The charismatic head of Korean massively multiplayer gaming firm NCsoft discusses his hugely bullish forecast for the global growth of online gaming - which he believes will change the face not only of gaming, but of the Internet.GamesIndustry.biz spoke with TJ Kim in Seoul about the firm‘s recent success, its global expansion - and its ambitions in what he sees as being one of the biggest growth markets in the world in the coming years.Below is a snip from gamesindustry.biz:

GamesIndustry.biz: Can you tell us a bit about how NCsoft got started, back in 1997?

Tack Jin Kim: Before starting NCsoft in 1997, I had worked in Hyundai Electronics. I worked in Hyundai developing an Internet portal site, at that time - but our team had trouble with continuing the development of the portal site in that company, which is why I created NCsoft, by myself. At the time, I believed that the Internet should be an entertainment network, not an information network. That‘s why I made NCsoft as an online game company, because I started as a developer on the Internet side and I wanted to make online games, not console or PC games.

GamesIndustry.biz: Lineage was your first successful product; how did the idea of this game come about?

Tack Jin Kim: That idea came from my university days; when I was a schoolboy, I always played the Nethack game. That‘s a text-based Unix game. I loved that, and my dream was to make a game based on that sort of virtual world - so when I encountered the Internet, I was very excited, because this could be a reality! That‘s why I created a company to make online games.

GamesIndustry.biz: The Korean government refers to NCsoft as a role-model for the whole Korean games industry; how do you feel about being labelled as such?

Tack Jin Kim: Right, right... A quick story. In 1989, I was head of development on the Korean word processor, called Hangul. That was the most popular word processor at the time - it got 90 per cent market share in Korea. I think that‘s the origin of venture companies in Korea.

After that, I joined the Internet business, and after that I tried to create a games industry in Korea. That‘s why [the Government] says such things about NCsoft... But in Korea, there are many young people to devote himself or herself to make his or her dream come true. I think the future of the Korean industry is very bright because of that.�� More...

About TJ Kim

Tack Jin Kim, the founder, president and CEO of Korean massively multiplayer giant NCsoft, is a surprisingly little-known figure in the videogames industry. Much like that of the South Korean games industry which his company dominates, his startling success story hasn‘t spread far beyond the borders of the country - at least, not yet.

However, all the signs are that TJ, as he is referred to, will soon be a more commonly heard name in the global industry - as will that of NCsoft itself. With major operations in North America, Europe and across the Asia-Pacific markets, a growing product line with marked success in the West as well as in the huge Asian markets, and an increasing focus on massively multiplayer and online gaming from across the industry, NCsoft is poised to be a major player in a fast-growing market which some predict could eventually eclipse the traditional gaming market in revenues.

While the games industry may not have noticed TJ Kim‘s achievements with NCsoft until titles like Guild Wars and City of Heroes began riding high in the PC charts, the business community has recognised the success of the firm and its boyish, charismatic CEO for much longer. Business Week named him a "Star of Asia" in the Entrepreneurs category in 2001, and selected him as one of the 25 most influential people in the e-business world; the World Economic Forum made him into one of its 18 "Asian leading members" in 2002, and at the beginning of this year, he was appointed a member of the Forum of Young Global Leaders.