Attending China Joy 2024 allowed me to network with fellow game industry professionals and gain diverse experiences while visiting Shanghai, China.
From a sales perspective, I witnessed China's direct business practices and learned a lot from the foreigners who constantly create opportunities.
I will continue to provide the best possible service by communicating with customers for the growth of the localization and translation industry, and hope you will remember Alconost and Lee Sang-hoon.
It was a truly great experience. I'm incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to attend ChinaJoy, one of the biggest gaming events globally, and I learned a lot. First, it was fantastic to meet my colleagues in person whom I had only interacted with online. I'm also thankful for the chance to visit China and Shanghai for the first time. I'm grateful that I could enjoy delicious Chinese food with my colleagues every evening. I want to express my gratitude to Zijun GUO, Chris Ho from the China team, and Yoshiyuki Suginome, the Japan head (Special thanks to all of you!).
While I didn't meet many people, I'm still thankful for the connections I made. As someone relatively new to the industry, I need to meet and interact with a lot of people. That's how I learn the most. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to meet and speak with several Koreans from overseas. Although the industry, particularly the translation industry, is challenging, I'm grateful for the ongoing translation needs and am committed to working hard and finding ways to best support our clients.
I was able to learn from a sales perspective as well. China operates its booths quite directly. In other words, they are very upfront with sales. From the start, they ask what you need, what you do, and even make comments like, 'Based on your attire, you seem like a localization company, but we don't need your services,' expressing their opinions directly. Of course, being blunt and quickly concluding conversations can be efficient. However, it was difficult to build rapport or foster relationships. It could be my lack of skill or the fact that I'm a foreigner, but other foreign booth operators faced similar experiences.
Many foreigners visited ChinaJoy, with a noticeable number of Indians. One particular foreigner's approach to sales impressed me. He wasn't a booth operator but a regular attendee, and I wasn't near our company's booth but in a different hall. Yet, he came up to me, initiated a conversation, asked about my work and where I work, and attempted to sell something.
I think it's remarkable. His willingness to approach without hesitation, speak up, and continue pursuing business opportunities even in the face of rejection showed me how much I lack in comparison. Of course, this experience taught me that I need to work harder, stay humble, and keep growing stronger.
It seems that responses vary depending on the country. I believe that reactions differ based on the situation and nationality within that situation. As someone working for a global company and interacting with global clients, I learned the importance of understanding the characteristics and culture of each country's people before engaging with them.
I'm grateful that several Korean clients visited our booth and allowed me to have meaningful conversations. I'm also thankful for the opportunity to speak with game companies from Korea that participated in the event. Specifically, I want to thank Fred Seo, CEO of FROMtheRED, Yeojin Yun, Manager at Playio | GNA Company, and Neungji Yeon from PayerMax for visiting our booth. Though I'm not a remarkable or special person, I'm truly grateful for the chance to talk with them.
Moving forward, I will continue to go the extra mile, actively listen to customer feedback, and brainstorm ways to help and provide solutions. I will strive to continuously grow and develop the localization and translation industry while doing my utmost to assist clients who need our services. I hope you'll remember Alconost and me, Sanghun Lee.