PC bang Inc.: The Culture and Business of PC bangs in Korea
March 20th, 2007 Jun Sok Huhh
If you would refer this paper seriously e.g. for academic purpose, contact me via anarinskATgmailDOTcom. The abstract is following:
In this paper, I seek to explore culture and business of PC bang (PC room) in
South Korea (hence forth Korea). As an integral component in the culture of Ko-
rean online gaming, the PC bang has only recently gained academic interest. A
PC bang is distinctive from Internet cafe in that it puts much more emphasis on
online gaming. Evolved from a convenient spot for high-speed connection, the PC
bang has become a space for facilitating and nurturing online gaming cultures.
This paper addresses two cultural specificities of PC bang. Firstly, as a space that
nurtures the negotiation of offline and online relationships around online gaming
cultures in Korea and, secondly, as a site for the emergence of MMORPG play-
ers. In respect of business, the collaboration and coordination between PC bangs
and game publishers has been a key part for Korean online gaming. A specialized
pricing policy for PC bang different from an ordinary flat subscription had made a
better business environment both for game publishers and PC bangs. Recently, the
conflict caused by the micro-payment business model of free-to-play online games
made the former cooperative relationship disturbed.
For downloading full-text, go to http://ssrn.com/abstract=975171.
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