Tokyo-based mobile social studio Gumi has announced it's opening an office in South Korea.

It's the outfit's first step in its plans for international growth. 

Gumi Korea, a fully owned subsidiary based in Seoul, will be led by Gibon 'Peter' Chang, with a focus on developing social games for South Korea's mobile market.

"The smartphone gaming market in South Korea is entering a

rapid growth phase with 60 percent growth forecasted this year,” said Chang.

"At Gumi Korea, we will focus on creating fun new mobile games for this market, with the same high quality standards as those produce by Gumi in Tokyo."

Global domination

"We've experienced success in Japan, and are now moving aggressively into the global market," says Gumi founder and CEO Hironao Kunimitsu.

"We will work closely with Gumi Korea to develop new, innovative, and exciting social games for South Korea and other countries."

Gumi has seen major success in Japan where it develops titles for Mixi, Mobage, and GREE, the latter owning 20 percent of the developer.

The move to Korea is the first step in Gumi's plans to grow the company, a plan which the developer outlined in December 2011 when it raised $26 million in funding from Jafco, Shinsei Bank, and DBJ Capital.

At the time, Gumi said it was looking at to open offices in Singapore and the US as well as Korea.

[source: TechInAsia]