PC bang Inc.: The Culture and Business of PC bangs in Korea

March 20th, 2007 Jun Sok Huhh Posted in articles |

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.