EPT
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▶ Yellow's Everyday Story in the Airforce
- We're curious about your current situation.
▲ Because the season hasn't ended yet, we're completely focused on practicing. While we're satisfied because we were able to reach the number of wins we have set as a goal, but since it's nearing the end of the season, we got ambitious about finishing the season well so we're completely focused on practicing (The date of the interview was July 8th, before the league ended)
- It must have been difficult during rounds 1-4 because of your poor record.
▲ It was really difficult. This season, people within the Airforce gave us a lot of attention so I was burdened, and it was also a little difficult because I heard a lot of bad things from the outside. There were a lot of people on the outside pouring out hurtful comments like we should disband and this coupled with the continued pressure from the inside made it quite difficult. Also, on the outside, there are many stories about how Airforce Ace players have it easier than the average soldier, but the average soldier ends their schedule at 5 o'clock and have free time and personal time until time to sleep, but people in Airforce Ace, due to practice, have less time to rest and end up in a situation where there is no such thing as a weekend. If you consider it that way, it's even more difficult. That's why it was difficult when I heard stories like that spreading.
- There wasn't any special signs that happened right before the 5th round started. Is there a reason you guys are suddenly doing well?
▲ Even I don't know the exact reason [laugh]. If you look at the results, it's quite interesting. We managed to keep a 50% winrate up to now in the 5th round. And now since we're approaching th eend of the season, I wanted to report to the superiors "We had a good record in the 5th round and we're doing well". Even though we were all tired and exhausted in the 5th round, we all got ourselves pumped up and I think that's why we got a good record. I think the results of the diligent practice are finally showing itself. We also did well during the last parts of the 08-09 season, and looking at that I think our team is a slow starter [laugh]. But I'm also worried they'll see this and make us practice a lot more during the Stove season [laugh].
- You started performing at the same time Airforce Ace started performing well. Is this a coincidence?
▲ When you're practicing, it's a difficult task to increase your skill as much as you practice. It's not easy to get to a certain point simply through practice. I thought I would be able to do this as I came to the military, but I think it took a while. And recently the games started getting more comfortable and my play started becoming okay. Early on I got really nervous and just played out the things I've practiced and lost a lot of games without showing any sense, but after I started playing a lot I got a little breathing room. My scope got wider and my sense got better, and recently I played a lot of matches against Zerg and I developed a method of watching and realizing my opponent's movement very well.
- Before you entered the military, there were stories that Yellow had great game sense but didn't really practice. But we hear that you're practicing a lot during the Airforce.
▲ That's right. There are a lot of progamers but the styles they prefer are all different. There are people who compete through sheer amounts of practice and there are people who compete through play sense and their ability to adapt. My style is to compete through play sense. But after I entered the Airforce, in order to improve my skill and be able to gain an opportunity to play, I needed to continually and consistently practice.
So after I entered the military, for about a month I did nothing but play the game. During that time there wasn't any real change that I saw, but as I practiced I started feeling the positive things and gained more experience. Now, I learned many good things and changed how I practice a little bit but I think I figured out a new know-how. It's really difficult to build your skill through practice [laugh]. It's stressful mentally and it feels like you're becoming an addict. If you really want to maintain your skill, you definitely need self-discipline.
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- If that's the case, how much do you practice every day?
▲ There were times where I played up to 40~50 games a day, and I practiced through ranking matches and private servers. I would get records in a week that would take a normal person a month to achieve. Recently, I've lowered the practice amount to about 30 games a day.
- Do other teams help Ace practice often?
▲ Regarding that part, the manager manages and gives us practice partners, and usually WeMade and Woongjin players help us out a lot, and recently MBCGame's Coach Lee began contacting us first to help us out. As long as their schedule works out, every team helps us out a lot. But recently because Airforce is winning a lot, because it's a situation where many teams are competing to enter the Post Season, I'm sure a lot of teams help us because of this. Also, when our team wins, the team that loses ends up getting shaken up a bit, so I predict a lot of teams are aiming for that.
- Did the style of Airforce Ace change after the manager changed to manager Park Dae Gyung?
▲ A lot of things changed, from how the entries are made to a lot of other things. Before, we made entries based on race balance, but recently a lot of outside teams started helping us so anyone who is confident is able to play since it won't affect practice. So recently during one of the matches we did a 2 Zerg lineup, and I think that helped Airforce Ace gain a better record. There were teams who didn't expect this kind of lineup and were shaken by it.
