Pearl Abyss‘s Black Desert Online is a longstanding Korean MMORPG that is expanding with “Land of the Morning Light.” We got the chance to talk with Black Desert Online Executive Producer Jaehee Kim about the expansion, Korean mythology, and how this is the perfect point for new players to join in on the MMORPG fun. If you’re unfamiliar, “Land of the Morning Light,” takes Adventurers on a perilous journey through the mythical “Land of the Morning Light.” In it, Adventurers will be able to explore breathtaking landscapes filled with intricate architecture and unique vegetation, fight unique bosses at customized difficulty levels, and follow the expansion’s rich storytelling in a non-linear questline, which is realized by 80 cutscenes, 40 vignettes, and 6,000 fully-dubbed lines.
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The expansion will also move Black Desert Online away from monster grinding by introducing boss fights and a special new boss challenge, Boss Blitz. Once a boss is defeated in this new mode, players can jump straight into the action and fight that boss in customized difficulty levels for a chance to rank in weekly charts. But with all of the new features that came with “Land of the Morning Light’s” launch on June 14, we wanted to dig on the way it brings to life Korean mythology for players.
BUT WHY THO: can you explain the inspiration for the expansion’s name and the myths specifically being adapted in the expansion?
JAEHEE KIM: The name “Land of Morning Light” was created with an inspiration from the Joseon Dynasty, the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, which was an inspiration of this expansion. Joseon is a word that can be interpreted as “Land of the Morning” or “Morning Mountain,” signifying a country in the east where the morning dawns early.
Joseon is also a significant name that appears in the founding myth of the Korean Peninsula and is the spiritual root of all Koreans, known as the “Myth of Dangun”. In fact, “Joseon” was also the name of the country that ruled the northern part of the Korean Peninsula and the eastern regions from prehistoric times to ancient times. The stories of the “Land of the Morning Light” do not only represent the stories of the medieval era. If it is a story passed down from mouth to mouth, it has been adopted regardless of the era.
I contemplated and thought over and over on how best to convey the distinctive Korean sentiment to adventurers around the world. As a result, Land of the Morning Light is filled with stories that are a little different and new, but with which players can easily empathize. It includes a text equivalent to a novel, more than 6,000 lines of voice-over performance by veteran voice actors, and more than 40 illustrations and 80 cutscenes to add a sense of immersion. Hope you have fun enjoying the content and have a fantastic time.
BUT WHY THO: I’m a huge fan of Joseon period dramas, especially when they involve mythology. I first stumbled upon this genre of Korean dramas with Legend of the Blue Sea. Do you think Land of the Morning Light’s interpretation Joseon period mythology will be an entry point to those who are fans of other Korean media, but maybe haven’t taken the plunge to boot up BDO?
JAEHEE KIM: First of all, I would like to express my deep appreciation for your interest in Korean culture. It would bring me so much joy if our “Land of the Morning Light” expansion can generate even more interest in Korea, even though that wasn’t the goal of this project. At Pearl Abyss, we strive to explore what we can create each day and each week, and try our best to identify what we excel at. Land of the Morning Light is the result of our ongoing efforts.
Even before we created “Land of the Morning Light” in Black Desert Online, there were already many Eastern themed characters in-game such as Musa, Maehwa, Ninja, Kunoichi, Striker, Mystic, and Lahn. I thought someday I would like to eventually share the stories of their homeland, the East, with our adventurers. When we finally decided to bring these stories to life, we chose the subject matter and settings we know best and excel at creating.
The Legend of the Blue Sea is a remarkable drama. Personally, I really enjoyed watching it as well. While mermaids have not made an appearance in “Land of the Morning Light,” I hope to bring you good news to share with you in the near future.
BUT WHY THO: What have the developers done to make “Land of the Morning Light” accessible to newcomers to BDO? It’s such an expansive MMORPG; what makes this a good first entry into the game?
