[Mediapen=Lee dong-eun] When asked about star players from Korea, you may think of Kim Yuna, Son Heung-min, Choo Shin-soo, Park Se-ri. Or have you thought about ‘Faker’?

Faker, or Lee Sang-hyeok is a 24-year-old Korean player of the world’s most popular competitive online video game League of Legends(LOL). And surprisingly, Korea is the birthplace of the competitive gaming, where the esports business ecosystem first formed. 

How could Korea produce such esports superstars and become the center of the gaming market?

The book ‘Demystifying eports’ by Dr. Baro Hyun describes the growth of the esports industry in Korea and how it became to be a global phenomenon.

Even though esports is a global phenomenon, with multimillion-dollar prizes and international professional teams, there are still those among older generation who have a negative perception of gaming. With little experience in video games, they consider those who play games to be unsociable and hopeless.

The writer writes that “Anyone under forty-five grew up with the video games as a natural part of their lives, but older generation have had minimal exposure to gaming.”

So he wrote this book to bridge the generation gap by exploring the history of competitive gaming, the growth of the esports industry, and its explosion as a global phenomenon.

Based on his childhood as a game enthusiast, the writer shows how the gaming business humbly started in Korea. He offer insights on the mega-hit game StarCraft, the gaming infrastructure PC bangs and the game channel OnGameNet which all led to the esports renaissance in Korea. Next, he explores how the esports industry expanded to captivate the world and the potential it has as a rising industry.

Dr. Hyun writes “Esports is a growing industry and a cultural touchstone. It can take you to a cultural wonderland where you can connect with the younger generation like never before, or a business wonderland that offers exciting opportunities. Or both.”

The author Dr. Baro Hyun is the founder of an unprecedented esports advisory practice at a Tokyo-based Big Four consulting firm. He has been teaching esports business at Keio University since 2018, and has provided industry-leading advisory services to major clients including the Japanese government.