5 reasons why StarCraft is extremely popular in Korea

Many people have asked me this question that how is it that many games which are extremely successful worldwide fail to make the cut in Korea. Why is it so that games like GTA were banned in Korea and Counter Strike Source stopped selling because of some licensing problems? What is the reason that such top games from all around world falter to even scratch the surface of the popularity of StarCraft in Korea?

StarCraft can pass off literally as the national pastime of Korea. It’s been 13 years since the game was launched and Korea has pro leagues, pro players, televised matches, dedicated channels and stadium filling crowds.

1. “Many Koreans easily become obsessed with activities or games that test their ability to think and react rapidly, and excelling in such activities for competition during youth is highly encouraged”. This was found out by a conducted study. So this sort of behaviour pattern might relate to something as small as scrabble or a rubix cube as in the olden days koreans were heavily into board games which needed quick thinking and reflexes. This sort of mentality is related to that of StarCraft. It falls under a similar mindset.

2. Starcraft players have to perform a various number of actions at a time, this could be related to a very old popular board game called baduk, where similar quick thinking and actions were required. This also could be a reason for the growth of StarCraft there. At times, the game is also related to poker, where quick thinking and reflexes are of utmost importance, Korean Starcraft players have popularity as big as the poker players of USA. All said and done poker finals though never gathered the number people who fill up stadiums or just stay overnight to get a good seat.

3. StarCraft related characters and merchandise are popping up all around South Korea. The way in which this game has become a part of the Korean culture can only be compared to the way in which the Star Wars Phantom Menace movie became a cultural icon in America.

4. Its also about timing, the game was launched around the late 1990′s in South Korea. This is exactly the time when the online infrastructure started developing in South Korea. Internet cafe’s started coming up through out the country and StarCraft ended up in each of those computers in the cafes. So the developers at Blizzard timed it perfectly.

5. The launch of StarCraft also coincided with the first esports league in Korea in 1998. By the turn of the century, we found that all the top sponsors in the world lined up to sponsor these StarCraft events.

This was an attempt made by me to not only understand the Korean SC scene but also to analyze it and bring to you the reason of its popularity.