Back in August, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) hosted a Korea Pavilion at gamescom 2025 in Cologne, Germany. According to KOCCA, the combined B2B and B2C exhibition generated 513 business consultations, totaling $140 million (approx. 194.5 billion KRW). Some studios reportedly secured investments worth $2 million (approx. 2.7 billion KRW). Notably, the newly established B2C zone was hailed as a success, with developers noting that direct engagement with Western gamers led to a 100-fold increase in Steam wishlists.

However, behind these glowing figures, exhibitors were quick to voice their frustrations regarding the shoddy booth management. The B2C booth, tucked away in a corner of Hall 10, suffered from abysmal accessibility, while cramming five separate studios into a suffocatingly small space.

The situation was exacerbated by German USK regulations, which mandate that 18+ titles be shielded from public view via partitions or screens. Consequently, both Midnight Walkers and Backrooms Company were forced to demo their games inside cramped, walled-off cubicles. A lack of stable internet connection further hampered their ability to showcase the core co-op gameplay, leaving them unable to put their best foot forward.

Surveying the floor, one could see the back corner of the rectangular booth partitioned off, housing the demo stations for Midnight Walkers and Backrooms Company. Not only was the space claustrophobic, but the L-shaped layout of the demo stations choked the narrow walkways, making movement a nightmare. With the remaining stations lining the exterior of the partition, the traffic flow was a disaster. Lee Won-hyuk, a project lead at Midnight Walkers developer One Way Ticket Studio, noted, "While there were positives, sharing such a confined space with multiple developers made the internal layout feel quite convoluted."

The B2B section didn't fare much better, with issues raised regarding translation services. In the high-stakes environment of international trade shows, business negotiations rely heavily on interpreters. Yet, the demand for performance reporting immediately after each day’s event forced interpreters to work an extra hour or two, leading to burnout and added pressure.

Even the planning phase was plagued by friction. Im Kwon-young, CEO of Studio BBB, the developer behind Monowave, told Gamemeca, "The operator chosen for the Korea Pavilion was handling a gaming event for the first time. Their lack of understanding regarding B2C resulted in design issues from the very beginning." Im added, "They initially proposed a B2B-style meeting table layout in the middle of the booth, which triggered significant backlash from the participants."

Predictably, communication during the preparation phase was fraught with tension. Im stated, "We felt like subjects expected to follow one-sided instructions rather than 'supporting partners' to be respected. Instead of listening to realistic feedback and finding solutions, the operator seemed intent on sticking to their original plan and shifting the blame."

As a prime example, Im pointed out, "Our demo station was originally slated for the interior. Because some games had to be moved inward to comply with USK regulations, we were pushed to the outer perimeter. We weren't notified of this change until one week before the event, just three days before our flight to Germany."

KOCCA, appearing to acknowledge these grievances, held a post-event feedback session for the Korea Pavilion participants on the 5th. KOCCA stated, "While there was little feedback from B2B participants, we received several complaints from the B2C side, which we intend to actively address." Specifically, they plan to relocate the cumbersome USK-mandated partitions to one side of the booth to prevent further traffic congestion.

For the B2B section, reporting procedures will be shifted to occur after the event concludes, rather than daily. This change aims to let exhibitors focus on their operations while allowing interpreters to handle performance data without the added strain.

However, this is hardly the first time KOCCA has collected feedback. Having operated the Korea Pavilion at gamescom for years, they hold these debriefs annually. The persistence of these same issues suggests a structural failure within KOCCA to actually implement any meaningful changes.

In reality, KOCCA contracts external operators for overseas markets, and the last three years have seen a revolving door of different agencies. Furthermore, regular personnel rotations mean the coordinators change every year. As a result, the same problems repeat like a broken record. With KOCCA managing pavilions for ChinaJoy, Tokyo Game Show, and others, reform is more urgent than ever before the Tokyo event.

When Gamemeca reached out for comment, KOCCA responded: "We did our best internally with handovers and communication to ensure business continuity, but it seems there were areas where the industry felt we fell short." They added, "We will reflect this feedback in our handover materials and reports to better manage future overseas pavilions."

Additionally, KOCCA invited the Tokyo Game Show coordinator to the gamescom debrief to gather participant input. They also noted that the Tokyo Game Show pavilion will be B2C-centric to reduce complexity and that the spatial issues encountered at gamescom will be thoroughly addressed. All eyes are now on KOCCA to see if they can finally turn a new leaf.