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Korean game developer, Netmarble, has come up with a unique Game Museum in Guro-gu, Seoul for all gaming enthusiasts!
South Korean game industry is one of the major contributors of country’s cultural exports. In the first half of 2024, games took 58% share of the total cultural exports from Korea according to the Korea Creative Content Agency. And this number is huge when compared to K-pop which was just at 12%.
Despite its massive popularity, until now, there was no proper venue to showcase Korean gaming industry in the form of public or educational exhibitions. There were very limited venues which offered anything related to development of this industry in South Korea.
Netmarble has come up with something to make up for that missing infrastructure.
Netmarble Game Museum
The exhibition begins with a room that uses three-sided video projections to introduce the long history of games. Animated characters from Netmarble, including the vegetable-themed Koongyas, guide visitors through a brief overview of gaming’s origins and evolution.
Our game museum is designed to present the history of games and help raise their social and cultural value.
Netmarble Director Kim Sung-cheol
The main exhibition
After the introductory segment, the main exhibition showcases a permanent collection along one side of the hall. The displays feature game hardware and software. The collection covers everything about game development evolution, from research to cultural products that everyone loves.
The collection starts with a 1958 classic, Tennis for Two. It is considered one of the first computer-based games. From there, it takes into the rise of recognizable characters and games with stories to follow.
Next comes the showcase of globally popular games that came into Korea, despite them not being made in Korea. Some titles include Nintendo’s Super Mario and Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog. They provide context to about South Korea got into developing game content after taking learning from such iconic titles. The gaming industry is continuing to evolve.
The opposite wall of the hall has a storage-style display. There are early gaming consoles, software, and accessories on display for everyone to see. These were quite popular in early Korean gaming years.
Interactive displays
There are interactive elements in the museum where you can get insights into the game industry of South Korea. One section in the museum is focussed on game development ideal for kids who want to get into gaming industry on the developer side or even the player side. It displays the whole technical process of what goes behind the scenes. It starts from something like character design and goes up to animating them with programming. One section has game development process tutorials. Children can play with interactive content which is ideal for those wanting to enter this field.
Af the end of the museum displays, there’s a room where you can play games on classic consoles and arcade games. Some of these titles were super popular from the 1980s to the 2000s.
Where is Netmarble Game Museum?
38, Digital-ro 26-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. 3F Netmarble Game Museum
Important info about visiting the museum
Website: https://netmarblegamemuseum.org/en
Tickets: Adults 10,000 KRW | Teenagers (Ages 13-18) 7,000 KRW | Children (Ages 48m-12) 5,000 KRW
Operating Hours: Tue – Sun: 10:00 – 18:00 (Last entry 17:30)
Operating Days: Closed every Monday, New Year’s Day, and the day of Seollal/Chuseok
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