South Korean teenager Yoon Ki-chan sleeps just three hours per day, but spends more than three times that playing online games — with the blessing of his parents and teachers — as he dreams of becoming a top pro League of Legends player.
Yoon and his peers are the next generation of gamers in South Korea, a fast-growing e-sports powerhouse whose players have won Riot Games’ League of Legends World Championship six times since the most-watched e-sports event began in 2011.
They are also to benefit from the country’s announcement in August that it would abolish a decade-old law that bans those younger than 16 from playing online games on computers from midnight to 6am, over a growing consensus that young people are increasingly using their mobile phones instead.
Photo: Reuters
“I suffered a lot from the shutdown law. I typically don’t sleep a lot, so I studied different things during the shutdown hours. If it weren’t for the law, I could have been a better player by now,” said Yoon, who says he can game at least four hours more since turning 16 this year.
South Korea’s move is in contrast to that of China, the world’s biggest e-sports market, which in late August drastically limited the amount of time under-18s can spend on video games to a mere three hours per week.
E-sports is also to feature as a medal sport for the first time at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, next year.
“China’s game regulation could be a rather good opportunity for us to build strength and regain the e-sports initiative,” said Park Se-woon, vice president at Seoul Game Academy, which offers programs to nurture pros.
Park said the private academy has seen a 30-fold jump in daily consultations since it started the program in 2016.
Despite the growing international status and interest among prospective professional players, government support for the e-sports industry, estimated last year to be worth about 17.9 trillion won (US$15.3 billion), has been lackluster, experts say.
E-sports and the gaming sector received 67.1 billion won of the 604.4 trillion won national budget for next year.
The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism wants to do more, especially ahead of organized competitions such as the Asian Games, an official said without giving details.
In the meantime, the space has been filled with investments from big businesses and private educational institutes.
Instant noodle maker Nongshim launched its professional League of Legends team, Nongshim RedForce, late last year, joining other South Korean conglomerates that have seen potential in the industry.
Among them are SK Group’s SK Telecom, Hyundai affiliate Kia, Hanwha Group’s Hanwha Life Insurance and KT Corp.
“The e-sports industry continued growing, but the state-led support measures have been weak, with corporate sponsorships and private academies mainly having driven the industry,” Nongshim E-Sports CEO Oh Ji-hwan said.
Oh said businesses consider the e-sports scene a platform to reach younger generations and improve their brand image.
SK Telecom-backed team T1, on which “Faker,” the most famous League of Legends gamer of all time, plays, opened its e-sports academy last month. The 20-week program costs 5.6 million won, but applications are flooding in, it said.
As yet, there is only one school in South Korea with e-sports on its academic curriculum aimed at fostering professional gamers. Yoon makes a two-hour round trip to Eunpyeong Meditech High School every day to bolster his pro gamer chances.
Oh said that support for gaming talent from the government and the private sector is paramount, as South Korea’s market would never be as big as that of the US or China.
“Focusing on talent is the key,” he said. “The buildup of talent development knowhow should be our strength.”
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