The Frontlines of Korean Gaming Culture

Posted by Zonk on Wednesday January 4, 2006 @05:19AM from the far-away-and-very-different dept.

Jim Rossignol, a writer for PC Gamer UK, has returned from South Korea with a look at gaming culture in a vibrant and interesting pro-gaming society. From the article: "Seoul, South Korea. To a fanfare of Asian nu-metal and the sound of a thousand screaming fans, a young Korean man enters a dazzling arena. Like an American wrestler at the heart of a glitter-glazed Royal Rumble, he strides down a ramp towards the stage. Adorned in what appears to be a space suit and a large white cape, he heads out to meet his opponent on the stadium's ziggurat focus. Amid a blaze of flashbulbs and indoor fireworks he climbs the steps, and is exulted by the thronging crowd ... the man on the stage is on Korean television almost every day. He is about to sit down and play what is close to becoming Korea's national sport: Starcraft."

2 of 22 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Video of play? by HeWhoRoams · 2006-01-04 05:42 · Score: 2, Interesting

Anyone know a link to a video of Lee Yunyeol playing? I'd love to see what kind of pace he plays at, but a few searches just turned up articles on starcraft and such
Re:Video clips? by mcscottmc · 2006-01-04 07:51 · Score: 2, Interesting

I spent 2 weeks in Korea back in August and these Starcraft games have their own channel on TV and I saw people watching it all over the place. Even in the hotels with their limited selection of TV channels (30 or so) had the channel showing Starcraft what seemed to be 24-7.
I stumbled upon a filming of one of the shows at the COEX mall one day. It was before they actually started filming. The studio was filled with 150+ teenage kids (maybe a few 20-somethings as well), both male and female. I hung around for about 20 minutes waiting for the show to start but I got bored and left.