Incheon · Los Angeles · Seoul

Changyeong Bak

Esports Marketing · Partnerships · Operations

From esports partnerships to on-site operations,
Marketing & Operations Specialist.

I started out at an LCK pro team and have been building brand partnerships and fan experiences ever since.

60+LCK regular-season series
on-site support · bbq OLIVERS
30LCK match-linked brand events
planned & run on site
22,000+3-day cumulative visitors
2023 LCK Summer Final
300fan giveaway sets
Faker 10th Anniversary
SCROLL
About

I read the field through data,
and design what comes next on site

I turn what the field tells me into the next plan, then take that plan back to the field and finish it there.

Changyeong Bak — UCLA campus, Sociology graduate
Changyeong BakUniversity of California, Los Angeles · Sociology, B.A. 2025

Sociology at UCLA. I began my career at bbq OLIVERS, an LCK pro team, running fan engagement and brand partnerships across a season of 217 matches. At the 2023 LCK Summer Final I planned the events for a finals venue that drew more than 22,000 visitors over three days, and across the season I planned and ran 30 brand marketing events on site myself.

In games and esports, online is the venue. Reading data and the room together, I built experiences that brought players back — and built the reverse flow too, where what happened on site spread back online. In an era where the community is the product, I want to make good experiences for players without drawing a line between online and offline.

On the U.S. West Coast I handled store operations consulting and global brand activations, sharpening an execution structure that lands projects inside schedule and budget. Reaching agreement with counterparts who do not share my language — and carrying the project to completion anyway — has been my job, and that is how I have worked.

Currently

GodDraw — TCG community platform

Product & Community Strategy

Analyzed real usage flows of TCG players across Pokémon and One Piece, and proposed improvements to onboarding, game selection and tournament discovery.

Passed the first round of “Modu Startup”, a national entrepreneurship program run by Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and StartupsSelected from 63,000 applicants down to 5,000
  • Analyzed user behavior from 3,200+ tournaments plus registered decks and remote battle usage, defining meta, deck, tournament, opponent and card information as the core user needs
  • Surfaced UX issues and set improvement priorities through hands-on testing of remote battle reconnection, spectating, tournament categorization and card information access
  • Designed separate entry structures for competitive and new players, and proposed a direction connecting the online platform with the offline TCG ecosystem
Supporting follow-on product refinement · ongoing
GodDraw tournament discovery screen
Tournament discoverySchedules and entry paths by region and title
GodDraw decks, guides and tier screen
Decks · Guides · TiersCommunity content structure
Selected Impact

The numbers execution produced,
and the scope I owned

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Visitors · 2023 LCK Summer Final

Three-day cumulative visitors — the largest event where I handled finals-venue fan engagement and brand booth operations

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LCK Brand EventsPlanned and run on site

Match-day fan engagement and partnership campaigns — I scoped the budget and composition, pitched them, and executed on site after approval

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LCK Regular-Season SeriesOn-site team operations support

Supported team on-site operations across 60+ LCK regular-season series — a full-season workload run from the front office

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Brands & Institutions

Brands and institutions I worked with during my tenure — I prepared sponsor proposals, negotiated delivery terms, and ran on-site operations

Career Timeline

From early on-site work
to U.S. operations consulting, in one line.

Each step widened the scope of the next.

2017Jan 2017 — Aug 2018
Partnerships Intern
bbq OLIVERS (LCK pro team) · Brand Marketing

Supported on-site operations across four LCK regular-season splits, 60+ series by team count. Planned and published team social content, drafted partnership proposals and event operation manuals, and documented communication and collaboration procedures with domestic and overseas partners.

20212021 — 2022
Republic of Korea Army
Sergeant, Honorable Discharge

Team-based mission execution and responsible command experience became the foundation for the follow-through and accountability I brought to later partnership and operations work.

