Online Gaming in South Korea
The rise of online gaming in South Korea has brought improved economic prospects and notoriety, but at what price?
Beginning in the late 1990’s South Korea has quickly become the undisputed king of the online gaming world. Gaming and the culture that has grown up around it are now the defining aspects of the lives of many South Korea youths. While this eruption of online gaming has created revenue for the country and made South Korea a global hotspot for international gamers it has also been a cause of concern in much the same way excessive television viewing and game playing has in the U.S.
A number of factors contribute to the huge percentage of online-gamers in South Korea. A fast internet connection is a necessity and South Korea is, per capita, the most wired country in the world. Over 60% of households have broadband – compared to 20% in the United States (Kim 2). South Korea’s small geographical size and high population density make running the required cabling an easier task than it would be in the U.S. Broadband access in South Korea is, furthermore, the cheapest in the world at $25 per month (Kim 2). Additionally, in South Korea console gaming isn’t nearly as popular as it is in the U.S. and elsewhere. Console systems – Playstation, Nintendo, Sega – are by and large of Japanese origin. Due to past discord between the two countries – Korean being a colony under the rather, at the time, iron-fisted Japanese – Japanese imports have been both officially and culturally unpopular (Herz 3). Without consoles to take away from the base of game players, in South Korea unlike the U.S., online computer gaming is the dominant form of electronic gaming.
Though more than half the homes in South Korea a...
... middle of paper ...
...bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2499957.stm)
Fulford, Benjamin. “Korea’s Weird Wired World” Forbes Online 21 July 2003. October 28, 2003. (http://www.forbes.com/technology/free_forbes/2003/0721/092.html?partner=newscom)
Kim, Jin David. “Lucrative Lessons from Online Game Players” International Herald Tribune 12 March 2002. October 28, 2003.
(http://www.iht.com/articles/89432.html)
Ihlwan, Moon. “The Champs in Online Games” Business Week Online 23 July 2001. October 28, 2003. (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_30/b3742142.htm)
Electro Lobby. “E-Sport: Gaming Goes Pro – Interview.” Unknown. October 28, 2003
(http://www.tnc.net/el/el01/progaming.html)
Related Links:
http://www.worldcybergames.com/ - home site of the World Cyber Games
http://www.ncsoft.net/ - NCsoft, makers of Lineage
http://www.blizzard.com/ - Blizzard Inc., makers of Starcraft
The dirty thing about war is that in order for it to be fought, men have to fight, suffer, and possibly lose their lives. Most would not knowingly walk into a suicidal mission, and therefore they must be lured in, as Kantorek lured his students. His wise phrases romanticised what the young men would face, but nonetheless, they enlisted. These words would obviously have been countered by a book like All Quiet on the Western Front, and so inhibiting those who wish to access it during wa...
The Greek value of hospitality is exhibited in The Odyssey by Odysseus and Penelope. Odysseus and his hungry men entered an unfamiliar cave, which was home to the Cyclops. Once the Cyclops saw the men he asked why they are there, and in Odysseus's explanation he mentions “It was our luck to come here; here we stand beholden for your help, or any gifts you give-as custom is it to honor strangers” (line 194). Odysseus is tried to convince the cyclops to let him and his men live by using the Greek value of hospitality. He wants the Cyclops to view him as a guest, not food. To Odysseus it was second nature to help out a guest or person in need. While Penelope was speaking to the suitors she noted “Here is a poor man come, a wanderer, driven by want to beg his bread, and everyone in hall gave bits, to cram his bag” (line 1116). She shamed Antinous for not helping the man, because in Ithaca its is accustomed to provide the hungry and poor with food. The fact that Antinous “threw a stool” at Odysseus, and “banged his shoulder” appalled Penelope. The thought of doing such a thing was unheard of to Penelope since hospitality is a part of her way of life along with all other Greeks. The people of Ithaca from The Odyssey a...
"States Consider drug testing for Welfare recipients." Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly 21.8 (2009): 4-6. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 04 Feb. 2011
There is an ongoing debate over whether or not Welfare recipients should be drug tested to receive the benefits. The lines of reasoning from both sides of this argument have unambiguous points. Those who oppose the idea of drug testing say that it is unconstitutional, and violates the Fourth Amendment. Furthermore, they claim that this law stereotypes and discriminates against the poor
There has been many things that America is not proud of as a country, but one cannot truly say that every incident that happens in this country is not a part of our rich history; good or bad. Because of The Freedom Ride and all the violence and countless arrest it caused national attention. People all over the world were seeing all the horrific activities that was going on in the United States. Although, these events portray the American society in a very negative image, it would be wrong to say something positive did not come out of it. With all the country watching and news being spread throughout the nation, many, even hundreds of people; both white and black came together to become Freedom Riders. These rides gained the national attention from so many people coming from all over the United States causing them to get on busses from major cities down to Mississippi. They did not fear the violence, arrest, or even death. This is the positive image America portrays. People were fighting for what they believed in regardless of all the circumstances that stood in their way. People believed and were able to put their life down for the cause of integration within the American society. It goes to show how much progress we have made, how far we have come as a nation. It the circumstances that happened in Alabama or Mississippi hadn’t occurred it would be safe to say an important part of our history would be lost. Riders were willing to lay their lives on the line regardless of all the violence and bloodshed that occurred within these states. These states represent a stepping stone both blacks and whites had to take to make a better future. It was still many years before segregation ends completely, but the Freedom Riders had won a major battle in the war against
Should Welfare Recipients Be Tested for Drugs? U.S News & World Report. 2014: Pgs 1-2.
