T/N: My translation is rusty/basic at best, so if someone can fix any errors, it would be appreciated
Now retired, Yum 'Sea' Bo-sung - "The best days were with POS"
With Team Liquid progamer Sea retiring on the 17th, Daily ESPORTS was able to catch up with him for a phone interview, discussing his thoughts on retirement, SC2, and his future.
What were the reasons for retiring? I was thinking about retiring around a month ago. Despite my skills improving, my motivation and interest in the game fell. After talking with Nazgul about my intention on retiring, he accepted my decision, in which I am thankful for. + Show Spoiler +
Q 은퇴를 생각한 이유는? A 한 달 전부터 생각했다. 스타2 실력도 안 늘다보니 자연스럽게 흥미가 떨어졌다. 팀리퀴드와 체결한 계약을 마치고 그만두려고 했다. 하지만 IPL 시즌5 참가를 위해 미국가기 전 CEO인 빅터 구센에게 모든 이야기를 털어놨다. 빅터도 "네가 힘들면 그만둬도 상관없다"고 했다. 나를 이해해준 빅터에게 감사하다는 말을 하고 싶다.
You were a progamer for a large part of your life. It is sad thinking that you are quitting something that has been part of your life for so long. This year marked the ninth year of my career. So far, it's hard of letting go being 'Progamer Yum Bo-sung'. + Show Spoiler +
Q 오랜 시간 동안 프로게이머 생활을 했는데. A 그만둔다고 생각하니까 슬퍼진다. 올해로 프로게이머 9년 차다. 지금까지 '프로게이머 염보성'이었는데 이제 아니라서 아쉽다.
What was your happiest moment as a progamer? For me, it was back during the Pirates of Space days where I was the happiest. Two years after the founding of the team, hanging with Bisu and July. I still miss those times. + Show Spoiler +
Q 프로게이머로서 가장 행복했던 순간은. A POS 때는 어려서 꿈만 보고 달렸던 시절이었다. 그 때가 정말 행복했다. MBC게임 창단 후 2년까지 김택용, 박성준 선배와 함께 지냈던 때도 마찬가지였다. 지금도 그 때가 그립다.
Are you disappointed that you are retiring? Unfortunately, due to how I felt my skill level was, I do not regret the decision. + Show Spoiler +
Q 은퇴가 아쉽지 않은가? A 아쉽지만 이게 내 실력이라고 생각한다. 결정에 후회되지 않는다.
What are your plans for the future? I want to go see things that as a progamer I haven't had the time for. In general, I want to relax whilst preparing for military service. + Show Spoiler +
Q 향후 계획은 어떻게 되나? A 프로게이머를 하면서 못해본 것을 해보고 싶다. 휴식을 취하면서 군 입대를 준비할 생각이다.
Any last words for your fans? Some time ago, I met up with my close fans and told them about my intention to retire. Some of them cried on hearing this. Thank you for all of those who cheered for 'Progamer Yum Bo-sung' over the past nine years, and please wish me luck as I embark on a normal life of just being 'Yum Bo-sung'. + Show Spoiler +
Q 마지막으로 팬들에게 한 마디를 하자면. A 얼마 전에 팬들과 만남의 자리를 가졌다. 그 자리에서 은퇴 이야기를 꺼냈다. 몇몇 팬들은 울기까지 했다. 9년이라는 시간 동안 응원이 아니더라도 '프로게이머 염보성'에게 관심을 가져줘서 감사하다. 이제는 일반인이 된 염보성에 대한 응원 부탁드린다.
On December 18 2012 00:02 PulseKane wrote: gotta wonder how he's gonna make a living after this.
would a progamer have savings or did he have education that he can go find a job with? or will he go and get one now if he didn't already?
From what I've seen, most progamers either return to esports in some capacity with their name recognition, or do work that doesn't require a degree. Rarely are people able to return to fully finish their academic degrees.
We have one or two ex pro who retire every week... Very sad new, but like I said in horang2 retirement new, I think it's a good choice, you can't be good and have a good time being a progamer if you don't like the game.
Good luck Yum Bo Sung, one of my favourite Korean pro-gamer .
I can't help but feel like Sea just started playing SC2 at the worst possible time. If only he had switched at the start of HOTS...at least it would have been more enjoyable.
On December 18 2012 00:02 PulseKane wrote: gotta wonder how he's gonna make a living after this.
would a progamer have savings or did he have education that he can go find a job with? or will he go and get one now if he didn't already?
From what I've seen, most progamers either return to esports in some capacity with their name recognition, or do work that doesn't require a degree. Rarely are people able to return to fully finish their academic degrees.
ooo okay, thanks! it's a shame though, i think getting an education is pretty important in its own right. not just for working
On December 18 2012 00:02 PulseKane wrote: gotta wonder how he's gonna make a living after this.
would a progamer have savings or did he have education that he can go find a job with? or will he go and get one now if he didn't already?