2022Sep 2022 — Sep 2024
Marketing & Partnerships Manager
ESportsConnected (formerly bbq OLIVERS) · Marketing

Across a season of 217 matches, planned and ran 30 brand events tied to LCK matches. Owned the Faker 10th debut anniversary fan activation end to end, from budget estimation through on-site delivery, and led event planning for the 2023 Summer Final, which drew over 22,000 cumulative visitors across three days. Over the same period, ran the Incheon Onslayers × Incheon Metropolitan City public collaboration — the city’s hometown VALORANT team — as a separate track.

2025Dec 2025 · Graduated
B.A. Sociology, UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles

B.A. in Sociology. Won the UCLA KUBS Startup Competition in June 2025.

2026Feb 2026 — Jun 2026Latest
Operations Consultant
bb.q Chicken U.S. West · Operations

Logistics, vendor management and local PR execution for 6 West Coast locations (3 new · 3 transferred) plus global activations including MUFC, K-Expo and the NBA.

Selected Projects

Projects that didn't stop at planning,
but were finished on site.

PROJECT 01
ESportsConnected (formerly bbq OLIVERS) · Sponsor : BBQ Chicken

Faker 10th Anniversary
Fan Activation

BBQ × T1 · Fan Experience & Brand Activation

Role · Fan Activation · On-site Operations · Partner Coordination Venue · LoL PARK Date · Mar 2023

An on-site LCK fan activation marking Faker's 10th debut anniversary, pairing BBQ products with the player's IP. I scoped the bundle's budget and composition myself, pitched it to the sponsor and got it approved, then owned the whole process through on-site delivery.

300setsFans Served — sized the giveaway program and designed the redemption coupon
30,000+DCInside post views — organic fan write-ups
20,000+views on fan-posted product content
Earned
Media
Spread through gaming communities and into media coverage with no paid media spend

Player Milestone → Social Announcement → On-site Experience → Fan Sharing → Organic Buzz

PROPOSE

Scope the budget and composition, then pitch

Estimated the giveaway bundle's budget and designed its product composition to pitch — executed after approval.

DESIGN

Build the redemption mechanic

Sized a 300-set chicken giveaway program and designed the redemption coupon.

OPERATE

Coordinate the on-site flow

Coordinated the route and distribution process for neutral- and T1-section fans redeeming coupons at the LoL PARK cheer booth, including live issue response.

SPREAD

Design for spread too

Designed the path from the player's social announcement to on-site redemption — a loop that brought fan write-ups back into the community.

Activation Archive · drag to browse
Player social story announcing the cheer-booth redemption coupon
Player social announcementCoupon guidance for neutral- and T1-section fans
The actual fan giveaway bundle with redemption coupon
The giveaway bundleBudget and composition I scoped, pitched and got approved

Not a giveaway, but an on-site activation that tied a player's milestone, the fan experience and a brand product into one moment — and produced organic spread from it.

PROJECT 02
ESportsConnected (formerly bbq OLIVERS)

LCK Brand Partnerships
& Fan Engagement

Role · Marketing & Partnerships Manager Organization · ESportsConnected (formerly bbq OLIVERS) League · League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) Period · 2022.09 — 2024.09 Brand Partners · BBQ Chicken · SKT · KT · BenQ

I turned market and fan data into promotions partners could actually run, then connected the venue back so it generated data again. Across a season of 217 matches I planned and ran 30 linked events myself.

Signature Case · March 2023 · LoL PARK

Faker 10th Anniversary Fan Activation BBQ × T1

I costed the giveaway sets and designed the product mix, pitched it and — once approved — owned everything from exchange-coupon design to on-site delivery for a 300-set fan giveaway. An unprompted fan write-up drew 30,000+ views in the community and carried into press coverage with no paid media.

30LCK match-linked events I planned and ran
22,000+2023 Summer Final 3-day cumulative visitors
12Brands and institutions worked with during tenure
16,800Fan program participation target
01 — ANALYZE

Define the overlap

Analyzed market and fan data to define where partner goals and our operations met.

