The Heartbeat of Korean Gaming: Pangyo Techno Valley’s Evolution into a Cultural Epicenter

The Pangyo Techno Valley, Korea’s representative game valley, is growing into a content & culture complex, hoping to become a ‘pump-priming’ for the Korean gaming industry.

Pangyo Techno Valley, fondly known as Korea’s game valley, is a burgeoning epicenter for the gaming industry. It’s the operational base for gaming juggernauts like NCSOFT, Neowiz Games, WEMADE, and Nexon. Besides, a multitude of small to medium-sized companies and startups specializing in gaming also call it home.

Pangyo Techno Valley,  is more than just games. It encompasses a gamut of infrastructures pivotal to Industry 4.0, including IT (Information Tech), BT (Bio-Tech), CT (Culture Tech), and NT (Nano Tech). A recent survey by the Gyeonggi Business & Science Accelerator of 1,642 businesses in the valley revealed that content-focused companies constitute about 10%, with 161 firms in total.

Gyeonggi-do’s Seongnam-si, where Pangyo Techno Valley lies, has been earmarked as a special game and content district, with investments nearing KRW 170 billion won. To further this commitment, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups has designated an expansive area, including both the 1st and 2nd Pangyo Techno Valleys and the KINS Tower, as the game & content special hub.

By 2025, investments summing up to 171.9 billion won are projected for this district, ensuring the establishment of robust infrastructures and business-support initiatives for the gaming and content sectors. The investment will be a combined effort of 5 billion won from government expenditure and 19.5 billion won from the local government’s coffers.

The Korea Creative Content Agency held the 2023 Global Game Hub Center Open House on July 25 at the Global Game Hub Center in Pangyo, Gyeonggi-do. The purpose of the event was to discover excellent small and medium-sized gaming developing companies and strengthen their capabilities.

Startups aren’t left out. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, in collaboration with The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), recently co-organized the 2023 Global Game Hub Center Open House in Pangyo, Gyeonggi-do. This initiative sought to identify and bolster promising small and medium-sized gaming developers.

Housed in the 2nd Pangyo Techno Valley, the global hub center offers an array of tailored support programs for budding gaming ventures, from office spaces to Investor Relations contests and networking days.

Coming up on the calendar, the Korea Association of Game Industry is hosting the K-GAME Professional Competency Enhancement Seminar on Sep. 7 at the Business Support Hub in the 2nd Pangyo Techno Valley, a must-attend for gaming aficionados.

Backed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Korea Creative Content Agency, this seminar endeavors to foster a sustainable and robust gaming industry in Korea. The lineup includes insightful programs, expert lectures, and a deep dive into gaming trends and pertinent legislations.

However, the scope isn’t just restricted to gaming. GXG 2023 (Game culture X Generation 2023), slated from Sep. 8 to Sep. 9 in Pangyo, promises an inclusive platform for startups, major enterprises, sponsors, and stakeholders. Hosted by Seongnam-si and sponsored by entities like the Seongnam Industry Promotion Agency, the Game Culture Foundation, and the Korea Association of Game Industry, this event will stir conversations around the essence of games—music, stories, art, design, psychology, and imagination.

Amid these strides, the 2022 White Paper on Korean Games by the Korea Creative Content Agency highlighted an 11.2% YoY growth in the domestic game industry sales in 2021, touching KRW 20.9913 trillion won. This sector has been on an upward trajectory since 2014. With Pangyo Techno Valley at the helm, there’s an optimistic outlook for the Korean game valley to continually amplify the global standing of K-games.

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