Game studios reimagine popular IPs through Korean tradition CookieRun: Kingdom's White Lily Cookie is reimagined via traditional Korean lanterns at an exhibition in Insa-dong, Seoul. (Lee Yoon-seo/The Korea Herald) One of the unlikeliest corners of Korean pop culture embracing the country's traditional arts is the gaming industry.Some of the country's biggest game franchises, including PUBG: Battlegrounds and CookieRun, are increasingly pairing their best-known intellectual properties with centuries-old Korean crafts, creating collaborations that extend beyond the screen.Industry observers say the partnerships have become a two-way exchange. While game studios introduce traditional crafts to audiences who may have little prior exposure to them, artists are finding new creative inspiration in virtual worlds and familiar game characters.Among the latest examples is a collaboration between Nexon Games, the Nexon Foundation and the Korea Ceramic Foundation. The project brings together six artists working across ceramics, metalwork, woodworking, glass, mother-of-pearl inlay and textiles to create original works inspired by Nexon Games' hit title Blue Archive. The initiative also includes public workshops and hands-on programs.The trend has also reached Krafton. Earlier this year, the company unveiled a collection based on its flagship PUBG: Battlegrounds, the 100-player battle royale game that became one of Korea's biggest global gaming exports. The project reimagines recognizable elements from the game through the lens of traditional Korean crafts.Among the standout pieces is a folding screen inspired by PUBG's signature Blue Zone, rendered through digital mother-of-pearl, a contemporary interpretation of Korea's centuries-old lacquerware tradition. Other works transform familiar in-game objects into handcrafted pieces, including wooden mirrors modeled after the game's iconic frying pan and decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay. PUBG x Octique collection (Krafton) Devsisters has taken a similarly ambitious approach with its popular mobile gaming franchise CookieRun. The company launched an exhibition featuring its characters reinterpreted through a range of traditional Korean art forms, including lantern-making, hwagak, or the decorative use of ox horn, gold leaf printing and sand art.While such collaborations have emerged alongside a surge of global interest in Korean culture, Nexon says its latest initiative was driven by a broader creative vision rather than an attempt to ride that wave."The growing global interest in Korean culture has certainly created a favorable backdrop," a Nexon Games official told The Korea Herald on July 3."However, this project was not conceived to capitalize on a particular trend. ... We wanted to offer the Blue Archive intellectual property as a source of artistic inspiration and create a new model of corporate social contribution by turning that inspiration into original creative works."