02 — PROPOSE

Make it runnable

Converted it into a program partners could run as-is via proposals and exposure design. Verified character IP usage rights, then drafted banner artwork and managed printing and installation.

03 — ALIGN

Align inside and out

Aligned schedules, terms and roles in Korean and English. Tracked per-event budgets and coordinated production timelines with vendors.

04 — EXECUTE

Run the venue

Handled content production, on-site setup, quality control and fan turnout directly.

05 — REPORT

Leave the evidence

Reviewed KPIs and reported results, leaving a basis for the next campaign's decisions.

PROJECT 03
bbq OLIVERS · LCK

LCK Pro Team
Operations Support

bbq OLIVERS · Team Operations & Partnerships

Role · Partnerships Intern · Brand Marketing Team · bbq OLIVERS (LCK) Period · 2017.01 — 2018.08

At bbq OLIVERS, an LCK pro team, I supported on-site operations across four regular-season splits in 2017–2018 — 60+ series on a team basis.

60+LCK regular-season series — on-site support, team basis
4Regular-season splits — 2017 Spring/Summer, 2018 Spring/Summer
1 yr 8 moTenure in the team front office
MATCHDAY

Support the match venue

Team operations support at LCK regular-season matches — 2017 Spring/Summer, 2018 Spring/Summer.

CONTENT

Run the team channels

Planned and executed content for the team's social channels.

PARTNER

Handle the partners

Owned communication with domestic and overseas partners and documented collaboration processes. Wrote partnership proposals and event operations manuals.

I learned the league's operating cycle first, from inside a team front office, and then widened my scope into brand partnerships.

PROJECT 04
ESportsConnected (formerly bbq OLIVERS) · Sponsor : BBQ Chicken

BBQ Esports
Discord Community

Fan Community Strategy · Community Strategy & Concept Development

Date · 2023

A fan community strategy designed from the insight I gained running BBQ's LCK sponsorship brand marketing.

LCK content → community entry → participation → reward → brand action → return

DEFINE

Define the problem

Framed the problem that fan attention does not survive past match day, and designed a Fan Journey structure following the flow above.

CONVERT

Turn online into offline action

Designed a structure converting online participation into store visits and purchases, using match-day content such as score predictions and MVP votes plus a mission system (Watch → Participate → Share → Visit → Purchase).

MEASURE

Count quality, not size

Instead of sign-up counts, designed a five-axis KPI framework — Acquisition, Engagement, Retention, Conversion, Efficiency — to measure participation quality and conversion.

Grounded in hands-on work — purchase-linked promotions, events built on team content, and participatory social campaigns.

PROJECT 05
bb.q Chicken · U.S. West

Store Operations & Execution

Role · Operations Consultant Region · U.S. West Period · 2026.02 — 2026.06 Brand · bb.q Chicken

Not simply operations support, but connecting each stakeholder's action items to bring the project in on schedule and on budget.

6Store projects total — led execution on 3 new openings and 3 transfers
3New store openings — launched on local U.S. West partnerships
3Store transfers — acquisition, handover and reset of operating standards
3Global activations — MUFC, K-Expo and NBA player events
EXECUTION

Run global brand activations

MUFC, K-Expo and NBA player events — connected operational logistics, vendor relationships and local PR execution to the schedule.

WORKFLOW

Cross-functional coordination

Aligned workflows across operations, marketing, stores and vendors in writing to hold schedule and budget, organizing decisions stage by stage.

STANDARD

Standardize multicultural collaboration

Systematized operations manuals and project documents to close information gaps between teams — so whoever came next could pick them up and move.

