Contrasted to American culture, “the young, relatively inexperienced workforce in Korea is structurally compelled to remain inexperienced for a longer period of time” with many youth living with their parents until marriage (Chee, 2006, Ambiguity). Youths are therefore subjugated to their parents’ control both socially and fiscally. Gaming, however, allowed youth to earn money by either participating in professional/amateur gaming or gold farming. Professional gaming is regarded more highly since these individuals have a fan base and income akin to celebrities. Amateur gaming, on the other hand, seems more frivolous, even though gamers have the potential to make more money than peers with part-time jobs. This is because they haven’t achieved the social status of professionals and aren’t helping society function like their peers with part-time jobs. Play in the sense of both professional and amateur gaming can be observed as a rationalized work process that is also entertaining. This is an unfamiliar concept in Korea, where the classic view of work is that it is “obligatory, sober, serious, and not fun” (Chee, 2006, Ambiguity). Gaming has therefore produced an enticing medium for youth to make money that older individuals don’t understand, creating yet another schism between youth and the older generations. With a fun, socially rewarding means to make money, an increased number of youth may begin to devalue and dismiss education as not worth it in favor of attempting to access these profit streams.

While the Japanese view of work is similar to the Korean view of work as a sober and serious task that supports one’s livelihood, the phenomenon of youth participation in gaming as a form of precarious work doesn’t occur in Japan due to several differences. While Korean youths are structurally enforced to stay unemployable longer, encouraging youth to seek financial independence from their parents, many Japanese youth don’t feel this pressure. Japanese youth generally do not stay with their parents until marriage, gaining independence earlier than Korean youth when they proceed to either university or full-time work (Buckley, 2009). Therefore, Japanese youth don’t have the same environmental factors encouraging them to breakaway from their traditional family unit to seek independence and empowerment. Another difference is that Japan has strict gambling laws outlawing many forms of competition for monetary gain (PC World). The top gaming talent of Japan therefore has no ability to advertise and promote themselves, with little or no support from the game’s creators. As a result, Japanese youth don’t have the same economic incentive to pursue skill in gaming as Korean youth might have.

Citations:

Buckley, S. (2009). Encyclopedia of contemporary Japanese culture. London: Routledge.

Chee, F. (2006). Online Gamers and the Ambiguity of Community. AoIR Internet Research Annual: Volume 4, 165-180.

Why gamers in Asia are the world's best eSport athletes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2015, from http://www.pcworld.com/article/2036844/why-gamers-in-asia-are-the-worlds-best-esport-athletes.html