Kwon Hyuk-bin, Smilegate Founder, First in Game Industry to Receive Cultural Medal
[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Smilegate announced on the 8th that its founder and Hope Studio Foundation Chairman Kwon Hyuk-bin received the Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit, the first in the game industry.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism highly evaluated that Crossfire has grown beyond a game into a new global cultural content, and that Smilegate Group has contributed to the development of industry and culture and arts by leading the diversification of intellectual property (IP) businesses.
Chairman Kwon established Smilegate in 2002 and developed the first-person shooter game "Crossfire." Since then, Crossfire entered the Chinese market in 2008 and expanded to over 80 countries worldwide, growing into a global game with 1 billion cumulative members.
Chairman Kwon said, "This award is not only a personal honor but also a cheer to all game developers who have made games so that games can proudly grow as the 'core of Korea's cultural content industry' and establish themselves as a leading export content industry."
He added, "Following the achievements of Korean cultural content industry workers at the Billboard and Academy Awards, we will challenge the highest honor in gaming, the 'GOTY (Game of the Year)' with the most awards, and lead Smilegate to grow as a globally beloved IP powerhouse, as well as make the world pay attention to Korea's game industry."
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In addition to the cultural merit award, Seo Tae-geon, CEO of WCG (World Cyber Games), a Smilegate affiliate, received the Presidential Citation. CEO Seo was recognized for his contributions to improving negative perceptions of games and promoting game culture through over 30 years of various game-related work in private companies and public institutions, including serving as CEO of WCG and dean of the Graduate School of Game at Gachon University.
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