About
Jungbum Lee (이정범)
English → Korean Game Localizer & Toolmaker · STOVE Indie Awards 2025 Best Localizer
I turn complex, text-heavy games into natural, immersive Korean experiences. As the Lead Translator at Language-Games and developer of Lexicontexta™, I combine rigorous terminology management with custom AI tooling to support seamless, developer-friendly localization workflows.
What I Bring to Your Project:
Rigor & Precision
Academic background in political science (Glasgow Ph.D. ABD), bringing high term consistency and stylistic nuance to narrative games.
Technical Competency
Fluent in handling code-adjacent files (JSON, CSV, XML) and functional LQA.
Workflow Innovation
Creator of AI tooling built specifically to eliminate term friction in multi-file localization pipelines.
Craft Philosophy
The Craft Behind The Screen
Sentence conversion is not game localization. Korean players are exceptionally attuned to tone, character honorifics, and UI polish. We bridge scholarly linguistic precision with practical game engine literacy.
Honorifics & Character Voices
Korean features intricate hierarchical speech registers (존댓말, 반말, archaic forms). Generic translation constantly scrambles registers mid-scene. We construct speech charts so every companion, villain, and merchant maintains their distinct personality.
Technical Syntax & Tag Safety
Game scripts are packed with variables: {0}, %s, color markup, and plural tags. A single misplaced tag can crash the runtime engine. We maintain strict string hygiene across JSON, CSV, XML, and PO formats.
Context Beyond Spreadsheets
Ambiguous terms like Equip (action vs slot), Miss (evasion vs title), or Cast (spellcasting vs actor list) cannot be judged in isolation. We test ambiguous lines directly inside the game build with controller in hand.
Focus
What I do
- Translation (English → Korean, primarily games)
- LQA (functional + linguistic QA)
- Proofreading & editing (dialogue, UI, tutorials)
- Game / app / web localization with code-adjacent formats (JSON, CSV, XML)
- News & game journalism (press, reviews)
- Lexicontexta™ — AI localization tooling
Project credits live on the Projects page.
Experience
Background
Lexicontexta™
Developer
Present
Language-Games
Lead Translator
2023–Present
Language-Games
Indie Game Reporter
2024–Present
Independent
Freelance Translator
2023–Present
Team Waldo
Volunteer Translator
2023
University of Glasgow
Teaching Assistant
2019–2021
Young-il Academy
Private English Tutor
2015–2017
Education
Study
University of Glasgow
Ph.D. in Political Science (ABD)
2022
Sogang University
M.A. in Politics
2014
Sogang University
B.A. in Politics, Economics, and Philosophy
2010
Discord
Say hi
The Language-Games Discord is a quiet room for quotes, Korean-market questions, and LQA talk — handle ganzhiking. It's been around a couple of years; drop in if you need me.