From what I've seen, most progamers either return to esports in some capacity with their name recognition, or do work that doesn't require a degree. Rarely are people able to return to fully finish their academic degrees.
ooo okay, thanks! it's a shame though, i think getting an education is pretty important in its own right. not just for working
Alot of progamers don't even have a high school diploma, it's extremely hard to reintegrate into an academic career because they spent that high school period being a progamer.
On December 18 2012 00:02 PulseKane wrote: gotta wonder how he's gonna make a living after this.
would a progamer have savings or did he have education that he can go find a job with? or will he go and get one now if he didn't already?
From what I've seen, most progamers either return to esports in some capacity with their name recognition, or do work that doesn't require a degree. Rarely are people able to return to fully finish their academic degrees.
With more and more unemployed / overqualified Korean college graduates due to the over supply of of college degrees and grade inflation. I seriously doubt returning to school is a good idea as a post progaming+military service Korean
Motivation is everything. This was a good decision by him. If you cannot re-motivate yourself it's best to hang up the mouse. GL Sea! P.S. P.O.S. for life.
Its a good thing though, don't play something for the sake of playing, play it because you love the game. I saw it coming when he was streaming (and enjoying) BW more then he did SC2.
On December 18 2012 00:17 zerious wrote: Anyone else think Bisu will be next?
I actually expected a lot more of the BW guard of players to quit instead of switching to SC2. If someone told me I wasn't allowed to make a living off of playing a game I did for as long as a lot of those guys did and switch to a new game. I'd give them the finger.
On December 18 2012 00:17 zerious wrote: Anyone else think Bisu will be next?
I actually expected a lot more of the BW guard of players to quit instead of switching to SC2. If someone told me I wasn't allowed to make a living off of playing a game I did for as long as a lot of those guys did and switch to a new game. I'd give them the finger.
Maybe players are just waiting for their contracts to end. When you have a huge contract like Bisu, it's definitely wiser to wait for the contract to end. I can imagine that after defeating Flash during the PL finals in April he may have got a decent salary raise. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to retire when his contract ends. I would be disappointed not to see him destroy everyone at SC2 though
On December 18 2012 00:02 PulseKane wrote: gotta wonder how he's gonna make a living after this.
would a progamer have savings or did he have education that he can go find a job with? or will he go and get one now if he didn't already?
From what I've seen, most progamers either return to esports in some capacity with their name recognition, or do work that doesn't require a degree. Rarely are people able to return to fully finish their academic degrees.
ooo okay, thanks! it's a shame though, i think getting an education is pretty important in its own right. not just for working
Alot of progamers don't even have a high school diploma, it's extremely hard to reintegrate into an academic career because they spent that high school period being a progamer.
While I've argued that people in university can do what they want, it does seem that a lot of Korean progamers are too young to just drop out of school like that. Are there any mainstream sports in which people go pro out of high school?
On December 18 2012 00:02 PulseKane wrote: gotta wonder how he's gonna make a living after this.
would a progamer have savings or did he have education that he can go find a job with? or will he go and get one now if he didn't already?
From what I've seen, most progamers either return to esports in some capacity with their name recognition, or do work that doesn't require a degree. Rarely are people able to return to fully finish their academic degrees.
ooo okay, thanks! it's a shame though, i think getting an education is pretty important in its own right. not just for working
Alot of progamers don't even have a high school diploma, it's extremely hard to reintegrate into an academic career because they spent that high school period being a progamer.
While I've argued that people in university can do what they want, it does seem that a lot of Korean progamers are too young to just drop out of school like that. Are there any mainstream sports in which people go pro out of high school?
The NBA, before the 'one and done' rule. A lot of football (futbol) players enter football academies instead of traditional schools.
As I said in the other thread. Sea always had a special place in my hart: at first I hated him because he beat all my favorite players in PL. Then I started loving him for his skill and his openness towards the community.
Now I'm sad indeed, first Horang2 now Sea, next week Bisu, Jangbi, Leta? I can just point at anybody.
I wonder would he ever retire if he still played BW? I don't want to speculate about this, cause only time will tell, but so far everything is exactly the way I was afraid it would be.
Horang2 and now Sea? SECOND PLAYER ON MY FPL TEAM TO RETIRE ugh lol. Will miss him though, I was hoping to see him take off in SC2 but I guess it wasn't for him.
On December 18 2012 00:02 PulseKane wrote: gotta wonder how he's gonna make a living after this.
would a progamer have savings or did he have education that he can go find a job with? or will he go and get one now if he didn't already?
