Chapter 63


Game Market 1983 - Chapter 63



After having a light meal at the hotel, we hopped in a taxi and headed to Myeongdong . Various historic buildings were starting to emerge as we traveled through the north street .


The year 1995 . As a part of President Kim Youngsam’s ‘Correcting history’ initiative, this building would be demolished, so I felt a sense of sentimentality seeing this building again .


During the period where plans were being made to demolish the building, per the presumptuous request of Japan to allow them to relocate the building because a Japanese architect had built it, Korean president Kim Youngsam released a video footage of the building being demolished to the whole world in a fit of anger .


Although his actions were unfitting as the president of South Korea, his decision still resonated with me .


Yuki who was staring out the window together with me focused her attention on the building and asked .


“So that’s the building being used as a museum?”


“Yeah . The building behind that used to be the palace of our king . ”


“Wow… To think my countrymen would erect a building like this in front of a palace . I feel ashamed as a Japanese for


“ . . . . . . . . . ”


“I told my parents about going to this trip with you, and my father told me this story . Japan had made a grave mistake against Korea this time . He labored the point that it wouldn’t be enough to atone for our sins even if the entire nation of Japan apologized . ”


“Your parents must be truly compassionate people telling you this . ”


“Actually… I haven’t told you yet, but my mother is Korean . ”


“Really?”


“Yes . This is why my father is happy whenever I talk about you . ”


… It looked like I had somehow gained Yuki’s father’s blessing without even meeting him . But Yuki was almost 20 years old now and she said she also had an older sister . Marrying 23~24 ago to a Korean woman definitely must have been a difficult decision for him… . I can see where Yuki’s fearlessness came from… .


&


A while later . The taxi driver had dropped us off at the opposite side of Myungshin gate in a relatively narrow street . A small hill called the ‘100 year mountain’ would appear after walking down this path, where I would sometimes go to play as a child . But the sentimental part of this trip was over, I wasn’t here to visit the 100 year mountain .


After stepping off of the taxi, I hoisted a heavy backpack on one shoulder .


“What’s that?”


“Oh this? Hmm… . You can say it's a business tool . ”


“What? Business?”


At this point in time, I did not have the slightest bit of influence in Korea . Video games were still in its infancy here . Of course, Mintendo’s Family and ‘Game Bear’, a rebranded version of the NEGA Disk was being sold through official licensing by the S Corporation .


No, arcade machines that carried illegal copies of titles from Mintendo were the most common form of video games right now . However, the illegal copies of Family games that were being made in Taiwan were better in some ways .


Anyways, the person I was about to meet was a future member of the developer team in Korea that would go on to produce a plethora of popular titles in the 90s .


As I stepped into a shop near the Myungshin marketplace, a long forgotten PC store from my childhood came into view .


-Mantra Computer-


This was the place that would find the latest copy of Dragon Warrior 4 and lead me down the path of games . The interior of the shop was seemingly no different than a small convenience store with the plain looking show windows displaying only a handful of cartridges . At that moment, Yuki who had been looking in through the show window shouted to me with an excited voice .


“Mr . Junhyuk, there is a copy of Dragon Emblem here!!”


Oh! This was a surprise . The Dragon Emblem cartridge that was in one corner of the display under the tag ‘Rare Japanese Import’ was showing a price of 100,000 Wons . ($100) Second-hand stores in Japan were also selling for around this price range . I stared at the Dragon Emblem cartridge that I found on Korean soil for a while and entered the shop .


“Welcome . ”


A man in his 30s greeted us with his raspy voice as he came out of the curtains from the backroom . The Mantra Computer shop was a dual purpose infrastructure with half the shop being a game store and the rest being a workshop for the owner . He must have been eating lunch right before we came as the aroma of bean-paste noodles were permeating throughout the interior of the store, and I could detect hints of cigarette smoke mixed in with the smell of the noodles creating an unpleasant stench .


“We want to sell some cartridges for the Family console to you . ”


“Oh… really? I opened this shop recently so I’m low on funds, but could I see the products first?”


As I plopped a heavy bag on top of the counter, a loud crash reverberated around the tiny store .


“ . . . Just how much stuff did you bring…”


“Around 30 units?”


