[Photo] National Library of Korea hosts 'Discontinued Korean Games, Powered Up Again'

[포토] 국립중앙도서관 개최 '단종 한국 게임, 다시 켜다'

gamemeca Ⅰ Kim Mi Hee 게임메카 김미희 기자 2026.07.13 17:31 UTC+9

AI Summary

The National Library of Korea is hosting an exhibition on discontinued local games. Visitors can play restored classic titles and explore early industry history until year-end. It emphasizes the vital role of digital preservation for cultural heritage.

▲ Entrance to the 'Discontinued Korean Games, Powered Up Again' exhibition (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

For the first time ever, a public institution in Korea is shining a light on 'discontinued Korean games'. Running from July 14 to December 31 at the National Library of Korea's Digital Library (B3 level), the exhibition is titled 'Discontinued Korean Games, Powered Up Again'. Visitors can play two 'discontinued games' meticulously restored from materials held in the library's archives and explore the early history of the Korean gaming industry.

The opening ceremony on July 13 saw a healthy turnout, including Hong Dong-hee, Representative of Maggo-ya and a first-generation Korean game developer. Hong noted, "While the industrial impact of gaming is massive, our history has been somewhat neglected. It would be deeply meaningful if the industry could collaborate to proactively donate and unearth materials for preservation."

Park Joo-ok, Director of the Knowledge and Information Management Department at the National Library of Korea, added, "Games hold our fondest memories; they are precious cultural assets. Digitizing content once trapped on floppy disks or CDs reminds us of the importance of digital restoration. It’s an opportunity for everyone to feel the weight of our digital cultural heritage."

▲ Many industry officials attended the opening ceremony (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Maggo-ya Representative Hong Dong-hee (left) and National Library of Korea Director Park Joo-ok (right). Hong donated 'Zacato: Armored Trooper' and 'Cain of the 3rd District' (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ 'Cain of the 3rd District' was also on display (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

Curator Lee Yeon-soo, who organized the exhibition, shared, "When I first joined the library, I realized there were far more games buried in old magazines and bundled CDs than I expected. Many were effectively sleeping, unusable. After beginning research last year, I’m thrilled to host this first exhibition." We took a look at the site ahead of its official July 14 opening.

▲ Displays in front of the Play Zone explain the exhibition's intent (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The exhibition started by highlighting games that only survived as records in library-archived books (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Efforts extended from preserving written records to restoring games trapped on unreadable disks (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Korea's first FPS, 'Chorong's Adventure' (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Books covering development techniques (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Restoration was based on floppy disks containing source code and development notes (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ 26 DOS games are available to explore (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The vintage 'Daewoo Perscom IQ 1000 CPC-200' (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Bundled CDs from game magazines, including 'Muteoldosa' based on the animation (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ A bundled CD of 'Forgotten Saga', which recently confirmed a remake (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ An 'Arcturus' strategy guide released in CD format (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Various strategy guides, such as the 'Forgotten Saga' guide from magazines, are nostalgic treasures (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The 'The War of Genesis Side Story 2: Tempest' package (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ It even included physical cards (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Some games were never released and only exist in articles or advertisements (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ In the case of 'Sesame Pingping', other games were completed based on its assets, but not under this title (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ 'The Day Comes', which only remains as an advertisement (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ 'Seungcheon Daehan', which aimed to be Korea's first fighting game (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The programmer at the time pushed for it on 286 PCs, but it was indefinitely postponed and never saw the light of day (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ We look forward to seeing more unreleased titles in the future (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ 'NF43', an album containing OSTs from classic games like 'Fox Ranger' (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ You can check out the sheet music for 'Moon Force' and 'NF43' (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The most famous track, 'Moon Force', is available to listen to directly (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ A corner dedicated to the history of the early Korean game industry (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The exhibit covers the years 1983 to 2006 (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The National Library of Korea's game restoration process is also showcased (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Extracting data from floppy disks (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Restored to run in modern environments (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ A look at key institutions worldwide working on game preservation (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Including Western nations like the US, UK, Germany, Italy, and Sweden (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Private and public sectors in Korea and Japan are also active in preservation (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The Play Zone, the highlight of the show (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ A glance at the restoration process of the unreleased game 'The Day Comes' (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Control instructions for the two restored games (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The interior of the play area is dimmed for better screen visibility (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ You can play two games reinterpreted through the lens of data preservation (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ A large joystick is installed, requiring two players to coordinate (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ It’s best enjoyed like a three-legged race (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ 'Chorong's Adventure' feels quite similar to 'DOOM' (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ 11 games for the Zemmix Super Mini, restored by Team Neo, are also on display (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Includes 10 original games and 'Wonder Kid', known as the last native MSX game (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Equipped with 4:3 displays and retro joysticks (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Brochures are available for visitors (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ There is a stamp collection area on the back (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The stamp area is located at the end of the history section (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Library mascots Bookie and Tumi also appear as protagonists in the two restored games (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ '단종 한국 게임, 다시 켜다' 전시회 입구 (사진: 게임메카 촬영)

