currency of the networking site. Last year, Yu stepped down from his head position at SKT Holdings America. But a year later, he has returned to the scene, this time as head of the game company YD Online. On Friday at his Seocho-dong office, the chief executive talked about the upcoming game Pae Online, created along with Ya Sul-lok, a novelist who wrote the popular historical epics “Armageddon” and “The Sword with No Name.” Q. Don’t you think YD Online is too small a firm for you to make your comeback? A. In terms of company vision and potential growth, I think it is a big stage. Money is flowing into the mobile, SNS and game industries. At present, Korea’s mobile and SNS sectors are losing ground. The game industry is our only hope. Particularly, online games are key for Korea to sell on a global spectrum, as the country’s online infrastructure is strong. The outcome of your trip to Silicon Valley wasn’t too impressive. It was my first big setback, but I learned a lot. Due to the global financial crisis starting in the U.S., we ended up unable to accomplish tangible results. YD Online’s earnings this year don’t look good. Due to the slowdown in sales growth for our key product, the dance game “Audition,” the company did take a hit. However, there is strong potential with our new games, which will launch at the end of this year and early next year. We intend to develop “Pae Online” into the next Audition. What is YD Online’s biggest strength? Our global network is tight and we can export to almost 80 countries worldwide. We are No. 6 in Korea this year, but we intend to raise our global status starting next year, on the success of our newer games including “Band Master” and Pae Online. It seems you are putting all your hopes into Pae Online. With Ya Sul-lok’s story line, we have quite a tight plot, almost like an Asian version of “The Lord of the Rings.” It is a role-playing game based on the mythology and fables of ancient Asia. We are in the testing stages and will launch early next year. What is your vision for the future? I am looking into a convergence business using games, SNS and online shopping, including an SNS service on games and shopping malls that can be accessed through games. I also intend to develop a Korean game for the U.S. e-sports [tournament gaming] market, which Blizzard now has a 99 percent dominance over. By Lee Won-ho [jainnie@joongang.co.kr] |
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