EPTDuring the last quarter of college, we were assigned to right a research paper on the topic of our choice in one of my writing classes. I thought this was the only chance I could research the professional StarCraft in the most legitimate and academic way possible. This is just a portion of the paper dealing with how the Internet and gaming became so integrated into South Korean culture. This was the favorite part of the paper for me.Sorry I can't post the link to the actual journal articles but I no longer have an IP given by the University so the journal sites won't give me access to the actual articles. I do encourage people who have access to an academic journal database to read some papers for themselves, they are very interesting.
Also I'm a terrible writer, I really sucked at this class and research papers, and I finished this at 7AM, so I beg your many pardon on possible errors.
The massive popularity of StarCraft can be contributed to South Korea’s highly technology and Internet driven culture. A study in 2005 found that 72.8% of the South Korean population regularly accessed the Internet, with 55.3% of these individuals spending more than 10 hours online a week. Over 20,000 Internet cafés, also known as PC-bangs in South Korea, litter street corners in Korean markets and plazas across the nation. Among all of these PC-bangs, many of them serve as a dedicated gaming space with StarCraft as the most popular game played among customers. PC-bangs played an integral role in the rise of professional e-sports as they wired numerous gaming enthusiasts together in local organized tournaments and allowed for universal accessibility of StarCraft.
What allowed Internet cafés and computer games to thrive as well as facilitate the growth of e-sports was the growing dependency on the Internet from South Koreans during a time of social and economic anxieties during the 1990s. Many South Korean citizens sought escape from everyday turmoil through the Internet and local PC-bangs Social anxieties arose from a constant sense of caution and danger from numerous disasters that occurred across South Korea during the 1990s and early 2000s. Notable incidents include the collapsing of the Haengju bridge and Seongsu bridge in the South Korean capitol Seoul, a Korean airplane crash in Guam, fires in both a youth retreat center and a bar, and the collapse of two subway stations in Daegu. Economic anxiety also plagued the mind of many citizens as many South Koreans faced massive layoffs and a peak unemployment rate of 7%. This compilation of anxiety often caused panic and sometimes mass hysteria among many South Koreans, with those unable to cope with the troubling times resorting to self-destructive behavior. South Korean society succumbed to onslaught after onslaught of anxiety which drove many to either give up on their lives or desperately seek a form of escapist relief). Many South Koreans who did not succumb to major depression or self-destructive behavior turned to the Internet and computer games to for escapist relief, and the PC-bang industry saw unprecedented growth due to a growing dependency for the Internet and computer games for escape).
The rapid growth of the PC-bang industry in South Korea was a phenomenon that was not solely caused the need for South Koreans to escape their social and economic problems, but also due to government subsidies and endorsement for the Internet in an attempt to make it accessible to virtually everyone across the nation. In 1995, the South Korean government invested $1.5 billion into establishing Internet access to the entire nation jumpstarting what would soon be a booming cyberspace industry). The government also subsidized high speed broadband LAN networks to be established across South Korea, with speed significantly faster than the standard ASDL lines that are found in the United States).
With thousands of PC-bangs wired with the world’s fastest Internet connections, courtesy South Korean government subsidies, StarCraft became an easily accessible game among South Koreans looking for a way to escape everyday anxiety and turmoil. PC-bangs not only provided computers and high-speed Internet to those lacking either in their own homes, but also provided a public space in which individuals could socially interact in a physical and virtual space . The physical offline space of the PC-bang nurtured online and virtual interaction between players and lead to the popularity of local StarCraft tournaments organized by these PC-bangs for players within the community to compete and interact). These tournaments would eventually give rise to the professional StarCraft league competition and garner even more popularity for what was to be known as e-sports). StarCraft “proleagues” still hold preliminary games in PC-bangs for aspiring players who hope to break into the leagues and move on to the later rounds that will be broadcasted across millions of South Korean television sets).
Sources:
Baker, Michael. "Korea’s PC ‘bangs’ are the new place to socialize." Christian Science Monitor 92.113 (2000): 9.
Bbeum, Yoo Ki. "Looking(2000): 9. for Salvation beyond a Risk-lade Reality: The Religious Nature of Korean Internet Culture." Korea Journal 47.2 (2007):12-40
Huhh, Jun-Sok. "Culture and Business of PC Bangs in Korea." Games and Culture 3 (2008): 26-37.
Liff, Sonia, and Sofie Laegran. "Cybercafes: Debating the Meaning and Significance of Internet Access in a Cafe Environment." New Media and Society 5 (2003): 307-12.
Taylor, Chris. "Future Boy: Why the future is in South Korea - Jun. 14, 2006." Business, financial, personal finance news - CNNMoney.com. 14 June 2006. CNN. 28 Apr. 2009 <http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/08/technology/business2_futureboy0608/index.htm>.
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