Korean Students Pay For League of Legends Tutoring To Fit In
One's school years can be tough. Especially in a country like South Korea where students are expected to study all day and attend cram courses after regular school hours. Video games were supposed to be an escape from all that real-world grind, but leave it to the Koreans to turn even PC gaming into a chore.
As the Chinese edition of Korean news site Aju News reports, there is a growing trend among students to pay for League of Legends tutoring in order to avoid social stigmatization. Students who are bad at the game are often laughed at and have a harder time socializing with their peers. Naturally, this can lead to lower self esteem and social isolation.
There are over 10 websites offering to match students with tutors across Seoul with prices ranging from 5,000-200,000 Won ($4.40-$175 USD) per hour depending on the rank of the tutor. Some students even go as far as taking part time jobs in order to afford their League of Legend tutoring.
Competitive gaming in South Korea got an early start with games like Starcraft and Lineage being national phenomenons that attracted mainstream coverage over a decade ago. More recent games like League of Legends and Overwatch also enjoy wide popularity with 55% of teens actively playing competitive games according to official government statistics.
It remains to be seen if any video game can reach such critical mass where it becomes a required student skill here in the West.
Further Reading: Original Aju News Article (Korean), Hat tip to MMOCulture for the scoop
