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Gamers are stereotypically believed to be socially awk-
ward couch potatoes who lock themselves up in a dimly lit
room and ofen times have problems with hygiene. Contra-
ry to popular belief, this is not the case in the world of pro-
fessional gaming. As the level of interest in electronic sports
(eSports), the term for professional gaming competitions,
has skyrocketed over the last decade, more and more people
have started to grow a new form of respect for gaming.
Although there were only ten competitions in 2000, by
2010, there were more than 260 professional tournaments
where gamers from all around the globe gathered. Afer
StarCraf was frst released in 1998, other competitive games
such as Warcraf, Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) and
League of Legends were launched, thereby increasing the
variety of competitions that players could participate in. Ac-
cording to Marilou Pagarigan, Technology Support teacher,
games were enhanced from their precedents in terms of
graphics, leading to an increased interest in eSports.
I think the design is now much more engaging, mean-
ing that the graphics are in higher resolution and that the
capabilities and strategies are better explored than they used
to be, Ms. Pagarigan said. But now companies made bet-
ter programs that improved the overall look and the feel of
the game. If such enhancements are continued to be made,
I strongly believe that the interest in eSports will continue
growing exponentially.
ESports communities ofen receive sponsorships from
large businesses in order to hold international competitions,
which are usually broadcasted online and on television. In
order to prepare for competitions, top professional gamers
train daily for around eight to 13 hours, which is compara-
ble to the amount of time that professional sports athletes
train. During these workout hours, gamers do not spend
their entire time in front of the computer screen. Instead,
they exercise at gyms, swim or engage in some type of phys-
ical exercise to build their stamina, which enables gamers
to have longer gaming sessions and better concentration.
Although stereotyped to be lazy and disorganized, profes-
sional gamers have a strict schedule that they abide to and
are devoted to keeping that rhythm of life.
Some people think gaming is a joke and dont take it
seriously, but you can easily tell that it is a big deal by look-
ing at how much professional players earn, said Jihoon
Yang (10), Electronic Strategic Development Club (ESDC)
co-secretary. Although some people might think that there
is nothing more to gaming than simple mouse-clicking, this
is not true. From my experience, I can say that gaming re-
quires careful planning, spontaneity and creativity.
With $454,544.98 being the highest earning in the
world, eSports is now a $60 billion industry. As a result, pro-
fessional gamers have boosted their socio-economic status
in the global community. Now, famous gamers are being is-
sued the P-1A visa, designated only for internationally rec-
ognized athletes. Moreover, famous cyber-athletes, such as
renowned StarCraf player Yo-Han Lim, have their own fan
clubs with more than half a million people in them. Such
clubs are mostly composed of teenage boys aspiring to fol-
low in their footsteps or females who fnd these gamers at-
tractive. No longer looked down upon, many professional
gamers have expanded their spheres of infuence by becom-
ing role models for the younger generation.
South Korean players have been doing exceptionally
well in eSports competitions, such as the League of Legends
World Championships in early October, Jason Moon (11)
said. Gamers with such talent should really be recognized
by the public because they are representing their countries
like athletes participating in the Olympics. I personally be-
lieve that people need to surpass their negative stereotypes
of gamers and learn to support them.
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StarCraft II (2010); Terran Marine
Te fastest selling PC game of 2010, StarCraf II is the sequel to the
award-winning real-time strategy game, StarCraf (1998). Te GomTV
Star League, a monthly Korean tournament, is the largest StarCraf II
professional tournament in the world.
Source: Shack News
World of Warcraft (2004); Undead Mage
As of July 2013, World of Warcraf is the worlds most subscribed mas-
sively multiplayer online role-playing game. In 2012, Blizzard Entertain-
ment, the games developer, began a new series of tournaments, called
the Battle.net World Championship Series, for World of Warcraf.
