"Thank You for Creating"... 'Baram-ui Nara' Server Reunion to Commemorate Founder Kim Jung-ju

On the 1st, users gathered in Nexon's "The Kingdom of the Winds" to pay tribute to founder Kim Jung-ju. (Photo by FM Korea)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Following the news of the passing of Kim Jung-ju, founder of Nexon and director of NXC, users of Korea's first online game, Baram-ui Nara (The Kingdom of the Winds), gathered to pay their respects.

According to the gaming industry on the 2nd, users gathered on the Baram-ui Nara Yeon server yesterday afternoon for an online memorial event. The Yeon server is the very first server of Baram-ui Nara.

Logging into the game, users honored founder Kim Jung-ju by saying, "Thank you for creating Baram-ui Nara," "The person who gave us childhood memories," and "Rest in peace."

Baram-ui Nara was the first game introduced after Kim founded Nexon in 1994. Released in 1996, Baram-ui Nara gained popularity both domestically and internationally, laying the foundation for the current Nexon. Notably, Baram-ui Nara was the world's first graphic online game at the time, marking a milestone in the history of Korean online gaming.

Nexon's subsequent titles such as Crazy Arcade, MapleStory, and KartRider achieved global success. Through these, Nexon pioneered the then-novel genre of online games, building a company with a market capitalization of 24 trillion won and annual sales of 3 trillion won.

Founder Kim passed away in the United States at the end of last month at the age of 54. On the 1st, NXC stated, "We ask for your understanding as the bereaved family is in a state of shock and we cannot provide detailed explanations," adding, "The deceased had been receiving treatment for depression for some time, and it appears that his condition recently worsened, which is very unfortunate."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.