Escaping the Gaming Pit for Korean Students

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If you’re a male high school student in Korea, chances are, you know what “gaming” is. Simply put it’s the act of playing games. However, “gaming” probably also has a deeper meaning for us – it’s a getaway that relieves stress and brings pleasure. The lucky few take this and make it a positive thing. They play games with proper time management and enjoy it without consequences. Most do not.

With the exception of the few academically talented kids in every class, almost everyone in our school plays games. Everyone who plays games will agree with the fact that gaming is like a delightful disease. While it sucks away, in essence, our livelihoods, it covers up that fact with false senses of achievement and power. We feel good, but at the same time, we suffer. We all probably know at the back of our minds that reality is different.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why we become victims of gaming. Chances are that we started gaming young. On the streets in front of stationery stores, there were mini-arcades where we would play games like Tekken and adventure games. Not only was it fun for the kids playing the games; it was also interesting to simply watch it. It was cool and at a young age, we perceived gaming as something fun.

What is more, almost everyone played these games as well. We grew older and advanced into computer gaming. Social groups would form around the games we played. For example, there was a group that played “Maplestory” and another group that played “Sudden Attack”. At school, during break time, we’d talk about our achievements in gaming, and by gaming, we made friends.

Grade by grade, as we moved up, we started going to many private academies that ran late into the night. Especially as teenagers in Gang...

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...oal so we can achieve something, whatever it may be. It is very difficult to do in all truth. It requires will and sacrifice, but it’s possible.

Set small goals. Make life yours to control. Start by choosing not to play games when leisure time rolls by. The execution is quite simple. All it takes is a yes-or-no question to small actions like turning on the computer or deciding to go to the PC Café. Little by little, we can change the way we live and it will change the way we think. When it all adds up, we’ll probably change into something we haven’t imagined and have different outlooks on life.

Young Dong High School students, gaming is fun and it can seem like a great way to escape from reality. However, the world will go on whenever we escape. We need to overcome this beast called gaming and learn to tame it. Only then will we be able to move on with our lives.

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