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"If you view Southeast Asia as one market and apply the same strategy, it may succeed in one country but fail in another. First, create a success equation in one market before expanding."
Mazen Wang, Google Asia-Pacific (APAC) App Export Partnership Manager, stated at the '2026 Chang-gu Emergence Trip' held at Google's Singapore office on the 16th (local time), "The most common mistake made by app and game developers is viewing Southeast Asia as a single market," adding this point.
The Chang-gu program is a public-private cooperation project supported by Google Play and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea Startup & Venture Promotion Service to support the growth and overseas expansion of domestic mobile app and game startups. Launched in 2019 by taking the first letters of 'Startup' and 'Google Play,' it is now in its eighth year.
The Emergence Trip is a global training program designed to assist Chang-gu program participants and graduates in expanding into overseas markets. It began with Japan in 2023, followed by Singapore in 2024, and the United States last year, among other major global markets.
"Korea: A Special Market with the Most Active Developers"
This year's schedule was structured into three stages: 'Understand Day' to understand the Southeast Asian market; 'Inspire Day' to exchange with AI (artificial intelligence) companies in the Asia-Pacific region; and 'Connect Day' to meet local users and venture capitalists (VCs) directly.
Participating in this Singapore Emergence Trip were △Team Limited (service name Yeong-gul) △Photo Widget △Nutycode (My Memory) △Liveart (Gan-dan) △Amuse8 (Wol-wol) △YPLabs (Connecting) △Watni (Melting) △Scalar Data (Everyone's Charging), among others.
Additionally, platform and game startups such as △ZipeDler (Raising Coal Briquette Chickens) △ConnectFit (Gig) △Bibibaba (Hammock-euri) △Underdogs (Polaris: Crown Legacy) △DevUnlimited (Spaki) △Retriever Salon (Na-chin-so) gathered locally.
Karen Teo, Google APAC Regional Platform & Device Partnership Vice President, who delivered the welcome address, cited the Chang-gu program as a representative case of public-private cooperation by Google and stated, "Companies participating in the program last year achieved a 90% increase in export sales during and after the program period."
He emphasized, "Korea is a special market with the most active developers on Google Play," adding, "Google aims to be more than just a distributor of apps and games; we want to become a bridge connecting startups with various opportunities."
"You cannot simply take products that succeeded in Korea as they are"
Manikantan Krishnamurti, Head of Google APAC Developer Ecosystem, evaluated Southeast Asia as a vast market characterized by a young population and mobile-centric usage patterns, predicting significant opportunities for Korean developers as well.
However, he advised against approaching Southeast Asia as a single market. For example, Singapore is suitable as a base for capital, talent, and corporate establishment, whereas Indonesia offers advantages in securing a large user base and advertising and micro-payment models.
Head Krishnamurti stated, "Products that have succeeded in Korea may not work if brought over as they are," adding, "It is not enough to simply translate the language; you must reflect local cultural context, payment methods, and device usage environments into your products."
He further added, "In some Southeast Asian countries, the proportion of low-spec smartphone users is high, and e-wallets and QR code payments are more common than credit cards," noting that "app size, screen layout, and memory usage must be optimized, and payment methods preferred by local users should be provided."
"Go beyond simple translation... Localization of culture, payments, and devices is essential"
Desmond Wong, CEO of Singapore-based game developer 'Gentle Bros,' also visited the Emergence Trip site to share his experiences in expanding into global markets. Gentle Bros developed the open-world action RPG game series 'Cat Quest,' featuring a cute cat as the protagonist.
CEO Wong stated, "The localization of Cat Quest did not start with simple text translation," adding, "From the early stages of development, we considered control methods that are easy to enjoy from mobile to console and PC, characters and art styles that do not favor any specific culture, and translations that preserve wordplay meanings in each language."
He elaborated, "Trying to satisfy everyone can result in a game that is unappealing to anyone," noting that "Cat Quest simplified complex RPG elements so that parents and children could enjoy it together, thereby securing a clear user base defined as 'families'."
Advice was also given not to miss the 'Ramadan' period. With approximately 250 million people observing Ramadan in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries, content and promotions must be designed to align with lifestyle and consumption patterns during this period.
Manager Wang noted, "Ramadan lasts for a month and changes users' lifestyles as well as digital content consumption patterns," adding, "Especially in Indonesia, consumption surges in the latter half of Ramadan, so in-app products and promotions tailored to this timing should be considered."
[MoneyToday startup media platform 'Unicorn Factory']
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