There is an ongoing debate over whether or not welfare recipients should be drug tested to receive the benefits. Both sides of the argument have merit. Those who oppose the idea of drug testing say that it is unconstitutional and violates the Fourth Amendment. Furthermore, they claim that this law stereotypes and discriminates against those from low socioeconomic demographics, implying that because they are poor, they must be drug addicts. However, those who support the law note that its intended purpose is to ensure that taxpayer money is not being squandered on people who only plan to abuse this assistance. Only nine states so far have instituted drug testing of candidates for welfare assistance. This drug testing has proven to be prohibitively expensive in many cases. Consequently, some states only test subjects with whom they find suspicion, or who have admitted to past drug use. Though proposed drug testing of welfare applicants initially appears to be a good idea to eliminate potential abusers of the system from receiving assistance, it appears that even more money may be wasted on the testing process, which negates the savings that are the primary objective of the law.
They drew “national attention to the harsh reality of segregation and put pressure on the federal government to enforce in law,” (“Freedom Riders”). Who were ‘they’ exactly? The Freedom Riders. The goal of the Freedom Rides was to gain attention from the Kennedy administration to enforce a ruling that would make segregation of bus terminals and stations that served interstate travelers illegal (Layman 320). Despite the problems and cruel torture they received, the Freedom Riders had many goals they wished to accomplish, did many dangerous things, and overall had successful long-term effects on society and people in general.
Stressed greatly in ancient Greek culture, hospitality is evident throughout Homer’s writing, which reflects and expresses many different value systems within it. For example, when in the cave of the Cyclops, Polyphemus, Odysseus confronts him by saying, “we therefore humbly pray to show us some hospitality and otherwise make us such presents as visitors may reasonably expect” (92). To the Greeks, hospitality was very important, to the point that it was an expectation and not just a quality as it is in today’s culture. If you feared Zeus and the gods, you were to show hospitality. In opposition to this, Odysseus’ request for hospitality is followed by the Cyclops stating, “you are a fool…we Cyclopes do not care about Zeus or any of your blessed gods for we are ever so much stronger than they” (92/93). In accordance to this, the greatest reason for one to show hospitality was because they believe...
The world we live in has changed dramatically over the last thirty years with the invention of the internet, smart phones, and video gaming systems. The world we live in now was unimaginable and the technology advances we have made are remarkable. Video game consoles and how we as a society play them has changed dramatically since the beginning of gaming in the 1970’s. Over the last decade there have been many arguments concerning video games such as too much violence, obesity, addiction, social wellbeing, and many other health related issues. Video games also have some advantages to include hand eye coordination, a strategic mind set, educational and teach life lessons to the players. However, video games do cause more harm than good because the negative outcomes out weight the positive aspects of playing video games.
Blizzard's MMORPG Achieves Unprecedented Global Success.” TMCnet News. 17 March 2005. TMCnet. 13 May 2005.
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen expresses the powerful narrative voice. The narrative voice that she uses is different from other novels. Most authors try to hide their presence in their novels but Jane Austen does not try to hide her presence. Her presence in the novel is so clear. For example, “The advantages of natural folly in a beautiful girl have been already set forth by the capital pen of sister author, and her treatment of the subject I will only add” (Austen 81). She tries not to trick her reader as he/she reads the novel. Instead she informs the reader that the book itself is just a novel. Her purpose is not to convince the reader and correct her story, but to understand the imperfection of language because language does not always tell the truth or enough for the truth.
Video games have been around about 50 years and they contribute a big part of the U.S. economy. People interact with video games every day throughout different ways, such as cell phone devices, computers, consoles or whatever which has a screen on it. In fact, it has always affected people’s lives. However, not so many people understand the benefits of video games. With video games, people can not only relieve themselves from stress and suffering, but it also improves people’s social experiences while they are exchanging and absorbing knowledge with other people; more than that, people can learn many other things from video games which can help them to achieve great things in lives.
In 1997, the South Korean government, in an attempt to stimulate the growth of its economy, encouraged the development of online gaming software. In order to accommodate gamers, the Internet café, which originated in England, became one of the most profitable businesses in South Korea. According to Business Weekly, there were around four thousand Internet cafés in South Korea in the year 1999, but the number has mushroomed to twenty thousand in the year 2000. Moreover, the estimated revenue for Internet cafés in South Korea by the year 2001 grew to $1.4 billion U.S. dollars. Due to the popularity of this modern business, the Taiwanese gaming industry decided to follow and develop online games. So far, there are around 8 million Internet users in Taiwan, and approximately 40% of them are gamers.
The advantage of playing online game is that it allows people to communicate to numerous numbers of others from different cultural backgrounds and countries. In the game, a gamer may want to exchange his item with someone. Therefore, he/she has to negotiate with others. Repetition of this negotiation can develop a gamer’s social skills. The disadvantage of online gaming is that spending most of free time in front of a monitor wills remove teenagers from their friends and society. Online games are not for entertainment purpose only.