Nurien Software, a social gaming service based in Korea, has raised a $15 million first round from Northern Light Venture Capital (NLVC), Globespan Capital Partners, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and QiMing Venture Partners. The company, which is in pre-launch mode, will use the funding to start a beta phase in Korea later this year. It then plans to launch in China, before coming to the U.S. in 2009. It’s not clear exactly what the company has in mind, though from its description (3D interaction, avatars, MMORPG), it probably bears some similarity to Second Life. The company has spent the last three years developing the platform. Release.