NYT presents South Korean gaming culture
The New York Times has a nice presentation on their website about gaming in South Korea narrated by the NYT'sWorld of Warcraft-loving Seth Schiesel, who while reporting on what he saw manages to plug the upcoming Burning Crusade expansion by dropping in a picture of a Blood Elf. The piece does a fantastic job in giving a Cliff's Notes version of gaming culture in South Korea.
An interesting statistic is that Korea has 25.4 broadband subscriptions per 100 residents, the only country with more is Iceland at 26.7. So, why doesn't Iceland have major video game championships? The NYT explains Korean parents actually encourage their children to game as an outlet for the society's emphasis on education. Park Youngmok, Blizzard's Korean communications director says, "In Korea it's all study, study, study, learn, learn, learn."