From what I've seen, most progamers either return to esports in some capacity with their name recognition, or do work that doesn't require a degree. Rarely are people able to return to fully finish their academic degrees.
ooo okay, thanks! it's a shame though, i think getting an education is pretty important in its own right. not just for working
Alot of progamers don't even have a high school diploma, it's extremely hard to reintegrate into an academic career because they spent that high school period being a progamer.
While I've argued that people in university can do what they want, it does seem that a lot of Korean progamers are too young to just drop out of school like that. Are there any mainstream sports in which people go pro out of high school?
Are you sure that's the question you wanted to ask? A lot of them did drop out of school when they got in. There are only a few players I know of that decided to continue their studies while being apart of KeSPA one of them being Jaedong. As for going pro in mainstream sports right out of high school. Guess it depends on what you call a mainstream sport. I don't consider SC2 to be a mainstream sport, but there are many sports where kids do go pro right out of high school. If you want to make it to something like the NHL, NFL, MLB, NBA, etc. well I think you know by now that their developmental systems are different and they draft prospects.
Development process is a bit different in a game like SC2. We want players who are fresh and young. If you're lets say a gymnast they get spotted at a very tender age as well for comparison.
On December 18 2012 01:27 ApBuLLet wrote: Horang2 and now Sea? SECOND PLAYER ON MY FPL TEAM TO RETIRE ugh lol. Will miss him though, I was hoping to see him take off in SC2 but I guess it wasn't for him.
Really unfortunate. A lot of people were excited to see Sea play for Liquid and were expecting big things from him. I think he was the most picked player in FPL? Sucks :/
On December 18 2012 00:02 PulseKane wrote: gotta wonder how he's gonna make a living after this.
would a progamer have savings or did he have education that he can go find a job with? or will he go and get one now if he didn't already?
I would assume that he has saved up money during his career or maybe he just gave it all to his parents. Which is the dumb Korean thing to do imo.
They are too young anyway. Most teenagers can't spend that much money wisely, it is for the best. They need them for the future education to find a good job later.
On December 18 2012 05:08 Qwyn wrote: Just says a lot about the game.
I can understand how he feels too. From his perspective, and all those progamers who are quitting, I can understand.
Blizzard should pay attention...
But they won't. When is that custom game-mode that changes everything going to come out?
To be completely honest you will never make every pro gamer from bw happy.
Even if sc2 was as good as bw some would still retire because they lost motivation, weren't interested in the game, etc.
Not much you can do about it, not to surprised he retired since I never saw him play in proleague had a feeling he was retiring. He was pretty good, but yeah he definitely wasn't enjoying sc2 like some of the other pro's who switched that's for sure.
On December 18 2012 05:08 Qwyn wrote: Just says a lot about the game.
I can understand how he feels too. From his perspective, and all those progamers who are quitting, I can understand.
Blizzard should pay attention...
But they won't. When is that custom game-mode that changes everything going to come out?
To be completely honest you will never make every pro gamer from bw happy.
Even if sc2 was as good as bw some would still retire because they lost motivation, weren't interested in the game, etc.
Not much you can do about it, not to surprised he retired since I never saw him play in proleague had a feeling he was retiring. He was pretty good, but yeah he definitely wasn't enjoying sc2 like some of the other pro's who switched that's for sure.
There's something there that sparks a fire within these players. Maybe you'll find it .
On December 18 2012 05:08 Qwyn wrote: Just says a lot about the game.
I can understand how he feels too. From his perspective, and all those progamers who are quitting, I can understand.
Blizzard should pay attention...
But they won't. When is that custom game-mode that changes everything going to come out?
I think Blizzard will assume that same thing I do, that LiquidSeas has had a long Progaming career and decided he wanted a change in his life. It is pretty clear from the interview that he desired more free time. With modern progamming involving a ton of travel, who can be shocked by his decision? Being on a plane for 16 hours sounds like the worst thing in the world
Seriously, are people going to post this nonsense every time a player moves on from progamming? Of all of the reasons people move on to new phases in their lives, why is Blizzard the catalyst for all of their decisions?
Giving up progaming because of lack of motivation and no chance of getting good results in the long run takes serious guts, which not everybody has. WIsh you good luck with whatever you try next, Sea!
Because my Starcraft 2 skills were not improving, my motivation and interest in the game fell.
So basically he meant the opposite.
That's a pretty massive difference there.
It's a shame, a damn shame that Sea has retired, but I'm sure leading a progamer life isn';t easy and after 9 years it's probably best to start looking into something else. Especially if you're not motivated to do it. Obscene practice hours and small amounts of free time must suck if you don't like doing what you're doing.
Man I was really excited about him the way he was meching TvP like a boss, his stream was fun, proleague was starting with TL participating and he had just joined TL 2 months ago I mean wow, this is like retirement anti-timing.
Sad to see one of the old guard try and fail to get into SC2. I immensely enjoyed Sea's stream and his approach to the game, especially when he was first starting out.
