Game Talk

Watching League Worlds season from Seoul: why esports still feels different here

Every October and November my lab group goes a bit quiet in the afternoons because people are watching Worlds matches on their second monitor. I'm 44 and not a League player, but I've come to enjoy watching it the way some people enjoy watching baseball without ever having played.

What strikes me is how mainstream it is here. Pro players are recognised in the street, matches are shown in PC bangs and cafés, and my mother knows who Faker is. When I talk to colleagues in Europe or the US, esports still feels like a niche hobby there.

I'm curious whether that is changing elsewhere, or whether it's tied to things very specific to Korea, like PC bang culture and dense cities. Do people in your country watch esports with their families?