The State and Industrial Evolution: The Development of the Game Industry in Japan and Korea

Abstract

This article examines the development of the game industry in Japan and South Korea with particular attention to the role of the government in fostering a creative industrial sector. Although the Japanese game industry achieved market-oriented growth until the 1990s, the government's involvement in the industry became salient after the new millennium. Games were positioned as main sources for creating internationally competitive media contents, and the government has provided environments where innovative companies and individuals can develop their skills and expertises and intensified the protection of intellectual property rights overseas. Unlike Japan, the development of the game industry was sustained by intensive government intervention in South Korea. The government changed the basic perception of the industry from a negative amusement industry to a positive cultural industry to be fostered for the new millennium. Then, the government set up an affiliated organisation that undertook a wide range of measures from technological upgrading, managerial and human resource development, global connections, and education. Thus, the Korean state still intends to foster a strategic industry but its manner of commitments became comprehensive and flexible.