South Korea's Webzen (WZEN) says it has successfully launched its massively multiplayer online role-playing game Soul of the Ultimate Nation in China.

Over a year ago, The9 (NCTY) had paid US$13 million for the rights to have the game running in China. The value of that contract was the largest single export transaction in Korea's online game history. After commencement of service in China, 22% royalty based on revenues will be paid to Webzen for three years.

"Despite the growing competition in the Chinese online game market, Korean-developed Soul of the Ultimate Nation has achieved impressive success," said Nam Ju Kim, chief executive officer, Webzen. "This is certainly a great start for the game, and we're especially pleased that the Webzen brand has gained the trust of Chinese gamers. They have high expectations for our games, and we won't let the Chinese players down with this launch."

On May 18 the Society of Korean Entertainment Industry awarded its first Hallyu Honor Award to Webzen in the game company category, citing Webzen's achievements in spreading Korean games to the world.