KOREAN E-SPORTS

Introduction

Throughout the country of Korea, electronic games
have been a major modern culture shock and have
become a new addition to Korea’s diverse culture.

Electronic Sports

- Also called e-Sports, is the competitive playing of
video games
- Types: Real Time Strategy, MMORPG, First Person
Shooter and Racing
- Levels: amateur, semi-professional and professional
levels (professional leagues and tournaments)
- Methods: Internet and LAN

History of E-sports

- Arcade era of gaming-Starts in the early 1900’s, the
first competitively played game was Pong.
- SNES-The first console to come out followed up by
Sega Genesis and Dreamcast
- First televised Gaming show in 1999
- Blizzard revolutionizes online gaming

Cultural Influence

- Addicted gamers
- National holiday of Starcraft 2

- Gaming celebs “Thresh” and “Boxer”
- Internet Cafés and “LAN” parties.

Depth of Addiction

- Throughout South Korea many kids are addicted to
games.
- Gamers who are “plugged in” produce the same
hormones that a high drug addict would
- 97% of all Korean households have access to internet
which makes it easier to play online games.
- About 74% of teenagers in South Korea are involved in
an online game.
- Kim Lee was a 28 year old man who died playing 80
hours of games in an internet cafe

Becoming a Pro Gamer

- To become a pro gamer one must be VERY good, and
must win a division 1 or division 2 gaming title in order
to join a Pro-League.

- Most pros start out as a semi-pro where one must hold
a title of a division 3 or division 4 tournament.

Lifestyle of Pro-gamers

- The top pro gamers in Korea are treated as celebrities
and can make millions in a year.
- The majority of pro gamers in Korea either have a day
time job, or they become a paid coach for semi-pros or
aspiring amateurs.
- Most pros are sponsored by a company and it usually
pays for travel and living fees.

Pro-League Games

Conclusion

- Kids in Korea are too involved with games and the
internet, because they are constantly being
bombarded with sources of media, internet, and the
introduction of addicting games.

Works Cited

- Gluck, By Caroline. "BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | South Korea's Gaming
Addicts." BBC News -Home. 4 May 1993. Web. 16 Dec. 2010.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2499957.stm>.
- PBS. "FRONTLINE: Digital Nation: Virtual Worlds: Internet Addiction
PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. 13 Sept. 2007. Web. 16 Dec.
2010.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/virtual-
worlds/internet-addiction/>.
- Monocle. "E-Sports in Korea [Monocle]." Home [Monocle]. 4 June
2004. Web. 16 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.monocle.com/sections/culture/Web-Articles/E-sports-
in-Korea/>.
- Gamers, Gosu. "Professional Gaming." Team Liquid -StarCraft 2 and
Brood War Pro Gaming News. 21 Dec. 2003. Web. 16 Dec. 2010.
<http://www.teamliquid.net/>.