Abstract
eSports refers to the overall cyber culture and related community activities, including participation and watching competitions or leagues that compete in games by utilizing mental and physical abilities in the games. We conducted a literature survey to clarify the development process and current status of eSports in Korea. Korea was the place of the origin of the terms and it has achieved the development of eSports in a short period. eSports has emerged and developed against the background of culture and industry such as the spread of PC Ban (PC Café), and the level of industrialization is high, and there is a high possibility that eSports will develop as a promising industry with a deep connection with media-related companies. In South Korea, eSports started a nationwide game league in 1998 with the spread of online games and the support of PC BAN. In addition, the marketing of companies has become active, and it has continued to this day with the support of the government and local governments. Compared to the United States, many leagues are in operation all year round, and the situation is characterized by an unspecified large number of tournament participations and high levels of commercialization and industrialization. Currently, there are 80 eSports teams in Korea. The number of registered players is 481. In addition, there are 92 formal educational institutions, including vocational schools, that have established game-related education courses in Korea. The Korea eSports Association officially joined the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee in 2019. Furthermore, eSports have been recognized as an official event of 2022 Asian Games which will be held in Hangzhou. In order for eSports to be recognized as an official Olympic sport it is necessary to enhance its contents and prepare for systematic sports management so that eSports can meet the requirements for establishing sports while solving socially adverse functions such as the violence of eSports.
