Forget reality TV. In Korea, online gaming is it

Fame and fortune...maybe
Another is the prospect of fame and fortune — albeit slim. Professional gaming, or e-sports, draw millions of spectators in South Korea. The country has several cable channels dedicated to tournaments and gaming news. And pro gamers can pull down six-figure salaries playing “StarCraft” and “Warhammer.”

Every year, the best of the best gather for the World Cyber Games, a sort of online-game Olympics. A field of about a million gamers is gradually winnowed down over the course of a year, with a fall finale.

In 2006, 700 players from 70 countries battled for dominance in Monza, Italy. South Korea, which lost its best overall title in 2003, recaptured their “Grand Champion” glory, winning two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. South Korean players also dominated the “StarCraft” tournament.

“StarCraft,” Blizzard Entertainment’s real-time strategy game is a favorite of professional and recreational gamers in South Korea. All of the company’s games are popular, including the click-happy “Diablo” franchise and the quest-driven “Warcraft” series. But the nearly 10 year-old “StarCraft” is a phenomenon.

“’StarCraft’ is one of the main things that helped to spawn the PC bang business,” says Blizzard chief operating officer Paul Sams. “It was also a big part of what spawned professional gaming and game broadcasting.”

But even though bellwether titles like “StarCraft” and “Lineage” remain popular in Korea, game content has grown more diverse as the gamer population has grown. Casual games are the fastest growing genre in the country, says Luong. Nexon Entertainment says that one quarter of South Korea’s population has played its “Kart Rider” game.

While that claim is as disputed in the blogosphere as the results of the 2000 presidential election, there’s no doubt the cute little racing game has earned millions of fans — many of them young women and girls.

The gamer population is indeed getting much younger in South Korea. A survey by the South Korean Ministry of Information and Communication shows that nearly 64 percent of five-year-olds use the Internet. And 93 percent of preschoolers selected online games as the reason for going online.

“The popularity of gaming at such a young age helps to drive South Korea’s gaming-oriented culture.” says Luong.

But as important as gaming is to South Korea’s economy and way of life, the dizzying growth is bound to slow. Luong predicts that intense competition and increasing market saturation will slow growth by 2008.

And as in other industrialized countries, the birth rate is falling in South Korea, and the core-gamer market is aging. As gamers age, other responsibilities like jobs and family intrude on game-playing.

“My wife especially does not understand [my game-playing,]” says Keun Bae. “This causes friction on many occasions.”

But even so, he admits to sneaking an hour or two while at work or in the evenings. It is a necessary stress-reliever, he says. And it makes him feel good.

“It takes me to a different world,” he says. “One that allows me to have powers and do things I cannot do in my normal life.”

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