- Then you must be a little disappointed that you weren't able to get a better record.
▲ If you look at it that way, it is disappointing. It hasn't been long since the manager was assigned here so in the beginning he has his hands full just adjusting and had a hard time because he lacked connection within the e-Sports industry, but I think now we got a line that is unique to our team. I think we were able to get a certain way to victory as we entered the 5th round and we gained confidence for the next season.
- Because Yellow is doing so well, there's been a lot of talk about Boxer who is a bit lacking compared to you.
▲ Boxer hyung and I joke back and forth a lot and recently Boxer hyung started complaining a lot. Recently he started joking around asking me why am I'm so good and if I'm crazy or not [laugh]. And when we meet, Boxer hyung starts talking about how we should do well together, and tells me that he gets a lot of criticism because I'm playing really well right now. I hope Boxer hyung gets better quickly and comes up here [laugh].
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▶ Yellow, his release from the military is imminent!
- Your release is imminent. What was the hardest thing you had to face?
▲ Release is imminent? It definitely feels far away [laugh]. There are 5 months left and so from my standards, there's still a long way to go. I think coming to the military at my age is the most difficult part. I thought I would be okay and adjust fine since I'm used to living in a group because I lived as a progamer, but after I got here, it was really different. Society is society and the military was the military. First, I was really frustrated because I wasn't able to adjust to the rank based society. I expected it but I was really sad when people who outranked me were younger and said stuff to me. Things went on this way and until I became a private first class it was really difficult for me physically and mentally. I barely adjusted as I became a corporal. Recently when I look at people who went through their military service, I have a lot of respect for them. And I also think that if you're a male, you definitely should be going to the military. Rather than going through meaningful experiences in the military, if you go to the military then you gain a bit of patience and you become better at sizing up the situation and I think it's needed to mature as a person.
- Out of the people who outranked you in Airforce Ace, who harassed you the most?
▲ Sergeant OverSky, who's released now, harassed me the most [laugh]. Although he wasn't the Military Discipline President or anything, but something like, sergeant OversKy is a type of person you can't describe using broadcast safe language. While we're on good terms now and OverSky came out in a lot of different shows and maintains a good image, but when I entered the military, it was my first time meeting anyone like him in the 28 years I have lived [laugh]. He was really dreadful to the point where you can't describe it with words. He started being nice only around when he went on his vacation on his last year. I resolved to not see him at all after I'm released, but because he was nice to me the last year, I got over it. I really disliked him but I was amused how easily I got over it. I think this is something you experience only in the military. I started realizing that you can only treat the people who come after you that way after I got put in that position.
- On the opposite, there must be people who came after you that listen to you well.
▲ The people who I outrank and listen to me well are Ruby and Much. Much has also adjusted the best to the military life. He may be having difficulties regarding the fact that he came here after he got old, but because he has the know-hows and experiences he built in society, he's adjusted to the military life the best. At least for me, because I used Oversky as an example so I try my best to treat him well, but I'm not sure [laugh]. There isn't anyone who doesn't listen well. Although at first, my play style didn't match with GoRush's so it was difficult. While I outrank him, there were a lot of fights due to differing opinions regarding game play. GoRush holds really strong opinions and doesn't bend his opinion easily, so I tried to talk nicely and have him understand in the beginning but failed. After the failure I told him that "Since this is the military, shouldn't you just do it this way?" and approached him with force, but it was really difficult because he didn't understand that at all. I thought about it and got reminded of Oversky. Anyway, after the initial fights in the beginning, we managed to find common ground and now that GoRush gained a few ranks, we get along pretty well as we are very considerate of one another.
- Your popularity doesn't shrink easily.
▲ I know that my popularity isn't shrinking as fast as the other gamers. I'm just really thankful that many fans are still cheering for me. I can also feel that my fans are getting more and more excited because I've been playing well. For someone like me, there are many issues and events related to me, so even though I win only a game, I maintain my popularity through these issues.
- The current Starcraft league environment is very uncertain. Are you worried at all?
