LEAGUE OF LEGENDS (LoL)is an online battle arena game, released in 2009. It is a free to play game in which two teams of 5 players compete using champions in order to conquer the opposing base. This weekend was the final of the LEAGUE OF LEGENDS world championships, which was won by T1, a South Korean team, giving us an opportunity to look back at the phenomenon that is Esports in South Korea.
Although created in 2009, the game only became popular in South Korea from 2011, thanks in particular to the presence of numerous PC bangs (Korean Internet cafes). Following the economic crises of 1997 and 2008, rising unemployment led to an increase in the number of PC bangs, but also in their use, as they offered internet access and powerful computers on which several games were installed, including LEAGUE OF LEGENDS, with 24/7 access, all at prices that were truly affordable for everyone.
It is therefore in this context of economic crisis and the desire to find a way to relax in order to forget these problems that the game will begin its rise in the land of the morning calm.
2012 will naturally see the creation of the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), the first Korean professional league of LEAGUE OF LEGENDS. Major telecommunications groups such as SK Telecom, Samsung or KT, having already invested in the Esport scene before with games like Starcraft and WarCraft III, very quickly turned to LoL, seeing the potential of the game, and therefore sponsored the first teams of the tournament. The first players will be mostly recruited online, via the ranking available on the game, the companies very quickly approaching the best talents then proving themselves on the PC bang of the country.
This first year of LCK will lay the foundations of LEAGUE OF LEGENDS in South Korea. During this year we will note the appearance of great teams still popular today such as : KT Rolster, Samsung Galaxy (Gen.G) and especially SK Telecom T1 (T1). Training academies will also be quickly created, this academies will help at the detection of young talents, but also guaranteeing them training within the biggest teams. Although the term “game” is used to talk about LEAGUE OF LEGENDS, it is a training close to that of high-level athletes or even idols, that the young players receive in these academies. Guided by this idea of excellence and by the academic rigor specific to South Korea, the young people live and train tirelessly in these academies.
The results of this discipline will quickly be visible internationally, since in 2012 we will find a Korean team in second place at the world championships, then in first place in 2013. Korea will only give up this first place at the world championship three times in the last 13 years to their Chinese counterparts. Among these top teams we find Samsung Galaxy (Gen.G), DAMWON Gaming (Dplus Kia), DRX but also and above all SK Telecom T1 (T1), winner in the running for the second consecutive year! And five times champion in total!
The most famous player in the world of Esports, in Korea but also abroad is undoubtedly FAKER, player of the voice of the midfield of T1, real name Lee Sang Hyeok, (Riot, the developer of the game, having asked all professional players to have a pseudonym easily pronounceable in English). FAKER is one of the youngest players to have won the LEAGUE OF LEGENDS World Championships, in 2013, and he is also now the oldest player to have won the world championship. In the world of Esports he is considered one, if not the best player of League of Legends, having been present during the five victories of his team in the final of the world championships, but also being the only player to have been named twice best player of the match in the final of the worlds.
But LEAGUE OF LEGENDS is a team game and we can therefore also salute the remarkable work of the various Korean teams who have reached the highest steps of the podium at the worlds, but also in LCK or during the mid-season international tournament (MSI).
The teams enjoy real fandoms and for some, base camps are open to the public, allowing fans to come and watch the matches on a giant screen in order to support their favorite teams, but also to be able to enjoy the PC bang with latest generation equipment.
In 2018, the Seoul eSports Stadium, also called LoL Park, will be built. This venue will host all LCK‘s matches from then on, although it can accommodate more than 400 people, it is common for the biggest matches to sell out tickets within the first few hours of going on sale. The stadium also offers a PC bang and a mini gallery displaying the jerseys and logos of the teams present in the LCK as well as the coveted tournament cup.
Just like athletes or idols, we can note a lot of partnership and sponsorship by many brands, Korean or international. We most often find computer brands or energy drinks in the sponsors, but throughout the LCK we could also note the presence of names of banks or insurance companies, we sometimes find the name of these groups in the name of the teams directly, this is the case for Hanwha life which is a Korean insurance company or for BNK Fearx, BNK being a Korean bank.
Just like many Kpop groups, Korean Esports teams also feed their social networks a lot and sometimes participate in certain Korean entertainment shows. Usually each team has in its ranks, in addition to the players and coaches, a streamer or someone who takes care of all this content creation.
In addition, some kpop fans may know songs from LEAGUE OF LEGENDS without even knowing it. Indeed, the anthem of the 2018 world championships,“Pop star” by the virtual group K/DA was performed, among others, by Soyeon and Miyeon from (G)I-dle. There will be several other songs from K/DA such as “The baddest” and “More” in which we will still find the two members of (G)I-dle, but also a song called “I’ll show you” in which we find the members of Twice : Nayeon, Sana, Jihyo and Chaeyoung.
The anthem of the 2023 worlds, “GODS” is a song performed by Newjeans. We can also note a few small collaborations between groups and the Korean championship, this is the case in 2024 of the title “Anima Power” by the band QWER which gave rise to a few small video challenges with LCK‘s players.
Finally, supported by large telecommunications groups, but also by the government itself, Esports and LEAGUE OF LEGENDS quickly became a social phenomenon in South Korea to the point of creating vocations as Esports players among Korean students. Given this popularity, Esports was added to the 2022 Asian Games, with the Korean team emerging victorious in the event played on LEAGUE OF LEGENDS.
After T1’s incredible fifth victory in the world championship final on November 3, LEAGUE OF LEGENDS undoubtedly still has many great hours ahead of it in the land of the morning calm and will not stop making fans dream for a possible tenth victory in 2025!
Journalist: Lise
Translator: Lise
Sources: SNS League of Legends
SNS LCK/lol.fandom.com