Onsite & Campaign Archive · scroll sideways
NBA player invitational event
NBA player invitationalGlobal Activation · bb.q Chicken
BBQ Day banner
BBQ Day bannerBrand Campaign Asset
BBQ Day on site
BBQ Day on siteOnsite Operations
KT × BBQ collaboration event banner
KT × BBQ collaboration bannerBrand Partnership
SKT T1 × BBQ collaboration event banner
SKT T1 × BBQ collaboration bannerEsports team collaboration
BBQ LoL Park store
BBQ LoL Park storeLoL Park Store · Seoul
South San Jose BBQ store
South San Jose BBQ storeU.S. West Store Project
PROJECT 06
Incheon Onslayers × Incheon Metropolitan City

VALORANT Team
& Public Partnership

Incheon Onslayers (Incheon-based VALORANT team) × Incheon Metropolitan City · includes tournament operations · a track separate from the LCK work

Role · Marketing & Partnerships Manager Organization · ESportsConnected (formerly bbq OLIVERS) Public Partner · Incheon Metropolitan City Team · Incheon Onslayers Title · VALORANT Period · 2022 — 2024

A public collaboration between Incheon Onslayers, the city's hometown VALORANT team, and Incheon Metropolitan City. Putting a city government's goals and participating players' paths inside one plan, so public budget turns into real participation. This was a track run separately from the LCK brand marketing.

16,800Fan program participation target
5Collaborating team — coordinating city government, internal ops and on-site crew
Aug 2023Presidential Esports Cup, Incheon team — on-site staff operations
PUBLIC

Run the public partnership

Handled planning, scheduling, KPI review and performance reporting on the public partnership between Incheon Onslayers and Incheon Metropolitan City.

COMMUNITY

Tournaments & booths

Ran the Incheon tournament booth and the Presidential Esports Cup Incheon team on site — managing participant flow and venue quality.

ENGAGEMENT

Design fan engagement

Designed and ran a fan program with a participation target of 16,800, together with a five-person team.

Onsite Archive · scroll sideways
Incheon Onslayers post
Incheon Onslayers postCommunity Content
Incheon Onslayers tournament booth
Incheon Onslayers tournament boothOnsite Booth · Incheon
Presidential Esports Cup, Incheon team on site
Presidential Cup, Incheon team on sitePresidential Esports Cup · Incheon Team Staff
ACTIVATIONS

Partnerships in Motion

Proposal → negotiation → exposure → venue → reporting: how I turn a partnership into a single execution flow.

01 — ANALYZE

Define the overlap

Analyze market and fan data to define where partner goals meet our operations.

02 — PROPOSE

A runnable proposal

Convert it into a program the partner can run as-is, through proposals and exposure design.

03 — ALIGN

Align inside and out

Coordinate schedule, terms and roles — aligning internal and external sides bilingually in Korean and English.

04 — EXECUTE

On-site operations

Handle content production, venue setup, quality control and fan turnout directly.

05 — REPORT

Leave the evidence

KPI review and performance reporting — leaving a basis for the next campaign's decisions.

Brands and institutions I worked with during my tenure.

Credentials

Education · Skills · Awards

Education

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)Sociology, B.A. · 2025
Republic of Korea ArmySergeant, honorable discharge · 2021 — 2022

Languages

Korean — Native · English — FluentUsed daily for stakeholder collaboration and global brand communication

Skills

Community / Fan EngagementPartnership DevelopmentEvent Planning & Operations Stakeholder ManagementSocial Media StrategyBrand Development Marketing AnalyticsData AnalysisCross-Cultural Communication Process ImprovementTechnical Writing

Awards & Activities

UCLA KUBS Startup Competition · Winner (1st)UCLA Korean Business Club · June 2025
Presidential Esports Cup · Incheon Team StaffIncheon Metropolitan Government · August 2023
GodDraw · TCG community platformPassed first round, “Modu Startup” (Ministry of SMEs and Startups) · 5,000 of 63,000

Not finished at the plan,
but completed on site.

Available for roles in Korea & the U.S. — Marketing · Partnerships · Operations