How do you, readers, relieve stress in your daily lives? I think most people will relieve stress by enjoying karaoke, cafe, or PC room and meeting with friends. Recently, there have been many attempts to turn computer games, called E-sports, around the world into a sports culture. The so-called E-Sports League, or other computer game leagues, has received a lot of attention by the youngsters. Indeed, many large companies, video game companies and even countries have seen the potential of E-sports, and the E-sports industry has begun to develop rapidly. ‘StarCraft,’ which marked the start of the games league, has been a huge hit across various age groups, followed by ‘League of Legends’, and ‘Overwatch’, which became the front-runner, helping the development of the E-sports league. These games have been now firmly as a sport, and it has spread across various genres, including mobile platforms.
The recent 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games saw the participation of Korean professional gamers, excelling in various kinds of games such as 'League of Legends' and mobile games called 'Pentas Storm' as test events. The move is to introduce the upcoming E-sports as a demonstration event at the world athletic competition, not just at the Asian Games. In fact, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Federation of Sports Federations (GAISF), organizers of the Olympic Games, have announced at an E-sports forum held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in September last year that they would establish an organization where E-sports and Olympic officials could collaborate.
However, South Korea's E-sports team was in danger of not participating in the 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, Jakarta, due to structural problems. Korea has an organization called the Association of Private Enterprises overseeing various sectors of society. Athletic events are supervised under the wing of the KOC. The problem is that in order to compete in global sports events, such as the Olympics, the Asian Games, or the World Cup, a team must be a member of the KOC organization. But, the Korea E-Sports Association is not affiliated with the KOC, so it was unclear whether the national team could participate in the E-sports event. This structural problem has prompted the government to drastically change regulations to allow Korean athletes to participate in the E-sports event. There was another problem, though – the exemption from military service if medals are awarded. When the national team gets a medal, the government grants team members an exemption from military service in recognition of their contribution. However, athletes in this E-sports event did not benefit from this exemption. For these reasons, the E-sports status in Korea is still unclear as long as recognition and support are not sorted out.
Once upon a time, Korea began to grow into an E-sports nation, starting with ‘StarCraft’. The status of Korea's E-sports industry has been huge, with various FPS games following ‘StarCraft,’ and the recent ‘League of Legends.’ In particular, the League of Legends Nations Club World Cup (also known as the Rolled Cup), held around the world, was the top spot for the Korean team during three years, and it always participated in the finals. They even met each other in the final to win the title and finish as runner-up. So was ‘Overwatch.’ At the Overwatch World Cup, setting the unique record of winning all matches following its second straight year of victory elevated South Korea’s E-sports status. Currently, the Overwatch league, present in cities around the world, counts about 110 Korean players out of the total of 190 players. To this extent, Korea's E-sports is recognized as top-class all over the world.
However, the current direction of Korea's E-sports industry is moving at a snail's pace. Compared to the past few years, regulations in the E-sports industry have hampered the growth of Korea's computer and mobile game markets. Due to restrictions, Nexon CEO Kim Jung-joo, who led the biggest E-sports game industry market in Korea, recently declared a competitor would acquire the company. This came as a total surprise as Nexon is an E-sports giant worldwide. This is also a fatal blow for South Korea because, when such a large conglomerate leaves the country, many companies and investors in Nexon will likely leave Korea as well.
CEO Kim Jung-joo pointed to the restrictive regulations of the sports industry as the main reason for selling Nexon. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family implemented a shutdown system, called the time limit, for youth games and tightened regulations of the E-sports industry, citing the addictive nature of various online games. Korean players also felt they were treated badly.
As we can see, the E-sports industry in Korea is still far from being fully developed. The number of online regulations is affecting Korea's economic growth as well, with large business mergers and acquisitions abroad. If you still look at the games from an adult's perspective, it can be dismissed as mere play. But times are changing, and global trends point to a continuing growth of this E-sports game industry. Shouldn't we embrace E-sports as a cultural industry to take the lead as Korea's E-sports industry is growing?
