In South Korea, infants are dying from malnutrition because their parents are completely immersed in the virtual worlds of MMOs and MOBAs. The political parties now want to take action against this addiction.
Here, gamers tease each other about the supposedly too high gaming time and how long the other has been sitting in front of the PC again. In South Korea, online gaming is even more widespread and is reaching dimensions that are causing debates in society.
Tragic Deaths of Infants Fuel Debate
In April, a 22-year-old was arrested for letting his two-year-old son starve. The unemployed father was supposed to care for the child while his wife worked in a distant car factory, but the father became so engrossed in online gaming that he forgot about his son. In 2009, a couple let their 3-year-old child starve while they were playing an online game together, taking care of a virtual child.
The government wants to limit the advertising opportunities of the gaming industry and require them to invest 1% of their revenue into a fund to combat gaming addiction. These measures remind Europeans of regulations against the cigarette industry.
According to a member of South Korea’s Democratic Party, online games are preventing some people from being able to live at all. The industry must accept this and acknowledge the problems.
Representatives of the gaming industry protest against this. They invoke free speech, request to refrain from regulation, and emphasize the necessity for artists in any medium, including video game design, to have the freedom to express themselves.
Why is South Korea so Obsessed with Online Gaming?
The distant South Korea is regarded by local gamers as the epitome of the highest gaming arts. In League of Legends, for example, one often hears the joking exclamation “Best Carry EU,” which is outdone by “Best Carry Korea.”
In documentaries on the topic, experts mention that the constant threat from communist North Korea leads society to tend toward escapist tendencies, escaping the threatening reality into a fantasy world. Others say that the ambitious South Korean people yearn for sporting successes, feel athletically disadvantaged, and seek these experiences in eSports.
Some of the top universities in the country now offer bachelor’s degrees in eSports. Some of the most successful Starcraft and League of Legends players in the country have reached pop-star status.
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