I personally really like games so I know that Korea is known for its strong gaming culture and Korean gamers dominate the eSports scene worldwide. Korean scene has a reputation of being extremely competitive. In 2020, the gaming culture in the country experienced a big change, impacted by social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. As staying at home increased, consumption of mobile and console games increased accordingly.
An important aspect of Korean gaming culture is a facility called a PC Bang. PC Bangs, which can be translated as “computer rooms”, have developed out of internet cafes and seem similar, but they are mostly used for gaming. Contrary to the common prejudice of gamers sitting all alone in their rooms, many PC-gamers in the country meet up in those facilities for multiplayer games. Since the hourly fares are relatively low, one of the main reasons for gamers to play at a PC bang was social interaction, especially among young gamers. However, the PC bang industry was hit by the pandemic in 2020. The success of multiplayer games. While major technological companies started to finance the coaching of professional gamers, the KeSPA, the Korea e-Sports Association, was founded in 2000, supporting eSports in the country and even building the world’s first eSport stadium in 2005. Focusing on multiplayer computer games, two games that are particularly popular among pro gamers are StarCraft and League of Legends. As of March 2021, the leading eSports player in South Korea was Lee Sang Hyeok, going by the ID “Faker”, who won prize money totaling almost 1.26 million U.S. dollars in League of Legends tournaments. The figure excludes other sources of income of professional gamers, such as salary and streaming income.
Mobile gaming makes up almost half of the South Korean gaming industry. While PC gaming was used by around 60 percent of gamers, over 90 percent of gamers played games on their smartphones. Mobile games are on the rise for both casual, as well as more serious players in South Korea. One of the biggest emerging mobile gaming eSports in South Korea is Arena of Valor, as the size of prize money awarded for winning Arena of Valor tournaments indicates. The mobile gaming trend does not look likely to fade anytime soon, given the deeply rooted gaming culture as well as the high smartphone ownership rate in the country.
In 2021, the most popular Esports in Korea includes League of Legends, Overwatch, PUBG, Arena of Valor.
Replies
Hi Yunqi, I really enjoy reading your post! I always knew that the gaming and tech culture were strong in Korea but I really had no idea the extent that this was true. I did not know that eSports were even a thing, that they were paid, or they were competitive and you have allowed me to understand more about the gaming culture. I am definitely going to use this information to learn as much as I can about the role this culture plays in different cultures as well. Thank you so much for your information!
I never thought of looking into the topic of PC bangs, but you're completely right in its growing influence and popularity, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's funny that you state that its main purpose was to meet up in those facilities for multiplayer interaction because that's not at all how I imagined it to be. I also had no idea that there was a Korea e-Sports Association, and that it's that popular. Though, I'm also not that surprised due to the high popularity games have in the Asian countries. But, the fact that the prize money totals almost up to 1.26 million U.S. dollars in League of Legends tournaments is actually mind boggling and almost unfair. I didn't realize these games held that much influence that the prize money could be so big. I guess I should try it out some day!