On December 18 2012 05:18 Zerg.Zilla wrote: Team Liquid really needs another Terran player,Taeja is the "forever alone" guy in the team...at least for now.
On December 18 2012 00:07 Fission wrote: I can't help but feel like Sea just started playing SC2 at the worst possible time. If only he had switched at the start of HOTS...at least it would have been more enjoyable.
Wouldn't be any different for him, both WoL and HotS are/were/would be new games for him.
Very understandable that he didn't find enough motivation to continue his SC2 career, many players have been through the same situation, after a while SC2 just feels completely boring to play and watch.
Wasn't for the marketing-driven expansions, I would bet many other people would be retiring rightnow.
Thanks for everything Sea! I wasn't around during PoS times, but I sure enjoyed your games when you were on MBC!!
Please stream some BW here on TL whenever you feel like it!
sucks, when he said " please wish me luck as I embark on a normal life of just being 'Yum Bo-sung'." it really struck a cord with me... damnit, ive been his fan every since he was in MBC Hero and loved him, and we got to see the real side of him when kim kyung joon created that pro gamer show... was such a lovely guy, wish i couldve met him.
Jeez, that was not expected, well good luck to him, hope he can find something to make him happy, or maybe the game will get balanced soon and he will come back!
Makes you wonder how many of the current SC2 pros feel the same way. Even if SC2 was improved, it's not the game all those guys initially dedicated their career to. Honestly, I think a lot of them are just playing because they don't know what else they can do.
Ruby,Shark,Sea,Pusan all retired now wonder how many of the old bw players still are active now in proleague besides bisu who is ex mbc . Well that is that, on topic Sea like many other players didn't get the break or that extra push that would have make you a winner . But to me he is still one hell of a guy being able to support his team and bring in the necessary wins so his team can win . Good luck with your future endeavours sea . Hope to see you success in what ever you do in life . Yum bo sung Fighting !
On December 18 2012 00:02 PulseKane wrote: gotta wonder how he's gonna make a living after this.
would a progamer have savings or did he have education that he can go find a job with? or will he go and get one now if he didn't already?
From what I've seen, most progamers either return to esports in some capacity with their name recognition, or do work that doesn't require a degree. Rarely are people able to return to fully finish their academic degrees.
There's no reason not to go back and get a degree. O_o Some people choose not to but look at haypro and I'm sure theres others as well.
It was sad to see sea go And tbh I preferred Nazgul's summary, it explained things a little better, I suppose it's nice to hear from Sea's perspective.
Good luck in the future SEA, one thing i know i wont forget about you is that almost every time you were caught on camera you were having a great time, always with a huge smile, playing, hugging and whatnot with the rest of the team in the bench, thx for the memories GL HF
Stay happy Sea, only you could make the right decision and do what defintely makes you happy. Keep streaming bw it's great to see you play that. Good luck in the future and don't leave progaming forever . I will never forget following mbc game 10-11 season and 11-12 of brood war.
I was hoping Liquid would provide a new start for Sea. It's so unfortunate to see him retire so soon after signing with them. I can understand things from his interviews but its still unfortunate. I was really looking forward to seeing him in PL.
Thanks for this, GL sea you were always one of my favorites in MBC, and I was happy when you played SC2, but I am even happier when you came back to play BW again, Best of Luck and GL in the BW tournaments!!
On December 27 2012 01:50 GGzerG wrote: Thanks for this, GL sea you were always one of my favorites in MBC, and I was happy when you played SC2, but I am even happier when you came back to play BW again, Best of Luck and GL in the BW tournaments!!
Currently on Snipelot2 playing a TvT versus Mong!!!
On December 18 2012 00:22 Kipsate wrote: Goodbye Sea
Its a good thing though, don't play something for the sake of playing, play it because you love the game. I saw it coming when he was streaming (and enjoying) BW more then he did SC2.
That's quite an amazing game. I thought he was out at one point since he lost a major attack but he was able to make it a game. His macro is pretty sick as well, too bad he never made it far in the OSL/MSL GL with whatever you do Sea!
On December 18 2012 00:22 Kipsate wrote: Goodbye Sea
Its a good thing though, don't play something for the sake of playing, play it because you love the game. I saw it coming when he was streaming (and enjoying) BW more then he did SC2.
That's quite an amazing game. I thought he was out at one point since he lost a major attack but he was able to make it a game. His macro is pretty sick as well, too bad he never made it far in the OSL/MSL GL with whatever you do Sea!
Sea just won his first games in SRT after playing SC2 for 6 months!!! Mechanics truly don't die!!!
If anyone is interested he will play a really good protoss 'Sky' next to advance to Ro8
EPT
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/aULO6.jpg)
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. I will never forget following mbc game 10-11 season and 11-12 of brood war.