JAEHEE KIM: In most MMORPGs, new regions are often set to the highest level. Because of this, players who were enticed by advertisements would need to invest a significant amount of time in the game to reach the locations that were revealed in the ads. We made efforts to bridge this gap, and in the previous Mountain of the Eternal Winter update, we made the new region accessible to level 1 players.
Similarly, in”Land of the Morning Light,” players can choose “Land of the Morning Light” as their starting region immediately after the character creation and progress through the game. In addition, players can get a taste of various life content, such as fishing and gathering in this new region. We modified the game to enable beginners with limited inventory space and unfamiliarity with game mechanics to participate in life content without requiring specific tools.
Another advantage is the immersion into the world of Black Desert Online. The Black Desert world is vast, and there is a lot to learn and explore when starting the game. However, “Land of the Morning Light” has its own separate lore and world, with minimal connections to the existing regions. This allows players to enjoy the game with a feeling of enjoying a newly released game.
BUT WHY THO: As an international game, are there any difficulties in adapting Korean myths to larger audiences? How do you balance staying faithful but also providing enough context for those outside of Korean culture to understand?
JAEHEE KIM: We put a lot of effort into localization. Since the cultural context may be unfamiliar to our global adventurers, we really thought a lot about how far we need to go on translating the meaning of it.
For example, “Gowoon Maru” translates to “Beautiful Bluff” in Korean. However, as the people living there lead miserable lives, the name has a contradictory meaning. Translating the meaning explicitly would provide a deeper understanding of the background, but it might diminish the exotic charm of “Land of the Morning Light.” In this case, we chose to go with “Gowoon Bluff” to emphasize the exotic landscape. For parts that require understanding the meaning, like “Cheonjedan Alter (alter for heaven king)”, we boldly translated it.
The story content is based on Korean sentiments while incorporating universally engaging emotions like affection towards foster parents or long-held unrequited love. We put in a lot of our effort to ensure that our global adventurers can easily understand and empathize with the story through these universal emotions.
BUT WHY THO: What are some of your favorite ways that mythology has been brought into the gameplay of The Morning Light expansion?
JAEHEE KIM: I think I’ll pick the Seolhwa journal. We have prepared a separate UI from the existing quest window so that adventurers who have accessed the game for the first time can easily follow the story. In addition, in the Seolhwa journal, players can summarize and enjoy the stories they have experienced during their adventures. By occasionally revisiting it even after completing your journey in “Land of the Morning Light,” memories of the place will resurface time and time again.
BUT WHY THO: We see many games and other media take on Greek mythology. It’s the go-to. But there are so many other myths and legends from across cultures that deserve that same spotlight. Do you hope that the “Land of The Morning Light” expansion also expands on the mythological stories we see adapted in media?
JAEHEE KIM: If “Land of the Morning Light” would bring such an opportunity, it would bring us so much joy. Beyond Korea, the regions we service Black Desert Online are filled with captivating stories unique to each country that have yet to be discovered by global gamers.
BUT WHY THO: Do you have any recommendations for new players who are about to start BDO with this new expansion?
JAEHEE KIM: Black Desert Online is a game where you can enjoy what you want to the fullest. You can embark on exciting battles alongside captivating characters and engage in diverse activities like fishing, gathering, cooking, alchemy, hunting, and trading, and more, awaiting the participation of adventurers like yourself.
Above all, it is a game that brings an exciting adventure that makes your heart race. We encourage you to enter into the enchanting stories prepared in “Land of the Morning Light,” and then embark on your own adventure to pursue what you desire.
BUT WHY THO: If someone wants to dive further into Korean folklore, history, and mythology, how would you recommend they do that?
JAEHEE KIM: First of all, I would like to recommend you to try playing “Land of the Morning Light.” Haha. We put a lot of effort into carefully implementing Korean traditional culture, so I think it will greatly help you in understanding Korean culture. And if you ever visit Korea and see many buildings and natural landscapes that served as inspiration for “Land of the Morning Light,” you will be impressed.
Black Desert Online’s Land of the Morning Light is available now.