▲ I feel anxious about that. But I try not to think about it deeply that much. No matter what the results are, we have to accept it, and it's not like just because I think about it here it's not like I'll come up with a sharp solution. Right now since I'm a soldier, vacation is my first priority [laugh]. But I think even though we're like that in the beginning, I think everything will remain the same in the end [T/N: I'm not too sure what he means by the last sentence, so I took a guess]
- Since you'll be released very soon, you must be thinking about what to do after.
▲ I still haven't made an absolute decision. The only thing I can tell you with certainty is that I'm currently considering many different paths? When I first entered, my goal was to be able to play close to my level after being released from the military, even though I may not be able to play normally.
When I entered, I was really at rock bottom and there was a lot of rage and disappointment aimed at myself. And I was also really angry that no one came to see me off when I entered service, and I had the mind to try again no matter what. I was able to think about a lot of things while living in the military and recently I've had a lot of things to think about. Continuing as a player is also honestly personally burdensome and worrisome. While the fans will be happy, it's a difficult problem. I'm sure I'll make a decision but currently, I'm thinking. I'm considering many possibilities at the moment.
If I had to express my mind even just a little bit, I started playing the game at 19 and I think I've been running for a long time just by playing the game. I sacrificed every bit of my 20s to the game. When thinking about if I should be playing the game in the 30s, I get a bit ambitious. I want to try a lot of different things and experience various things. I also worry about what I should do with this world that I have created with my fans. No matter what it is, I think there's the possibility I may choose it.
- There are many people saying you should return to Starcraft 2.
▲ '2'? [laugh]. I don't know because I haven't played Starcraft 2 yet. All I've been able to play is what I got to play at Blizzcon. As a Starcraft progamer, I do want to try out Starcraft 2.
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Yellow proves his Train #2 Seat # 22 ticket. He also says that he bought the ticket on March 22nd.
▶ The endless issues connected to Yellow
- When are you planning on showing us your train ticket? [T/N: regarding his train #2 seat #22 he mentioned in a previous interview]
▲ You'll be able to see it soon. I have it with me right now, but because I spend most of my time at the Military, I had no way of proving it so I just had it on my possession [laugh].
- The "Kong Dance" Manual drawn by a famous cartoonist became the new fad in the community.
▲ When I look at the parody material now, I find them very entertaining. I watched countless videos all based on that dance I did that one time. I think I watched about a 100 videos now, and now whenever a new song is released, it's always synchronized with the Kong dance and made into a new video. It's really amusing that every song somehow fits that dance and I find that very surprising.
When I look at the fans who makes things like that, I think they are very talented. Every time I watch these things, I'm in awe and it's very fun. When I was young I tried to control my image so I disliked those videos. It was just a dance I did during a fan meeting without anything in mind, and after someone recorded it and posted it and saw it with my own eyes, this was definitely not what I had expected. I was really hurt by it at that time and I posted on my homepage not to post things like that and fought with my fans over it, and now I reached nirvana so I just find it really entertaining and watch the video and shrink a bit and find it very fun [laugh].
![[image loading]](/staff/Milkis/yellow/1279096848_5.jpg)
- Do you frequent Nightclubs or Clubs normally?
▲ When I was young, I used to frequent them, but up to that point I didn't know I was that bad at dancing [laugh]. During High School, there were a lot of friends that danced around me so we went to gyms and practice rooms and played around and practiced dancing. Even up till then I thought my dance skills were about the same as the others and I really didn't think I was this bad [laugh]. So when the video was recorded and I saw myself dancing in the video, I was quite shocked [laugh].
- We're planning on visiting you when you're released. How do you envision the day of your release?
▲ [Smiling, seemingly satisfied] I want to be released from the military quietly. Recently I've been playing well so I've been getting a lot of attention and I don't feel burdened, but there are fans who cheered for me from the beginning and are still cheering for me now, so I feel really burdened and I feel really sorry and find it difficult. When I look at fans like that I think that I will do my best, and whenever they pray for me I feel burdened. If possible, I wish to be released quietly.
- What are you dreaming about lately?
▲ Really.... Truthfully... Honestly, I really really really want to be released from the military [laugh]. I don't know the exact amount but I have about 170 days left. I dream about being released from the military and coming back into society.
![[image loading]](/staff/Milkis/yellow/1279096848_6.jpg)
Source: http://www.fomos.kr/board/board.php?mode=read&keyno=108830&db=issue
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![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Milkis/yellow/1279096848_5.jpg)