“30 units? I don’t know if I would be able to… purchase them all…”


“Please look at the product first before you make any decision . ”


“Alright . ”


I took out a cartridge from the bag expecting the store owner to be surprised . It was a Dragon Emblem cartridge in a black case unlike the normal copies sold in Japan . As I handed the package to him, the store owner opened and closed in eyes in disbelief as he examined the package closely .


“Dragon Emblem? But this is…?”


There was only one reason the store owner was surprised at the familiar Dragon Emblem logo .


The case was in Korean…


“Is this really a Korean version of Dragon Emblem?”


“You can turn it on if you have any doubts . ”


The store owner inserted the cartridge into a family console with a slightly trembling hand . Yuki made a questioning face at the Dragon Emblem cartridge from my bag and turned her eyes to the TV screen . And moments later as the familiar Dragon Emblem logo appeared on the screen in Korean, the owner exclaimed as if he had seen a miracle .


“It… it’s Korean!! Korean~!! Wow~ I can’t be dreaming? Am I?"


Seeing the store owner dance in happiness as if he was a kid again, I felt that I repaid just a little bit of the kindness he’d shown me when I was in his store . It was because of the store owner that I found myself enamored with the Dragon Warrior series and remembered when he had given me a free copy of “Ice 2 Special” that he programmed himself . (Of course, the game was riddled with bugs, so I had to go back several times to have it fixed . Thinking back on it, I’m wondering if he used me as a free beta tester . )


“I felt a little disappointed when I heard that the developer of Dragon Emblem was a Korean, and there wasn’t a Korean version of the game . Seeing a Korean version of Dragon Emblem truly makes me ecstatic . Did you translate the texts yourself?”


“Of course…”


After responding, I glanced at Yuki before continuing .


“Because I am the developer of Dragon Emblem . ”


Contrary to my expectations, Yuki was the first to have a reaction . She must’ve gotten the gist of what I was saying from studying Korean for a year .


“What!!??”


“Did you really make Dragon Emblem?”


“Yeah… Sorry for hiding it from you…”


“Then you beating the game in one try in the event was because… . ?”


“Well, I created the stages so I knew exactly how to clear the game . ”


“Oh my god…”


Yuki looked at me with a completely enthralled expression . The store owner was making the same face .


“So you really are the developer of Dragon Emblem?”


“Sorry for the late introduction . I’m Kang Junhyuk, currently working at Mintendo . The latest game I released was…”


“Could it be Psychic Battle?”


“Yes, that’s right . ”


“Of course I know this!! I even flew to Japan to get a hold of the title knowing a Korean developer made it!! Wow~ I can’t believe you’re in my store… Where is my pen…”


The owner started looking around for a paper and pen .


“You… really don’t have to do this . ”


“Are the 30 cartridges inside your bag all Dragon Emblem copies?”


“Yes . It would be difficult for me to translate Psychic Battle to Korean since it belongs to Mintendo . ”


“Keuh~ Is that so . It’s a pity, but I’m mighty satisfied with a Korean version of Dragon Emblem… I have to ask . Does this copy have a data deleting system as well?”


“It is implemented into the game to keep the integrity of its history, but I added a data recovery function in the cartridge . ”


“Alright . Now how should I go about selling this . ”


“Actually, the reason I came here wasn’t to sell my cartridges to you . ”


“Then…?”


“Are you interested in being the first game publisher in Korea?”


“Publ… What did you say?”


&


My plan was simple . I would start the first video game publishing company with the owner of Mintra Computers, whom I had a bond with from my childhood . Publishing games entailed importing the software from abroad and acquiring the appropriate licensing for it before selling the game domestically . However, an official channel of distribution for games was non-existent in Korea . It couldn’t even be said that there was a video game industry at all as the country was littered with street vendors selling imported copies .


Korean console users could only try and guess what the Japanese text meant as they slowly inched their way through the game . The only relief to them was the English version of a few games which they could somewhat understand .


The reaction of the store owner wasn’t exaggerated at all since the first Korean versions of games would arrive much later in the Super Family era .


“So what you want us to do is to establish a publishing company to translate foreign games into Korean and create an official channel of distribution?”


“Yes . ”


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