Source: VG 24/7 and IGN
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At the 2013 League of Legends (LoL) World Champion-
ship that took place from Sept. 16 to Oct. 5, Korean profes-
sional gaming team SK Telecom T1 took home the champi-
onship, defeating all other professional gaming teams around
the world. Since the original StarCraf was released in 1998,
competitive online gaming, also known as eSports, has be-
come a popular phenomenon in Korea, with 17 million out of
48 million people in Korea who play games on a regular ba-
sis today, according to the National Broadcasting Company.
Te success of games such as StarCraf, Sudden Attack, Call
of Duty, FIFA Online and LoL has led to the recognition of
the gaming industry as a part of national Korean culture and
its economy.
[Games are popular] because they are rooted in Ko-
rean history, said Timothy Kim (12), Electronic Strategic
Development Club (ESDC) co-vice president. It started out
even before StarCraf was frst released. Koreans love strat-
egy games. We have traditional games like baduk and jang-gi
[Korean traditional games], which require strategies. With
these kinds of games [in our culture], the generation before
ours was hooked into playing games like StarCraf, and that
mentality is now carried onto our generation today.
According to Erik Anderson, ESDC adviser, the environ-
ment that South Korea provides is ideal for widespread online
gaming. According to Bloomberg, not only do public areas,
such as parks and subways, ofer free Wi-Fi networks around
Korea, but the Internet is also extremely fast anywhere in the
nation. Korea has also once again ranked highest in its av-
erage Internet connectivity. Other facilities in the nation in-
clude PC Bangs (Internet cafes) which are readily accessible
nationwide.
Te constant development of these advanced facilities
that Korea provides for both professional and amateur gam-
ers are continuing to boost the nations gaming industry, as
they provide a suitable and the most up-to-date environment
for playing games. As a result, many major Korean corpo-
rations, even if their business may not involve eSports, are
sponsoring professional gamers who would then represent
their company in international gaming meets. Tis is not
common outside Korea, where companies afliated with the
gaming industry, rather than major national corporations,
sponsor gaming teams.
[Corporations like] SK Telecom are companies whose
main goal is ultimately to make money, said Chloe Choi
(10), ESDC member. If the companies sponsor these groups
of talented gamers [that] land on the top spot, then all of the
gaming community will see the companys logo on their play-
ers uniform. And if the team wins, or gets close to winning,
which was the case at recent championships, then the com-
pany will gain more fame and proft from the community.
Games are now really big in Korea, and I think the popularity
of gaming has reached a point where it is a part of Koreas
national identity.
According to Imagine Games Network (IGN), South
Korea could be seen as the Jerusalem of the gaming world,
a clear nickname that proves how large the presence of gam-
ing is in the nation. Its popularity has established gaming as
one of the most crucial industries in the nation, as well as an
important aspect of the Korean identity. Korea is also unique
in that it actually turns gaming into a professional job equiva-
lent to a sports athlete, thanks to the publics general respect
towards games.
As far as the growth [of the Korean gaming industry]
goes, youre going to start seeing more Korean gaming com-
panies because right now the main gaming industries are in
the US and Japan, Mr. Anderson said. Soon, [eSports] com-
petitions are not going to only be events that [major corpora-
tions] sponsor. Gaming companies will also start making new
strategy games, fghting games, frst-person shooting games,
or puzzle games that are going to catch on and become main-
stream [forms of entertainment]. It would be cool if we could
even see [eSports] as an ofcial Olympic sport.
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DOTA 2 (2013); Kunkka
Released earlier this year, DOTA 2 is a multiplayer game with over
550,000 players online daily. Te International, an annual world-
wide DOTA 2 competition, boasts the largest prizepool in the his-
tory of eSports, exceeding two million dollars.
Source: GameSpot
League of Legends (2009); Kassadin the Void Walker
League of Legends, released by game publisher Riot Games, is now the
most played PC game in the world. Earlier this year, the US Citizenship
and Immigration Services made a decision to recognize League of Leg-
ends players as professional athletes.
Source: Forbes
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