Video Games and Esports in South Korea Technology Assignment (Essay Sample)

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Video Games and esports in South Korea
Executive summary
The report is a research paper based on the video gaming activity in South Korea. To satisfy the curiosity of the reader, the article is designed to capture significant areas. Firstly, the abstract will give the general video gaming activity in South Korea, secondly, the introduction of the paper with a brief history of the game and introduce the research. Thirdly the body which will contain main sections; the opening of video gaming by technology, the gaming culture of the Korean people, video gaming and the economic implications in Korea, cyber world games, and worldwide perception of video games. Last part will be the conclusion with the general recap of the research.
Abstract
Almost half of the South Korean population is infatuated with a video game. The country's sophisticated fiber-optic infrastructure sustains the gaming activity. According to the Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development, the country has broadband subscription rate of about 25.4% for every quorum of 100 residents compared to the USA which has only 16.8%. The country's per capita income greatly depends on it. It has stopped being indoor games as most would perceive. Most Korean conduct these games outdoors, the local gaming rooms have been open for such games. The world interest has been drawn close to this tremendous adoption of the video gaming activity in South Korea.
Introduction
In South Korea, eSport is a vital business (" PR Newswire Mar 11, 2014, ProQuest. Pg, 7). Nearly everywhere you turn you find the video game advertisements; the driveways, billboards, and media network have been cites for the announcements. Traditionally, the video games were predominantly based on a local focus, but as of late it is clear the gaming sector has market appeal. The recent reports have shown enormous growth in the Korean gaming industry. There is about 14.9 percent contribution of the global gaming market by the Korean government. Those who practice it well knows the path to culture. Like any culture, Video gaming is a culture bred by the most Asian countries. Today what was only seen as a mean for entertainment now has crossed borders and become one of the most crucial economic activities in Korea. Therefore it is true to conclude that, the Korean economy is largely dependent on the Video games. It due to this fact that, the most researchers have deliberated to find more about the gaming industry in Korea, particularly the video games hence the birth of the paper.
Video gaming and Technology
Apparently, technology has been the cause of human life change. Today, it is difficult to discuss a topic without the mention of technology. It is to say that, technology is responsible for various cultural developments. The video game is a product of technology because it wholly depends on the technology infrastructure (Laakso, Linus, pg.15). A video game entirely depends on the user interface to display and manipulate images produced by the computer program through the monitor. In a nutshell, the game is mostly the interaction between the virtual world and the real world. A user has to control the players manually through the monitor. Due to numerous technological advancements, video games have undergone various evolutions. World over uses the video game supplementary to the real games. However, the Koreans have different perspectives. Most, Asian counties have embrace technology; Korea being one of them is not left out. Technology is not only used as means to develop lethal weapons in South Korea but also to develop the gaming industry. Case in point in, the Korean online gaming industry has hit the news worldwide. There have been innumerable reports highlighting reasons why South Korea can be the next to be the next world's boss. The GDP growth in the country is attributed to the Video gaming industry.
The video gaming culture in South Korea
A large population in South Korea plays online games on a regular basis. The country's technological wellbeing supports the video gaming activities. The sophisticated technology infrastructure has seen Korean citizens being one of the most wired societies in the world. According to the late statistics by Entertainment & Games Software - Quarterly Update, about 20,000 active play stations or bangs in the country. It is a world's perception that the activity has been integrated into the social fabrics of South Korea. According to the Korean cultural and social fabrics, the games are seen to be means to achieve maximum pleasure. For the Koreans, going to a bang is the same as attending a movie or cinema in the Western Countries. Video games are not only locally played but also in big cities such as Seoul with high population.
South Korea is a small country with large population, most cities with high population runs out of options for recreational activities. Therefore they engage in the online games. The population of Korea has faced various economic hiccups due to the size. The introduction of technology in the region has seen people get into the game industry as a way means to feel the economic gap. The market entries of the game are estimated to $5 billion by 2002. The games such Star Craft has been reported to have sold about 4.5 copies in the country 11milion worldwide in total. The video game industry emulates the informal sector of the country's economy. Reportedly, there is a large sector of illegal gambling and betting trade infiltrating into the economy.
The South Korean cyber competition is regarded as a national sport televised in nearly all channels. The country has established a full-time video game network programs named, Ongamenet and MBC Game. The Federal Game Institute report indicates that over 10 million South Koreans keep up with the eSports. Surprisingly, depending on the video tournaments, some of these games get more rating than some pro basketball and football. As per the countries record, there are about ten professional gaming leagues in Korea sponsored by the corporations such as SK Telecom and Samsung giving a huge monetary reward. Famous Korean video game players could take a six-figure salary home. Korea being a technology-rich economy, digital gaming is a major supplement to the country's GDP (Research and Markets). The gaming industry popularity does not only come with the game itself but also due to its capacity to create employment opportunities.
The video game culture of Korea
Consequentially, the strong video game culture has led to video game addiction in South Korea. According to the recent surveys, video game addiction is now one of the biggest problems that the country faces. The result reveals that, out of ten, one Korean adolescent is at risk for the internet addiction and exposure. Notably, internet addiction is a life-threatening epidemic. Year in year out thousands of people get hospitalized due to excessive gaming. Scientifically, the brain responds to addiction by the release of either; endorphins are the dopamine. These are central Nervous system organs in charge of the reward systems. For instance, if one exposes themselves to a particular activity severally, they become addicted to it. The brain responds with the release of the named hormones. Many at times these hormones are responsible for manipulating choice to what most excites. Some game addicts choose to game for sleep and even food. Human health due to these addictions has been put in jeopardy. The stories of those who have died playing video games are innumerable. The Korean government has spent millions of money funding the health facilities for the treatment of the affected individuals. There are centers now for the treatment of the game addicts. It has forced the government to introduce a law that inhibits the under the age of 16 from playing the game. The law has been criticized as focused on deconstructing the countries gaming culture and failing to appreciate the positive impacts of the video game in the personal sense of identity during growth (Bassiouni, Chris, pg.127). However, the government in defense has argued that it is better to have a healthier population than to have culture fearing country. The gamble with human life would be more expensive.
Video gaming and the economic implications in Korea
As earlier mentioned in the above discussions of this paper, South Korean is relatively a small country with a high population of about 50 million people. With the vast population, the Korean government has been unable to maintain the community with its available resources. Video gaming was introduced both as a cultural and an economic phenomenon. Video game famously known as the Korean Drug has stood in support of the economy for the past decades. Besides the health effects brought by its addiction, the economy has primarily depended on the gaming activity. At this point, it is undeniable that video gaming can be a stepping stone to an economic milestone like we shall see in the section of the paper.
Like most economic activities, video gaming industries offers various crucial financial support to the Korean government and its citizens at large. To fully understand these implications, the paper will focus on the important concepts; these elements include; employment, infrastructural development, cultural enhancement and development, technological development and the population's wellbeing regarding leisure activities. Apparently, economic stability does not fail to address the welfare of the population in general.
Employment
Video gaming industry is an elaborate sector; as such, the stakeholder is of the more significant realm. The main subjects in the industry include players, video game developers, marketers and the fans. Broadly, the Korean citizens are cultured into games. Most of the young and the old population are i...