Epic Games has opened a new subsidiary, Epic Games Korea, which will provide direct Unreal Engine 3 licensing and technical support to Korean developers.

Ray Park, who was previously the business and strategy development manager of Microsoft’s dynamic in-game advertising network Massive, will lead the new operation, which is based in the South Korean capital of Seoul.

“We deeply value our customers, and we are committed to providing Korean game developers with outstanding technology and tools,” said Park. “The opening of Epic Games Korea signifies Epic’s desire to collaborate more closely with the Korean game development community, as we view our licensees’ successes as our own.”

Support manager and engineer Jack Porter will serve under Park. The former Unreal Engine programmer for Epic Games worked on the Unreal series of games in addition to the engine.

Jay Wilbur, Epic Games’ vice president of business development, said: “Epic has been providing Unreal Engine technology to the Korean market for over five years, with the simple goal of helping our customers make better games. We are now expanding our commitment to the Korean game industry by opening a local subsidiary, hosting a third of our global licensing resources, to serve as a hub for Unreal Engine access, knowledge and support in the Korean marketplace.”

The news comes in the wake of last year's news that Crytek opened an office in Seoul.