Korean game maker successful at Facebook

DoubleU Games CEO Kim Ga-ram, left, explains about the company’s DoubleU Casino game to Korea Exchange (KRX) CEO Choi Kyoung-soo, center, and other officials at the game developer’s office in Seoul last week. / Courtesy of KRX

By Kim Jae-won

Kim Ga-ram, CEO of DoubleU Games, is well-known for his Facebook-based game DoubleU Casino. The social casino game has drawn more than 15 million users from 220 countries over three years since its launch in May 2012.

The cash cow of the company was ranked the eighth-most profitable game on Facebook last month, earning 8.8 billion won ($8.1 million). It is the only game developed in Korea on the global social network service.

Ironically, the reason the company advanced to Facebook directly was because Kim had no contacts within the local game industry.

“I was a software engineer in a local company, and I had no interaction with people in the Korean game industry. Having no connections here, I decided to compete in the global market which has more potential,” Kim, 38, said.

His strategy proved to be successful. The government awarded a $30 million-export trophy to the company in December and the benchmark casino game was chosen as one of Facebook Games of the Year 2013.

Kim attributed the game’s success to its adoption of American culture.

“Users can enjoy American holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas in the game with the background of Las Vegas. People feel like they are at the center of the city.”

Asked what the next step is, he said the company aims to expand its business by drawing more funds from the local stock market. Kim unveiled his plan to list the company in the tech-heavy minor bourse of KOSDAQ this year.

He said the Korean bourse’s relatively cheap operating expenses and better valuation made him choose the market. Kim also mentioned the company’s motto of “Made in Korea, Loved by the World” as one of reasons to be listed.

The nation’s bourse operator, the Korea Exchange (KRX), also persuaded the company to join the stock market as part of its efforts to attract more companies. KRX chief Choi Kyoung-soo visited the company last week explaining the benefits of being listed on the bourse.

With the funds, he said he will compete with Israeli companies that lead the Facebook-based game market.

“We are a national team in the game industry. We will compete with our Israeli rivals and want to help other Korean companies join the global market.”