South Korean On-Line Gaming Article

[LordDrago]

An interesting read regarding On-Line gaming in South Korea.

Also, Take a look at the pictures of the professional gamers (link is in the article, after the second paragraph).

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983234,00.html

 

[Derium of ls]

All i can say is wow... It's so amazing that gaming is huge there. Here in the states you say the word 'gamer' and most people think of everything negative you can say to describe someone.

To hit on the addiction part, I will say it's sad, because it is. At the same time EVERYTHING humans have EVER done that is fun has had people take it too far. Drugs/Drinking of course is the prime example, but even things like Bingo... yup, read a while ago about someone being shot over playing bingo. I just wonder why if gaming is so huge over there why the government try to apply so many rules to it to 'save' people, when many other things that have the same issues go untouched. I would assume it's because a lot of gamers still live at home, so since their parents and government officials have never internet gamed they can't wrap their heads around it.

 

[Vaen Swiftar]

I go outside and tell chicks that I have a dreadmare and over a million faction points, and their skirts fall right off.

 

[Mairut]

Wow... I'm not entirely sure what to say to that. Just a few of my thoughts:

Some people have "addictive personalities"... some people are just more prone to becoming addicted to things than other people are.

They also discuss with counselors the problems that video games have created for their health and social lives, supposedly releasing their anxiety.

I'm not so sure about online games helping relieve anxiety... it can be like any other drug if you want to equate it to that; like smoking tobacco: you first start and everything is A-OK, you have one here and there when you're stressed and then a year later (or sooner) you realize that you start having a bit of anxiety (otherwise known as stress) when you aren't smoking every couple of hours.

Or because you start doing it, whatever "it" is, when you're stressed you "need" it to relieve stress no matter what the stress is caused from.

From the little I understand about drugs and pyschology, most are like this (My only personal experience comes from smoking cigarettes though).

The government introduced the recent nighttime shutdown one month after police discovered a 3-month-old baby who starved to death while her parents were busy nurturing their virtual baby on a game at an Internet café.

That's just pathetic.

I did notice before the quote above, they said that "the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism directed the operators of the three most popular games to block people under age 18 from playing games between midnight and 8 a.m. starting in September."

I take it the parents were under 18 then? Or the journalist just got confused? Maybe the straw that broke the camel's back?


Anyways, I'm glad that people who feel they need help (or the families that feel they need help) are getting it through the counseling centers.

Umm... aren't there a few counseling centers here in the U.S. that help with gaming addiction? What about other countries?

 

[Derium of ls]

Umm... aren't there a few counseling centers here in the U.S. that help with gaming addiction? What about other countries?

I watched a show about a few of those places in the states, and they were pretty much a shame. All they did was put gamers in ran down half way homes and got them jobs. They didn't work on the root of the issue, just pretty much forced them to live a "normal" life. So most of them once they went home got right back into hardcore gaming. The few that 'overcame' it made the choice on their own.

 

[Cetric]

I go outside and tell chicks that I have a dreadmare and over a million faction points, and their skirts fall right off.

 

[Mairut]

I watched a show about a few of those places in the states, and they were pretty much a shame. All they did was put gamers in ran down half way homes and got them jobs. They didn't work on the root of the issue, just pretty much forced them to live a "normal" life. So most of them once they went home got right back into hardcore gaming. The few that 'overcame' it made the choice on their own.

I'm glad for the ones that managed to 'overcome' their problems did so, though.

I wonder if it would be better if people didn't think serious "gaming addiction" was "funny"...

I guess it kind of is when you say it, but when you think about it...

Anything that causes you to ignore your goals in life, your children, your family and causes others to commit suicide over the death of a character... anything that can cause someone to do those things needs to be looked at a little more seriously. I'm not talking about clamping down on gaming like they are in the article, but get help to people who need it (as far as America goes). Don't just stick them in half way homes and tell them to get over it (from what you said, it sounds like that's all they did). Serious problems need serious answers.

 

[Lord Chaos]

The government introduced the recent nighttime shutdown one month after police discovered a 3-month-old baby who starved to death while her parents were busy nurturing their virtual baby on a game at an Internet café.

Thats just sad.

Though I have heard of a couple (westerners) who played UO and tended their houses in UO so much, that they completely neglected their real house.

 

[longshanks]

I go outside and tell chicks that I have a dreadmare and over a million faction points, and their skirts fall right off.

LMAO This made my morning. TYVM.

I wish I could make a living at UO. Don't know if its possible unless you cheat however.

As to addiction, I'd say everyone that posts on this board is full blown all in for UO.

I play mainly at night. I don't watch much TV, sports mostly so this is my way to forget about the real world.

I don't know if thats a bad thing, as long as you keep it in perspective and don't let it get in the way of RL.

I will say that this game is never boring. 200 channels of cable TV programmng can be boring but UO, hell, always something to do.

Would be interesting if EA held a tournament for this game. Even if it was just a webcast, with some prizes.

 

[SchezwanBeefy]

Just speaking as a foreigner living in South Korean who plays UO...

Before I got here, I really knew nothing about Korean culture. All I knew was some Korean, what the hell Bulgolgi was, about PC Bangs and Bi Rain. When I got here, I was pretty amazed by the culture surrounding gaming.

Any neighborhood you go to, there's a PC Bang (PC Room). These places are really cheap and the computers are excellent for gaming (I myself have gone with friends a couple of times to just relax there and eve played UO in a few). They're generally packed with high school/ college kids. At one point, I had no internet for a month due to a problematic wire and a **** land lady, so I just walked down the street to check emails and surf.

Korea's culture is highly geared around gaming. There are game advertisements everywhere and a lot of the kids use computers better than I can. They have great cellphones that already have video cameras and dictionaries for Korean to English and there a tons of techno markets. I was really surprised but how easy everything is thanks to all the technology here (people drive with the friggin' TV going in the front seat! Crazy and scary!) I've even walked around in Seoul and come upon Starcraft tapings... that is, these celebrities will be sitting in some place like Coex mall or Yongsan Techno Plaza or something and they're being taped playing starcraft and it's put on TV. Yeah, there's a 24 hour star craft channel here. Nooo joke.

Koreans have highly addictive personalities, and they will admit that. It was an observation I made and once got the balls to ask. They love their celebrities. They all love drinking. A good 80%+ of the population smokes. The government has made it illegal for Koreans to go into -most- casinos for that very reason. I only know of two (Gangwon land and one in Jeju-do) in the entire country that Koreans can go into, the rest card. If you're not a foreigner, you're turned away. It's not surprising they're addicted to gaming as much as they all are. I'd almost argue that's why there is such a huge fear mongering for illegal drugs, because if they didn't say how bad it was for you and threaten huge jail sentences, a lot of Koreans would be hooked worse than some of the severe addicts back in the states.

I was surprised to read that there's been a new time restriction put in effect for PC Rooms though, considering it's already a country law that no places of business should allow minors of 18 into their establishments after 10 pm. Or 11 pm. One of the two. I've gone a lot of places around the time cut off and seen high schoolers told to go home. Weird.