Korea is the Ideal Study Abroad Destination for Esports Enthusiasts

A few weeks ago I chanced to attend a lecture about esports, or video gaming or gaming, however you prefer to call it. It was interesting and compelling. Because I have heard from many of our semester students that they were drawn to Seoul because of their gaming interests, I have long known that many game enthusiasts consider Seoul a mecca for their sport. What I had not realized, or even given much thought to, was just how huge the gaming industry is and just what it entails—and the opportunities it holds for students. I learned that esports is a multi-billion dollar industry and that esports viewership is already eclipsing traditional sporting events. And, that the industry involves much more than playing games. It requires game designers, developers, programmers and artists but it also needs writers, broadcasters, marketers, events planners, sociologists, psychologists and more—almost any college major.

Whether a student is a games hobbyist, on a collegiate varsity esports team or looking to work in the gaming industry in the future, Seoul is the perfect location for study abroad. You will find that you are surrounded by the best organizations and players in the world as well as fabulous infrastructure. There are over 25,000 PC bang (internet café) in Korea. PC bang tend to be cheap and student friendly.  Students coming on our semester programs can certainly find a tournament to watch (tickets are quite reasonable) or even play.  

Here you can see some scenes from a recent esports activity CIEE Seoul organized for our fall students to LoL Park, Riot Games Korea’s new stadium for League of Legends tournaments, which also includes an esports museum and PC bang.

Happy gaming!