Gaming Culture in Korea
- beautifulhaneul
- Dec 13, 2018
- 3 min read
The country that started taking e-sports seriously way before the rest of the world. Korea, when you mentioned that to any hardcore gamer, they will tell you that Korea has strong teams and organization. Starcraft, league of legends and overwatch, these are just some of the games that Korea dominate. How did it all started?
It started in the late 90's and early 2000's when the internet and computer is blooming. A little background on the Korean culture here: Most students study really hard from school to hakwons (학원 their version of after school tuition and sometimes 독서실 study room). From early to late. It is during the time of internet and computer bloom that PC bangs flourish (PC 방 basically our version of cyber cafe or gaming room). Students flock and adults alike flock to PC bangs to escape from the high pressure of the society. Every is supposed to be well-mannered, studies well and have a solid job and happy family. The PC bangs allows the Koreans to get away from all these.
It was during the 90's when Starcraft hit us, and it stuck hard. Not only is the world sweep by it, Korea was lit on fire by it. Subsequently, the Koreans got so damn good at the game that the world's attention was on them. It was there and then that the Korean companies smartly invested in all these competition and players as they know the Koreans are really attracted to gaming and to Starcraft. Some of the big names include people like Jaedong and SlayerS_'BoxeR' Lim Yo Hwan. They are the forerunners of "professional gamers" and they have set the tempo and path for others that come after them.
These two are just two of the players that are iconic in Starcraft competition.
Things have since evolved and many companies and organizations are putting money in as a mean to advertise their brand and sometimes even gain profit from endorsement and other incentives that comes rolling in if the gaming house or team won a championship or has a few popular players (or handsome players lol). Companies that invested includes huge conglomerate like Samsung, SK Telecom and KT (Korea Telecom). Even in gaming they have coined the term "telecom wars (in e-sports).
One of the teams that SK Telecom is sponsoring is the League of Legends team SKT T1. LOL (league of legend) players will know them. 3 times world champion 2013,2015 & 2016 (2017 they were second) SKT T1 is very popular and I mean, really popular in Korea. A player named Faker in particular is heralded as the best LOL player in the world. He is like the Messi of League of Legends. He is the first league player to appear on public television of Korea. He appeared on Hello counsellor (in Korea it is known as " 안녕하세요 " which is annyeong haseyo) along with Red Velvet.
You know they are serious when they uses social media and have a PR team promoting for e-sports team. It is almost like they are promoting for celebrities or traditional sports team. The video below is a clip of SKT T1 introducing their new roster for 2019. The production value is not shabby to say the least.
E-sports is serious in Korea. They have their e-sports stadiums and people go cheer their team on. This is year's world championship for LOL invited idols like (G)I-dle and Bobby (Ikon). All these in a stadium (not the esports studium but a actual stadium situated in Incheon) in front of thousands. Yeah, its like a mini concert (performance) before watching your favourite teams. Awesome. The opening for the LOL champion 2018 is can be viewed below.
If you are in Korea, drop by their PC bangs, you would not be disappointed. They have ramen, fried chicken, drinks and all sorts of refreshments for you. Couple seats are available for those who love to cuddle while playing their favourite games.
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