The Life of a South Korean Pro Gamer

chajath writes with this excerpt from a South Korean newspaper about the lives of professional StarCraft players: "Prospective gamers take tests based on the skills they have picked up in PC rooms, and passing scores allow them entry into 'clans,' or guilds. Those who aspire to become pro gamers pay move-in fees and go to live at group dormitories, where they practice playing games all day long. Following a 'courage match' for semi-pro certification, the hopefuls must take a test to become apprentices in a pro-gaming group. ... 'The standard in pro gaming groups is for people to live together 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no traveling to or from work, and for those ranked Group 2 or lower, their entire daily routine consists of eating, cleaning, laundry, and games,' said Kim Jeong-geun. 'Because of this structure of bringing in young people, developing them, and then replacing them when their lifespan is spent and they have been squeezed dry, it has earned the name of "the chicken coop."'"

More like work

[boyter]

This sounds more like work then "an amusement or pastime" which games usually are. To be honest, even if I had the skill to play at that level I don't think I would want to since I like to play games in spare time. What do these guys do in their spare time if any... code?

Re:More like work

[bsDaemon]

I think if they were smart enough to be able to code, they'd probably have been smart enough to avoid this sort of bullshit situation in which they're basically held captive to play stupid games all day like some sort of digital bondage slave.

Re:More like work

[wisnoskij]

You cannot be a professional in anything without commitment.
people play sports as "an amusement or pastime" but that does not mean that professional sports players do not replace working 9-5 with practicing whenever they feel like it.

Pro gaming can get quite intense through out all the world (I would say mainly since they all have to be young, and therefore more easily taken advantage of).

But that description does not sound all that different from descriptions I have heard of other professional sport athletes in china, not sure how this compares to South Korea.

Re:More like work

[ivucica]

Seriously, that's the definition of "professional": work that you do for living.

Re:More like work

[oji-sama]

>Smart people can make very dumb choices in life

No they can't actually, that's the opposite of what "smart" means.

No-one makes smart decisions all the time. Even if in theory you would make smart decisions every time, it's always based on the current situation and current knowledge (which could be misleading).

(What about 'Intelligent people can make very dumb choices in life'?)