What the victory of Korea in Esports means

Korea’s T1, having Esports superstar Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, has defended the world champion title for the fourth time at this year’s League of Legends World Championship. It defeated China’s Weibo Gaming in three straight games in the best-of-five final at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. Lee has now become a four-time world title winner after his wins in 2013, 2015 and 2016. His team, T1, also quenched the fourth victory.

The heat over Esports in Korea was as stunning as the Korean players’ supremacy. The tickets to the final match were fully sold out in just 20 minutes since the online booking opened in August. About 15,000 who were unable to see the game on stage filled the Gwanhwamun Square to watch the game streamed live outdoors in cold weather. Tickets were resold more expensively than concert tickets for Lim Young-woong, a popular singer among older adults.

The older generation awed by the sight should reflect whether it had not infringed on the game category obviously enthralling young Koreans. The players had to fight against the prejudice of being addicted to computer games. In a TV interview in 2003, Lim Yo-hwan, a former professional player, was asked whether he felt threatened in real life and if he had connections to gangsters. The stunned face of a global star for associating video games with crime and violence reflects the ongoing social prejudice against video games.

Until two years ago, Korea had enforced a so-called shutdown policy that automatically disconnects minors from online games from midnight to 6 a.m. Korean teenagers competing in a junior competition in France in 2012 had to give up a match because the time zone fell under the shutdown period.
But young Koreans withstood the barriers to sustain the country’s top rank in Esports. Their economic contribution is huge. The industry says the World Championship in Seoul could have generated revenue of at least 200 billion won ($155 million). President Yoon Suk Yeol congratulated T1 and promised to support the Esports industry to gain international competitiveness and leadership.

But whether our society really understands and appreciates the youth behind the Esports feat is questionable. A former People Power Party lawmaker installed a banner before the college entrance exam, cheering students with “GG the test and dreams, and go play LoL.” GG, standing for Good Game, is used when gamers give up a game. The ignorant misuse of the phrase only ended up upsetting exam-takers.

Lee Sang-hyeok thinks video game is art, and Lim Yo-hwan is proud that Esports, which Koreans began to practice, spread to the rest of the world. Only when older adults understand their enthusiasm can the government devise the right policies to promote the Esports industry and defend our Esports primacy.