국내 공공기관에서 최초로 '단종된 한국 게임'을 조명하는 전시회가 열린다. 7월 14일부터 12월 31일까지 국립중앙도서관 디지털도서관 지하 3층에서 열리는 '단종 한국 게임, 다시 켜다'다. 도서관에서 보관 중이던 자료를 토대로 직접 복원한 '단종 게임' 2종을 플레이해볼 수 있고, 한국 게임산업 초창기 역사와 관련 자료도 살펴볼 수 있다.

전시 하루 전인 7월 13일에 개최된 개막식에는 관계자 다수가 참여했다. 이중에는 한국 1세대 게임 개발자인 막고야 홍동희 대표도 자리했다. 홍 대표는 "게임산업이 가진 산업적인 파급 효과가 큰 데 비해 게임 역사에는 소홀한 면이 있지 않았나 싶다"라며 "업계에서도 연대하여 기증하거나 발굴할 수 있는 자료가 있다면 선제적으로 보존하는 것도 굉장히 뜻깊은 일이 되지 않을까 싶다"라고 밝혔다.

국립중앙도서관 지식정보관리부장 박주옥 부장은 "게임을 생각하면 즐거웠던 기억도 있고, 추억도 가져갈 수 있다. 아울러 소중한 우리 문화유산이다"라며 "플로피 디스크나 CD에 들어 있던 것을 디지털화하여 다시 해볼 수 있게 만들어주는 것 또한 디지털 복원과 보존의 중요성을 일깨워준다. 기록유산, 디지털 문화유산의 중요성도 다 함께 느껴볼 수 있는 시간이 될 것 같다"라고 전했다.

▲ 개막식에 여러 관계자가 참석해 자리를 빛냈다 (사진: 게임메카 촬영)

▲ 막고야 홍동희 대표(좌)와 국립중앙도서관 박주옥 부장(우), 홍동희 대표는 이번에 전륜기병 자카토와 제3지구의 카인을 기증했다 (사진: 게임메카 촬영)

이번 전시를 기획한 국립중앙도서관 이연수 학예연구사는 "처음 직장에 와서 도서관에 있는 게임 잡지를 살펴보며 '예상보다 도서관에 게임이 많다'는 생각이 들었다. 책만 있는 것이 아니라 책에 포함된 CD나 DVD에 옛날 게임이 있는데 이제는 더 이상 활용이 안 되고, 잠들어 있는 게임이 꽤 많다"라며 "작년부터 한국 게임 관련 연구를 시작해서, 첫 전시를 열게 되어 뜻깊게 생각하고 있다"라고 말했다. 이에 7월 14일부터 본격적으로 막을 올릴 '단종 한국 게임, 다시 켜다' 현장을 미리 살펴보는 시간을 마련했다.