The French daily Libération recently reported on the video game industry boom in Korea that has helped launch the new trend of electronic sports, or "e-sports."

In its February 20 article, “In Seoul, video games are a sport of clicks,” Eva John wrote that, “Such e-sports have slowly emerged all around the world, but it is in Korea that the trend began to take root in earnest.”

“The industry in Korea is home to a number of some of the most ambitious, passionate amateur gamers, as well as to some of the highest-salaried players in the world,” she said.




It continued to say that, “Noticing the potential of the video game industry many years before, the Korean government has already raised EUR 185 million to help fund the industry. In addition, a large stadium designed for e-sports is under construction in Seoul, and smaller facilities of the kind are being built in the near future across the nation.”

The daily also spoke about the popularity of e-sport TV channels that broadcast a variety of video games. “Numerous channels, including Ongamenet, provide insight into video games and televise interviews with famous gamers, too. The biggest Internet portal, Naver, also sets aside a special section to keep game-lovers updated online about how each video game competition turns out. There’s also a streaming video platform, Afreeca TV, that boasts a daily viewership of more than 3,000,000.”

The newspaper quoted Michel Kiefer, an analyst on Ongamenet, as saying that, “Internet cafés have sprung up across the nation over the past few years. They allow people to enjoy games in groups in one location. Thanks to the Internet cafés, playing video games has become part of social activities among many people.”

“Game players, who, just 15 years ago were lone players stuck in dark, isolated rooms, now come out and mingle with like-minded people, playing together. Gamers from all around the world now tend to regard Korea as an ideal nation in which to enjoy video games,” the analyst added.

The article voiced some worries about game addiction, however. “The older generation only thinks that video games do nothing but pull teenagers away from more important obligations at school,” it said. “In fact, Internet game addition is one of the biggest social problems here in Korea.”

Finally, the paper mentioned the government’s efforts to handle the issue, as it brought up the so-called “Cinderella Law.” This law bans teens from playing video games from midnight until 6 a.m.

Other efforts include an Internet addiction prevention center set up in 2007 to help game addicts aged nine to 24, it added.

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
jiae5853@korea.kr