It would appear to be nigh impossible if you don't speak the language, and frankly I can't really understand why no foreigners have made more of an effort to learn it at a conversational level before going.

Still, it's a shame that the scene has become so introverted.

At the end of the day it's the same as all sports, if you want to play it at a professional level you have to give your life for it. But by the looks of things the language barrier is just too much to be overcome, and will wear foreigners down without allowing them to improve at the same rate as the other B teamers.

Kare

Norway786 Posts

December 27 2009 22:02 GMT

#43

What has really happened to ret? I tought he was happy playing in the estro practice house, didnt know it was like this.

Pyrrhuloxia

United States6700 Posts

December 27 2009 22:03 GMT

#44

Thanks for the wisdom / reality check, Rekrul.

iD.NicKy

France767 Posts

December 27 2009 22:03 GMT

#45

fuck im lazy, resume please rekrul

NeO)DarK

Canada37 Posts

December 27 2009 22:04 GMT

#46

I'm glad Rek posted this and frankly I blame anyone who supports foreigners to try to become professional gamers for the non-sense drama I've seen. If you're going to attempt to work in another country, you don't just pack your bags on a whim, use your contacts THEN think about proper prep. Players like Nony and Ret jumped on the opportunity without thinking about what they needed to do to prepare for an experience like pro gaming in Korea. As an English and German speaker I find it easy to get along with people who share a common language with me but I needed korean speaking friends to bring me into the Korean bnet community. Two of my greatest online friends include Truth[fOu] and TheName[fOu] (thename has unfortunately gone to the army though :'( ), but the only reason I got along with them was because we had mutual contacts AND they showed an interest in the English language and foreigners in general. I still find myself being made fun of occasionally by koreans who are limited in their english speaking (thank god for friends who translate and being able to make fun of them back).

I think the foreign starcraft media (Artosis etc) need to discuss the issues of foreigner's coming to korea instead of glorifying the stories of the VERY FEW who have managed to play in Korea on professional teams. If you're dying to go to South Korea, why not apply for an English teaching job in south korea or try to do a university transfer instead of putting your life on hold. Starcraft 1 is a dead-end for foreigners - stop trying to promote it; move on with your life, play the game casually and prepare yourself for SC2.

DyEnasTy

United States3714 Posts

December 27 2009 22:04 GMT

#47

Yeah Im kinda in the dark about whats been happening till this thread.

emucxg

Finland4559 Posts

December 27 2009 22:04 GMT

#48

everybody loves playing soccer, but playing soccer as one's career is totally different.

Starcraft is just a game, dont be a progamer unless you are ready to lose some of your real lives

DivinO

United States4796 Posts

December 27 2009 22:05 GMT

#49

Thanks. GL ret.

Shizuru~

Malaysia1676 Posts

December 27 2009 22:09 GMT

#50

Here i was wondering where has rekrul been this few months, and he comes back out of nowhere with a falcon kick in the reality nuts... great insight as usual, all that we could see on the media doesn't reflect the harshness of of this industry at all, all that we see r the winning and losing yet none that we can see how much work/practise/life that they have put into it. remember it took 2 years for the guy that beat ret and went on to win courage?

anyhow, i was looking forward for more of ur adventure story rekrul lol...

thopol

Japan4560 Posts

December 27 2009 22:09 GMT

#51

Thanks for telling us what the fuck is up.

All I have to say on the issue is that I hope ret can deal with the discouragement and difficulty that he is inevitably feeling. All the best.

Jakalo

Latvia2350 Posts

December 27 2009 22:15 GMT

#52

Well I just hope that he will at least establish on the team for SC2.

GJ IdrA though

floor exercise

Canada5847 Posts

December 27 2009 22:16 GMT

#53

I don't really understand what's in it for the pro teams that still pick up foreigners. The reality is they are never going to be good and they will be an incredible burden on the team since they don't understand the culture and what is expected of them. Sometimes they fit in like Idra, but it's not like he is going to make it onto a proleague roster or something.

I feel like it's such a huge waste of time and resources for both parties, with virtually nothing to gain from it. A pro team should know more than anyone how ridiculously small the chance of a foreigner succeeding at even the lowest tier of pro gaming (like winning courage for example) let alone becoming an actual pro. I feel like they should be responsible and realistic enough to know how fruitless an endeavor it will be for everyone involved. But at the same time it's kind of nice that they would even try to accommodate foreign players, even though its utterly pointless.

These aren't incredibly hot prospects being brought in, they are guys that everyone knows will probably not succeed despite all our hopes that they will

TT1

Canada9969 Posts

December 27 2009 22:17 GMT

#54

what he says is true but most people already know about all the issues of the life of a foreigner progamer in korea

the only thing im hoping for is that cj somehow helps out in some way and drafts ret into the team so that idra and ret could help out each other(mainly idra introducing him to the korean lifestyle and bridging the gap between ret and the koreans, plus it would make their lives much more enjoyable.. even tho i understand the argument of a proteam not giving a shit about this)

Sc2ggRise

United States607 Posts

December 27 2009 22:17 GMT

#55

great post.

also, if they ever re-make scarface, i suggest you show up at the casting calls.

ShaperofDreams

Canada2492 Posts

December 27 2009 22:20 GMT

#56

Nice post Rekrul, this whole thing kinda reminds me of the "go to hollywood to become an actor" thing or maybe even the "go to vegas to become a poker pro" thing.

zulu_nation8

China26351 Posts

December 27 2009 22:22 GMT

#57

who cares about racism or people calling you fat, playing iccup in a progamer house is better than playing iccup anywhere else. Putting aside the question of whether progaming is a worthwhile career path, if you have a goal then you do everything to work towards it. If that means having to endure a hostile atmosphere and having to deal with people who don't like you nor want to help you, then my god, so be it. Racism LOL

Chef

10810 Posts

December 27 2009 22:25 GMT

#58

Loved this post. I really think anyone who wants to go pro in SC2 should be learning to speak Korean right now, not abandoning all education to play 14 hours of SC a day. I think if a foreigner made an effort to learn the language before he came to Korea, they would receive him or her much better, rather than just some intrusive jerk who isn't willing to accept he's not in Kansas anymore.

Definitely makes me like Idra a little bit more.

FusionCutter

Canada974 Posts

December 27 2009 22:26 GMT

#59

Damn Good Post.

Megalisk

United States6095 Posts

December 27 2009 22:27 GMT

#60

On December 28 2009 07:22 zulu_nation8 wrote:
who cares about racism or people calling you fat, playing iccup in a progamer house is better than playing iccup anywhere else. Putting aside the question of whether progaming is a worthwhile career path, if you have a goal then you do everything to work towards it.

How is playing iccup in a progamer house better than playing in your own? You're playing the exact same people, you lag so people are more hesitant to game with you. You don't know anyone in the house and can't communicate with them. The point of playing in a progamer house is to train with those other gamers in there, which ret couldn't even do due to obvious barriers. ret was better off training on his own in the comfort of his home IMO.