In today’s society, digital games such as mobile and computer games dominate the gaming landscape.However, the popularity of board games, where players manipulate game pieces with their own hands and engage in direct communication with opponents, remains strong. This is evident in the easy accessibility of board game cafes in bustling areas like university districts, and the continuous release of new board game products both domestically and internationally.Despite the steady popularity, board games were expected to suffer a significant blow due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Surprisingly, however, board game sales have seen an upward trend since the onset of COVID-19. With limited outdoor activities and increased time spent at home with family, there has been a growing demand for board games as a means of family entertainment. Consequently, the board game market has shown continuous growth even amidst the pandemic, indicating a promising future for the board game industry.In light of the steady growth of the board game market, Magic Bean Games, as a specialized board game development company,is striving to develop a variety of board games to bring joy to many people. I had the opportunity to meet with Hwang Youn-su, The CEO of Magic Bean Games. Magic Bean Games is a company specializing in board game and design and production. Equipped with in-house facilities for board game production, we handle all processes from planning to graphics and production domestically. Currently, we sell our products online and offline, and we have developed over 100 boards games in consortiums with government agencies and corporations.With the slogan ‘Where Everything Imagined Becomes a Game’, Magic Bean Games places passion, values, and joy as its core value. We strive to provide more enjoyable games and high-quality content through sustainable content research, collaborating with board game enthusiasts.Our management philosophy revolves around humanity and fun. We aim to create board games that bring laughter to families, based on the principles of ‘valuing people’ and ‘valuing fun’. By fostering a culture of communication within families, we aspire to become a global board game company that contributes to family bonding.Magic Bean Games is a board game development company that directly utilizes various illustration designs and 3D work using related software. We also have various facilities and factories, with all employees focusing on research to develop excellent products. These products are the sold either directly through web pages created after image shooting or through distribution channels.Our flagship games include ‘Sixteen’, ‘Code Talk’, ‘Shake shake’ ‘Egghead’, and ‘Hangul Day’. Among them, ‘Sixteen’ garnered significant interest from overseas companies and users at last year’s Essen Fair in Germany. Currently, we are in discussions with European publishing companies to sign contracts. Additionally, ‘Sixteen’ and ‘Code Talk’ have completed IP agreements and are preparing for global enjoyment as board games in the metaverse from September to October this year. Furthermore, we organize conferences and forums related to board games to provide relevant information and networking environments to those interested in board game development. We also consistently train experts who aim to leverage the value of board games.In addition, we are also developing educational apps for character design and coding. For character design we have over 250 characters of various designs, including 2D, 2.5D, and 3D, created using design-related programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and Maya. We use our own design character IP to expand production into various content platforms such as board games, mobile games, and goods.For the coding education app, we have developed various unplugged board games to make coding more accessible and enjoyable, focusing on research on computer principles, the main content of coding education. Our flagship app, ’POPCORN’, is particularly designed to enhance understanding of binary numbers, a difficult concept, and is widely used in schools and academies.As for our future goals and direction, just as Magic Bean Games has done so far, our ultimate goal is to become a global board game company based on unique ideas and new fun by quickly adapting to changing trends and developments. Initially, Magic Bean Games did not receive much attention, but over the past 14 years, we have quietly grown, and now many people are watching us with interest.This has instilled in us a heavy sense of responsibility and obligation to nurture Magic Bean Games better. As we continue to receive attention from those around use, we believe we can continue to grow and thrive. We ask for continued interest and support from everyone. Lastly, we aspire to become a company where people who love creating and enjoying things together can gather to turn everything imagined into a game. Source: Economy News/ Reporter Heo Guseul  hgs@newseconomy.kr

Magic Bean Games (CEO: Hwang Youn-Su) announced on the 3rd that they have signed a business agreement for strategic cooperation and IP license agreement with UT Plus Interactive (CEO: Yoo Tae-Yeon) to develop digital games within the metaverse platform Dito land using board game IPs such as ‘Sixteen’ and ‘Code Talk’.This agreement marks the first case of diversifying the market using domestic board game Ips, attracting attention from the industry. Both companies plan to utilize various board game Ips continuously to develop diverse contents, starting with ‘Sixteen’ and ‘Code Talk’ this year, in addition to existing board games such as ‘Egghead’ and ‘Hangul Day’.UT Plus Interactive, which has already established a business base in the metaverse platform through Dito land for gaming, tourism, education, etc., plans to build a server where users can participate in game competitions simultaneously using the ‘Sixteen’ and ‘Code Talk IPs. They also announced their intention to hold global competitions, not only domestically but also worldwide, bringing people from all over the world together in Dito land to enjoy ‘Sixteen’ and ‘Code Talk’, thus actively serving the global market.‘Sixteen’ is an abstract strategy board game released by magic Bean Games in 2016, known for its simple mechanics and tactile tiles, and it signed a distribution agreement with Korea Board Games on February 14th. ‘Code Talk’ is a three-match abstract strategy board game released by Magic Bean Games in 2018, applying the format of Korean word chain game to the game of making three in a row, allowing players to experience a unique mechanism. Magic bean Games, having continuously developed board games, actively pursues diversification in IP business, howing interest in content productization through collaboration with other IPs and aims to grow into a global IP through this endeavor.Lee Eun-jeong, Director of Magic Bean Games and a professor at Dong-A University’s Game Department, commented, “We greatly value being the first domestic board game developer to conclude an IP license agreement as a license rather than a licensor. We will spare no effort or support in promoting Magic Bean Games worldwide through the Dito land metaverse platform.Furthermore, they stated, “We have confirmed that domestic board games can be recognized for their value as Ips if they are well-made. Magic bean Games will continue to conduct pure and delicate research to develop board games that can stand alongside world-renowned bestsellers and brand tables.Looking ahead, they expressed, ‘By opening the door to IP licenses for the expansion and diversification of the domestic board game industry, we hope to inspire motivation among other developers and companies to create more follow-up contract cases.’The metaverse games utilizing the ‘Sixteen’ and ‘Code Talk’ Ips Are scheduled to be released through Dito land in October, following a prototype in August and beta testing in September.Source: Game Chosun [gamechosun.co.kr]

