BUSAN -- A rich developer community means Epic Games keeps a close eye on Korea, according to the firm’s local representative.The country has the highest number of developers in the world who can use the Unreal Engine with proficiency, Epic Games Korea’s representative director Ray Park told The Korea Herald during the G-Star 2019 game expo in Busan last week.“Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney is often pleasantly excited by the level of games created by Korean developers using Unr

BUSAN – Gaming’s power for social inclusivity was one of the many things on show at the the 15th annual game expo G-Star 2019 in Busan last week, with visitors with physical disabilities experiencing improved access. Among the crowd at the city’s Bexco center were visitors in wheelchairs watching live e-sports. “This is my third year coming to G-Star. I’m enjoying the event without encountering any major issues,” said 29-year-old Lee Shim-hoon, who has a first

BUSAN -- Korea’s annual game exhibition G-Star 2019 kicked off Thursday with a record number of participants at Bexco in Busan.The event had 3,208 booths representing 691 companies from 36 countries, the biggest so far for the 15-year-old industry showcase and an 8.2 percent growth from a year earlier, the organizers said. G-Star runs through Sunday, at two halls respectively holding business-to-consumer and business-to-business booths.On the sidelines of the exhibit are G-Con game co

BUSAN -- Icelandic game company CCP’s CEO Hilmar Petursson said at G-Star 2019 on Thursday that the launch of the Korean-language version of Eve Online was a 20-year dream come true. CCP, acquired in 2018 by South Korean game company Pearl Abyss, officially launched the game in Korea concurrently with the opening of the annual game exhibition here.“It’s a proud moment for all of us and especially for me, because I have been preparing for this moment for 20 years,” Peturss

BUSAN – Korea’s culture minister vowed to make revisions to the decade-long game industry law to help revitalize the gaming industry, Wednesday, saying that he disagrees with viewing it as a disease.“Gaming is not a disease but a leisure activity. Cultural contents not only enrich our lives but also serve as growth engines for our future.” said Culture Minister Park Yang-woo at the 2019 Korea Game Awards held in Busan.  He was referring to the World Health Organizati

BUSAN -- Smilegate RPG’s Lost Ark bagged six awards at 2019 Korea Game Awards including the presidential accolade, receiving 10 million won ($8,550) in prize money. XLGames’ Moonlight Sculptor nabbed the prime minister’s accolade and a 5 million won prize. The culture minister’s accolade went to four games: Cherry Bug’s Blade and Soul Revolution, Funnypaw’s Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross, Netmarble N2’s Koongya Catch Mind and Krafton’s Mistover.Los

Samsung Bioepis is anticipated to turn a profit for the first time since the company’s foundation, CEO Ko Han-sung said Tuesday at a press conference, estimating over 1 trillion won ($859 million) revenue in 2019. “We have never held a press conference prior to this one, thinking a company in deficit has nothing to say -- but we expect to turn a profit this year,” said Ko during the conference on the sidelines of the BIOplus 2019 forum at Coex exhibition hall in Seoul.  Sa

Despite the absence of Nexon and NCSoft, global gaming convention G-Star 2019 that will be held in Busan this week will showcase many new games to whet the appetite of enthusiasts. The two Korean game heavyweights have decided to skip this year’s biggest game event in South Korea to focus on their new titles. Their gap will be filled by small and midsized local companies, Chinese firms, game engine developers and major tech firms here. Netmarble is showcasing four games at its booth includ

Korea’s top games companies Nexon and NCSoft are to come head-to-head in the fourth quarter, with mobile games V4 and Lineage2M squaring off.Nexon’s V4 launched Thursday, and in less than five days climbed to the top domain on local mobile games rankings by revenue.  On Monday, V4 was the top revenue-generating mobile game on Apple’s App Store, while on Google Play it came second only to longstanding champion Lineage M, threatening to break the latter’s 29-month cons

GOTTINGEN, Germany -- Behind the market expansion of Samsung’s biologics business is 149-year-old Sartorius, the German firm that has helped it grow rapidly.Founded in 1870, the German company supplies single-use bags and membrane filters on top of many other items that biopharmaceutical firms need to produce cell cultures. As of end-2018, Sartorius had 15 trillion won ($12.95 billion) market capitalization, with offices in over 60 locations in the world and some 8,800 staff. Most of its r

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Korean pharmaceuticals’ participation in CPhI Worldwide continues to increase as the companies turn eyes to overseas trade in the face of domestic market limits. At the Korea Pavilion for CPhI Worldwide 2019, created in joint effort by the Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, 35 firms opened booths to exhibit their products and hold business meetings with global clients.The CPhI Worldwide 2019 was held from Tuesday thro

FRANKFURT, Germany -- South Korea’s Samsung BioLogics is upbeat with the addition of a biosafety testing service to its portfolio and is seeking partnerships with companies developing therapies for Alzheimer’s disease.“We have already contacted over 20 companies that may reignite their Alzheimer’s drug pipeline after Biogen’s possible aducanumab approval in the US on Dec. 5,” Samsung BioLogics Senior Vice President and global head of Business Development James

Samsung BioLogics and US’ Ichnos Sciences inked a long-term agreement for the latter’s contract development of an atopic dermatitis treatment, the companies said Tuesday. This is a continuation of the 10 billion-won ($8.61 million) contract inked between the two in June 2018. For an additional 6.3 billion won, BioLogics will produce the drug substance for Ichnos’ atopic dermatitis treatment pipeline ISB 830 for clinical phase 3 trials and potentially manufacture for the global

FRANKFURT -- Celebrating its 30th anniversary, CPhI Worldwide 2019 is being held in Frankfurt, Germany, this week, with over 45,000 participants from the pharmaceutical industry.At the biggest global annual pharma event, participants will attend a three-day course from Tuesday on the latest medical solutions while getting a chance to network with peers. Presentation on the different pharma development and manufacturing processes, technology and products are scheduled at six subevents.In the main

LG Electronics said Friday it has made a Series A investment in laundry startup Washlava. Series A refers to the first stage of fundraising for a startup after its foundation, as it gears up for full-fledged business operations.  Established in 2017, Washlava is based in Tampa, Florida. It provides a mobile platform for reservations, services and payment for the use of washing machines and dryers at dormitories, hotels and laundromats. LG Electronics has participated in the Series A round o