The 1% dream: How avid gamers are turning habit into esports success

Son vividly remembered the second when his mom unplugged his pc throughout a digital interview to develop into an expert gamer. “She said when I played computer games, my personality got worse, that I was addicted to games,” the 27-year-old advised The Guardian.

The turning level got here when Son gained an beginner match, incomes a prize of two million gained (almost US$1,400), which he gave to his dad and mom. “From then on, they believed in me,” he stated.

Nearly a decade later, Son, referred to as Lehends, has develop into a champion in a number of League of Legends (LoL) tournaments. He at present performs for Nongshim CrimsonForce, an expert esports workforce sponsored by certainly one of South Korea’s largest meals conglomerates.

Lehends’ success displays a bigger development in South Korea, the place the gaming market has flourished. From 2019 to 2023, South Korea’s gaming market grew by 47%, reaching almost 23 trillion gained ($15.9 billion). Game exports now account for almost two-thirds of the nation’s digital content material exports, surpassing different famend cultural sectors like Okay-pop and movie.

In this ecosystem, esports performs a number one position in selling and consuming video games, although its direct financial worth stays small, about 257 billion gained in 2023. South Korea is now the world’s fourth-largest gaming market, behind the U.S., China, and Japan.

Gamers at a gaming cafe. Photo from Pexels

The stigma lingers

Despite this success, the trade nonetheless faces a deep-rooted stigma linking video games to dangerous habit. A latest controversy arose from an AI contest organized by Seongnam, a metropolis in southern Gyeonggi Province and residential to Korea’s IT and gaming hub, Pangyo Techno Valley, geared toward stopping varied addictions, together with “internet gaming,” in keeping with The Korea Herald.

The marketing campaign shortly acquired backlash from the gaming neighborhood, with 13 associations representing avid gamers, esports professionals, and students condemning the classification of gaming as an habit.

Lee Cheol-woo, head of the Korean Game User Association, argued that gaming is legally a part of the “culture and arts” sector, and a 2024 survey confirmed that it’s the nation’s hottest interest. “Policies that regard gaming as a subject for addiction control run counter to this social change,” he stated.

In October, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung attended a gaming trade occasion, calling for a shift in perceptions and criticizing the “four major addictions” coverage, which had categorized gaming alongside playing and medicines.

“It’s time to change our policy direction,” Lee stated on the occasion, in keeping with The Korea Times. “The government’s aim is to make Korea a leading global cultural industry nation, and I believe the game industry is a vital part of that.”

The value of success

At esports coaching camps just like the Nongshim Esports Academy in Guro District, Seoul, younger trainees focus intently on their screens in full silence, carefully supervised by coaches. The academy even has its personal dormitory and eating corridor, with a nutritionist overseeing each meal.

Roh Hyun-jun, 22, determined to pause his mechanical engineering research to pursue his dream of turning into an expert LoL participant. However, chasing this dream comes at a value. Tuition on the academy is about 500,000 gained for 20 hours of coaching monthly, however this doesn’t assure success.

Evans Oh, CEO of Nongshim Esports, advised The Guardian that the academy has a particularly excessive dropout fee, with solely 1-2% of scholars ever turning into skilled gamers or discovering associated work. Since 2018, solely 42 professionals have emerged from the academy. In alternate, superstars can earn salaries within the six-figure U.S. greenback vary, to not point out bonuses and profitable promoting contracts.

Professional gamer Lee Sang Hyeok, 29, higher referred to as “Faker,” (middle) and workforce member from T1. Photo courtesy of T1’s Instagram

One such famous person is Lee Sang Hyeok, 29, higher referred to as “Faker,” a mid laner for the six-time world champion LoL workforce, T1. Hailing from an underprivileged household, Faker dropped out of highschool at 17 to pursue e-sports full-time, becoming a member of SK Telecom T1 (now T1) in 2013. In South Korea, he’s broadly considered a “national treasure.”

Okay-pop large BTS has performed League of Legends with him and even carried out collectively on YouTube, whereas Kim Hee-chul of Super Junior paused his work simply to satisfy him on a range present. Faker has additionally appeared in a business with nationwide soccer captain Son Heung-min.

Now a multi-millionaire and part-owner of T1, Faker funnels his estimated $5 million annual wage and prize cash into savvy investments, together with proudly owning Faker Tower, a business constructing in Gangseo, in keeping with The Straits Times. He has additionally contributed almost 100 million gained to numerous causes by way of donations in recent times.

However, the glamour of figures like Faker is uncommon and sometimes short-lived. Aiden Lee, Secretary-General of the League of Legends Champions Korea, stated that South Korean avid gamers practice for greater than 16 hours a day. Their careers usually finish earlier than they flip 30, typically minimize brief by obligatory navy service for males.

“If you’re not good enough, you have to give up quickly. It’s that kind of market,” Hwang Sung Hoon, 25, a teammate of Lehends, advised The Guardian.

Aiden additionally identified that South Korean groups have gained 10 out of 15 world championships because of the extremely aggressive atmosphere.

Nevertheless, the attract of the skilled gamer profession stays sturdy. In a latest training ministry survey of scholars, skilled gamer ranked fifth amongst desired jobs for elementary college boys. For Roh, the dedication stays unchanged: “I want to leave my name as the most famous pro gamer.”