'Hangul Day' board game is the first board game developed for Hangul education to successfully export from South Korea.After receiving positive responses from students following classroom sessions in Belgium, it was exported as part of snack procedures.Subsequently, during another round of classes, it received warm reception and popularity from local students.Hangul combines consonants and vowels to create characters using a new principle of three-part phonetics : initial consonants, medial vowels, and final consonants.This year, marking the 577th Hangul Day, a board game called 'Hangul Day' released by Magic bean games could be an opportunity tospread the charm of Hangul and further promote South Korea to the world.We hope it will be a chance to introduce Hangul and South Korea again.

Magic Bean Ganes, a board game development and education specialist, announced 6th that they successfully concluded the game jam held as part of the 2023 Global Game Jam spot ‘2023 GGJ x Jeonju, which took place form the 3rd to the 5th.The Global Jam is an international game development network event that takes place simultaneously worldwide, mostly operated as digital game spots. However, “{2023 GGJ x Jeonju was co-hosted by Jeonju University, a leading institution in fostering game talent, and Magic Bean Games, a specialist in board game development and education. The event took place in Seoul’s Songpa-gu Jamsil area, focusing on analog platforms such as board games. This event was particularly meaningful, as it marked a return to normalcy after three years, allowing participants to unmask and see each other’s faces.”This game jam took place after the lifting of the mask mandate dur to COVID-19 prevention measures (January 30th). With most participants unmasking and being able to see their teammate’s faces, it felt like a symbolic moment of returning to normalcy after 3 years. On this day of the 2023 GGJ,  Jammers participated in the Marking Boardgame spot in Jeonju, introducing 4 board games including ‘Generous Stealing Tree’, ‘ORIGIN’, ‘Oops, That’s Mine’, and ‘Let’s Break Up’. The jammers reported experiencing the charm of analog games through the game camp, designing themes, components, and mechanisms in line with the theme ‘ROOTS’ and expressing their interest. Moreover, they expressed their intention to participate next year, hoping that board game spots would continue annually starting from this global game jam, as board spots have not been well established in domestic game jams.Professor Hyupseob Yoo of the Game Content Department at Jeonju University, who opened the global game jam spot, stated, ‘While there is much global interest in global game jams, it is not yet active in Korea. Although game department students are developing digital games, games are inspired by the logic of board games. Therefore, it is essential to provide students developing digital games with opportunities to create board games.’Furthermore, he added, starting with this event, Jeonju University plans to operate a global game jam annually.Eunjung Lee, CEO of Magic Bean Games, who organized the global game jam spot, revealed, ‘The event was abruptly canceled two weeks before the global jam, and the actual recruitment period was only 5 days. Due to the short preparation period, we feared there would be no applicants. Contrary to our concerns, many people participated, and we are grateful to the jammers once again.She continued, ‘Although the domestic board game market is steadily growing, there are still many challenges to overcome to establish itself as a game and culture. This global game jam is a significant event for me, and I will strive to open and expand board game spots annually.Source: This is game (www.thisisgame.com)

Developed by Magic Bean Games and represented by Hwang Yoon-Soo,“Character” incorporates the behavioral characteristics of the 16 MBTI personality types into a psychological action board game. Drawing inspiration from the world and mechanics of the traditional Korean game and alley game, “Squid Game”,” Character” seamlessly blends retro and new retro sensibilities with the cultural trends of the MZ generation, also known as Generation Z.“Character” begins as Merilin, the dying director of the agency, invites people to a special game in order to select a new director. Those invited, issued invitations, embark on a quest to find the world’s most expensive diamond, navigating through the patrols of the Merilin former guards. The game unfolds with a story of intrigue. In terms of gameplay, it introduces gamers to new fun and experiences by employing familiar mechanisms such as hand management and trick-taking.Source: Gameshot(www.gameshot.net)

Magic Bean Games educational board game ‘Hangul Day’ released in 2022, has been utilized in Korean language education classes in Belgium. Students are learning Hangul through the Hangul Day board game during their Korean lessons.Hangul, created by King Sejong and scholars, is a language that combines consonants and vowels to form characters, which are then read and spoken.Characters can be formed and pronounced differently based on the position of consonants and vowels, as well as their direction.We hope that the proud Hangul script will now spread worldwide, allowing ‘Hangul Day’ to be celebrated globally, commemorating the beauty and importance of Hangul.