In South Korea gaming isn’t just a past time it’s a profession. Here those long hours spent gaming with your buddies after school or possibly during a class you shouldn’t have skipped, can lead to a glorious career as a pro gamer. Raking in piles of money in the six-figure range, adulation from adoring fangirls and fanboys as well as hobnobbing with actors, models, and singers rivals the life of stars from other more traditional sports like basketball, tennis, soccer, and football. In short, E-sport pro gaming in South Korea attracts the spotlight like only true celebrities can.
Of course, that makes total sense when over a third of your fifty million population plays online games. See, SoKo is wired. Wherever you go broadband internet and wifi can be at your fingertips, ready to send you into whatever fantasy adventure land, fight zone, racing track, or any digitized realm you can imagine in the matrix. In Korea socialization rules so why stay at home cramped in your parent’s place, stuck in your bedroom, mashing buttons when you can easily pop into a local PC Bang (computer room). There literally all over the big cities and even the small towns have their share. Inside you’ll find row after row of Koreans gaming with and against their buddies, eating, drinking, and enjoying the mayhem.
The gaming immersion doesn’t stop outside of the PC Bang. Nope. Not when you can flip to OGN, a 24 hour television station, dedicated to showcasing competitive game play, gaming reviews, interviews with the professionals and showcasing tutorials on how to get your own game into tip top shape. Beginning years past as the the Starleague, a television program that tapped into the Starcraft craze, the folks at OGN have simultaneously help grow the popularity of E-sports in Korea while fostering an atmosphere where gamers can become professionals with true careers in the industry.
Some of those top professions happen to be:
Jang Min Chul (MC)
Retired but still revered, Jang Min-chul (장민철, born June 17, 1991), also known as MC, BossToss, President Toss and ObamaToss, left competitive E-sport gaming in 2015. Before that he was known as a professional StarCraft II player, utilizing the Protoss faction. Before retiring he earned up to half a million dollars in tournament winnings. Not bad!
Lee Young-Ho(Flash)
Another recently retired pro gamer, Lee Young-ho (born 5 July 1992 이영호) also known as Flash made his mark with StarCraft Brood Wars and StarCraft 2. He played for Korean team KT Rolster, but now you can find him streaming on Afreeca TV.
Lee Jae-Dong (The Tyrant)
Another StarCraft player, Lee Jae-dong (born 9 January 1990), plays with the team Evil Geniuses. He’s a zerg aficionado whose taken the Starleague championship five times. He completely decimates the competition which is how he got his moniker. He wins. He dominates. He’s won over half a million. See mom, gaming pays.
Lee Sang-Hyeok (Faker)
Known as one, if not the, most dominant League of Legends players in the world Lee Sang-hyeok (이상혁), otherwise known as Faker (페이커), has taken the rift competition by the throat and thrashed them around. He plays for SKT T1 in Korea. He’s won the top League Prize, the summoner’s cup, twice! His skills are devastating.
Geguri (개구리)
People in Korea take their Overwatch seriously, especially with competitive play coming soon, so when folks suspect something funny they cry foul immediately. That’s the case when two Pro-Gamers expressed shock, awe, and disbelief at the KDA numbers Korean Pro-Gamer Geguri (which means Frog in Korean) has been putting up.
And these are just a few of the professional gamers thriving in South Korea. With an industry that earns billions it’s no wonder that E-sports have become such a huge hit. Those that rise to the top in the professional ranks become the faces of adoration for millions of fans across the globe. Over ten professional teams battle it out constantly to see who’s the best. With each sponsored by a major corporation it’s not wonder that so many head to the mecca of E sport gaming, Seoul, for a chance to hone their skills and compete in the World Cyber Games. Backed by the Korean government as well as major corporate players the WCG attracts players from all over the earth to fight it out among the best of the best to see who’ll be king of the hill when the dust settles.
The league world championships were here a few years ago!