The Korea Mobile Game Association teamed up with the global tech giant Yandex Ads on June 18th to host the international business event, 'Yandex Ads Connect X Seoul 2026'.

Look, let's be honest—the domestic mobile market is feeling a bit cramped these days. This event was specifically curated for game developers and mobile app experts who are desperate to find a way out of this saturated bubble and discover fresh opportunities in emerging global markets, particularly the Russian-speaking (CIS) regions.

Kicking off the first session, HNX CEO Han Ji-hoon took the stage to dissect the current state of Korea's mobile market, drawing from the 2026 Korea Mobile App Report. He didn't mince words: "While 82% of domestic mobile professionals identify rising UA costs and market saturation as their biggest headaches, they’re still funnelling their marketing budgets into the same old familiar channels like North America (68.3%) and Korea (62.1%)."

He hit home with some sobering data: 72.7% of domestic UA efforts are laser-focused on short-term ROAS optimization, with a pathetic 15.1% considering long-term LTV. With 44.3% of companies operating on restricted test budgets of less than $5,000 per month, he argued that surviving requires more than just luck—it demands expanding into new territories using rigorous localization data.

Next up, Andrei Shikin, Head of In-App Partnerships at Yandex Ads, laid out his vision for the Russian market and global all-in-one monetization. He introduced the Yandex Advertising Network, boasting a massive demand pool fed by over 40,000 apps and 600,000 direct advertisers.

He highlighted a success story from Humble Logic Games, a domestic developer that managed to rake in over 50% of their total ad revenue from Russia through a Yandex partnership, hitting an impressive full-screen ad eCPM of $5. He also pitched the 'Easy Monetization' solution, which juggles 16 ad networks and over 200 demand sources to squeeze out every bit of potential profit.

Marat Nuriev, Global Business Development Director at Yandex Cloud, followed by addressing the technical hurdles domestic developers often face when entering new markets. He detailed how Yandex Cloud’s infrastructure provides the stability and scalability needed to bypass those pesky technical barriers.

Kim Ha-neul, Korea Business Development Manager at Yandex Ads, noted, "We co-hosted this event to offer domestic developers a roadmap out of the restrictive local market. We hope this satisfies the thirst for entry into high-potential regions like the Russian-speaking market, and Yandex Ads remains committed to bolstering the global competitiveness of Korean firms."

Andrei Shikin also chimed in: "Korean mobile content and games are truly world-class. With our unique advertising infrastructure and monetization tools, I am confident that Yandex Ads is the perfect partner for Korean developers looking to scale their business and secure stable revenue in the Russian-speaking and broader global markets."

Hwang Sung-ik, Chairman of the Korea Mobile Game Association, stated, "I hope this joint event acts as a milestone for our domestic developers as they seek to overcome the brutal local market and secure new growth engines. The Korea Mobile Game Association will continue to work with strong partners to provide effective support for our excellent mobile content to reach emerging markets."

The event wrapped up with a networking session, allowing speakers to mingle with staff and executives from various local app and game development studios.

For more information on Yandex Ads solutions, you can check out their official website.