Video gaming in South Korea

In South Korea, video games are considered to be a major social activity, with most of the games being cooperative or competitive. Locally developed Role-playing games, MMORPG and Mobile games have proven to be very popular in the country. Professional competition surrounding video games (especially those involving real-time strategy games) also enjoy a substantial following in South Korea—major tournaments are often broadcast on television, and have large prizes available.

South Korea has developed a strong economy in Asia through the development of creative industries (i.e. Online Game). New York Times culture writer Seth Schiesel has commented "When it comes to gaming, Korea is the developed market... When you look at gaming around the world, Korea is the leader in many ways..." Statistic provided by Korea Creative Content Agency shows that the industry has gained an average growth of 14.9% in sales since 2008. This statistic may reflects an increasing interest in online gaming, especially the youth. Although it is difficult to mark an exact period that is responsible for increasing trend in online gaming; however, it is quite clear that gaming has become much more than activity for leisure.

In January 1975, three units of the relabeled Pong machine Computer TV were installed in the Midopa Department Store in Seoul. The newspaper explained it as a "TV game" and said that big companies such as Samsung and Goldstar (now LG) were producing new machines, most of them Pong clones. Until the end of the 1970s, "electronic entertainment rooms" quickly spread around the country, despite fierce opposition by conservative parents, media and the regime. By 1980, only 43 arcade establishments were government-approved, while many hundreds were opened illegally. The Korean gaming industry started as mostly an import market, getting machines from Japan and the USA. Since it didn't have any form of localization, the arcade manufacturers would put names in Hangul, making some name changes such as "Donkey Kong" becoming "King Kong".

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