l10f Profile Blog Joined January 2009 United States 3215 Posts Last Edited: 2010-05-20 19:30:56 #1 Before you criticize the progamers, look at the reality!

Article by Han Yoon Hyung



The world of e-sports was engulfed in a state of shock on the 16th. It was found that current progamers were involved in match fixing. A lot of the fans were dismayed to learn that even a starleague champion made profit from using illegal betting sites and fixing matches.



People are criticizing the progamers involved for perverting the spirit of sports, but not that many people are pointing out why they made such decisions. Progamers are hailed by many fans, but behind the screen, there is a very competitive system. The problem only worsens by the fact that most people believe that "earning money through gaming isn't labor."



We should not stop at criticizing the progamers that were involved, but also look into the "reality" behind their motives. This article is to show the lives and the labor conditions of progamers. Editor.







I didn't know where to start. I was a veteran starleague fan, and a member of the progressive political party, but I didn't know how this would be taken by the progamers. The lives of progamers were a sensitive subject. The progamers and even fans might say "they're talking about something they don't even know about" if the progressive party raised the issue of rights of progamers.



2010-5-15 Saturday night. It was the day before the official statement on match fixing. Would the interview have been harder if I tried after the statement? I was careful to tell them that their identity would be confidential. The Progressive Party Representative Noh (from here on: Noh), Political Researcher Hong (from here on: Hong), and E-Sports Columnist Kim (aka pain, from here on: Kim) attended the meeting.



Starleague, Survival of the Fittest



Mr. Han (the author, from here on: Han): Have you read "Mookhyang" (a martial art novel)?



Progamer "A" : Yes.



"A" answered more willingly than I thought. Although we lived in completely different worlds, we were both young men from the same time period.



Han: In the novel, the main character learns martial arts and develops along with other children even without a name. One by one, his peers start to disappear, and he develops further and rises to a higer place. I thought starleagues were kind of like that. Since you debuted, to today, what are your views on the lives of progamers, both your life and the lives of your peers that disappeared with your success?



The first thing that comes up when talking about the life of a progamer is the conflict with parents. The most famous progamer, , said that his parents did not know he played StarCraft. Back then "progamer" meant just a person looking to earn money from gaming, before games were broadcasted. On the other hand, the top player right now, , persuaded his parents and became a progamer with parental support. However, this is a story of a progamer who rose in the era where earning over a hundred thousand dollars a year playing games were "role models".



"A" also couldn't avoid the conflict. His parents did not allow him to become a progamer because the future is too uncertain, and "A" also understood his parents. "What kind of a parent would want their kid to lead a difficult life? The future is very dim when you become a progamer....." After a few months, his parents allowed him to pursue his dreams, and after passing the test, he joined a team.



Nowadays, in order to get connections to be able to take tests for progaming teams, people spend a lot of time in clans. Once you hit 20, it becomes almost impossible to be tested to join a team. When asked about this, "A" answered "You have to be at least in your 10's. 20 is the oldest you can be."



About daily life and practice time



After he joined the team, the life with the team started. It was before when large sponsors funded each team. "Over ten people lived in one apartment. There was no room to eat together. There were about 10 computers in the living room, and there were a few bunk beds in the bedroom. If there were not enough beds, we slept on the floor...." It didn't happen often, but the teammates kept changing. Few left, and few joined. Some went to military service, gave up, or left for education. Of course there were a few that were kicked out for not being good enough. Still now, B team players come and go without ever being well known.



The dorm became better and better. The sponsors began to look at e-sports. The large corporations took players from other teams, and others accepted a lot of practice partners to pick out new talents. I started to wonder how it was like living with a team.



Han: Is the hierarchy strict? I think it must be since only men are living together.



"A": Nope. There are older and younger players, but it's not a strict hierarchy.



Hong asked about the practice time. A daily cycle of a progamer is different from that of a normal person. They wake up around 10 and their day starts after eating breakfast, and it continues until late night. If you look at "Nal_rA's Oldboy" from OGN, the SPARKYZ team ate lunch at 4PM. I think it was to achieve the optimal condition when the leagues take place in the evening. The practice time, not counting time for food, was 11 hours and 30 minutes for A team members, and 13 hours and 30 mnutes for B team members. This was mandatory.



Can you skip it? If you want to, you must have a reason. A progamer from some team wanted to watch a Beyonce concert and did not attend practice. That day happened to be a bad day for the team. He was punished and pushed down to B team, and ended up retiring trying to rise back up. "I think there were other reasons, but he said that was the biggest reason."



There are barely any days off. There are matches in the weekends, so you have to practice even in the weekends. "A" 's team gets a day and a half off starting right when the last match of the week ends. MBCGame and OGN have very busy schedules. In a year, there is only one month period where no leagues go on. This became worse as time went on. The players are dissatisfied, but have no way of speaking out. Kim put it this way.



"KeSPA was formed by the corporations that sponsor the teams. Because it helps them advertise, they try to increase the number of matches. They fill up the whole year with matches. It's not like they have to pay more to have more matches."





The life of a progamer through the screen is extravagant. Behind it, however, is a restricted life with no way to speak out



The rights of a progamer that creates the content for the games?



Hong pointed out the copyright issues of replays. If there was such a thing, KeSPA would not simply try to increase the number of matches. If a drama is shown again on a different channel, that channel must pay the original company a fee. If a musician plays a piece, that music becomes the musician's. The same should be applied to progamers and replays.



This problem is very complicated. The VOD shown on TV is not simply the replay of a progamer, but it contains the explanation of the commentators and the views of the observer. When we watch these games, there are many parties involved. There are Blizzard, the gamers, and the broadcasting companies.



Right now, the games are the properties of the broadcasting companies, and the rights of the players are handled by the sponsors that pay those gamers, through KeSPA. Blizzard is trying to claim their rights in the e-sports market with the release of StarCraft II. These powerful organizations silence the rights of the average progamer.



If the sponsors paid the progamers as much as they took the rights away, it would be okay, but the progamers aren't even considered laborers. Noh concentrated on the labor-like state of progaming. He thinks that progamers should have a labor contract with their sponsors. Think about it for a moment. That would cause the problem with child labor. The law prevents children under 15 from being in labor. The famous progamers debuted when they were 15 or 16. Players like debuted at the age of 13. If we see them as laborers, it is illegal.



The gamers between 15 and 17 years of age can be in labor, but the problem is time. The law prevents adolescents from being in labor at night. Noh said, "There was once this situation in Europe. There was a musical, and a child actor was needed. However, the girl from that country was too young to be put into labor at the time of the showing. The whole country went into debate. It's not a single person's problem, but a problem for the whole society. That's why there was so much debate."



Also, the minimum wage must be met with a labor contract. The minimum wage for 2010 was 4110 wons per hour (app. $3.60). For 44 hours a week, the minimum wage is 928,860 won per month (app. $820). The progamers are required to practice around 60~75 hours a week, and over half of these hours are during weekends and late nights. The weekend and late night minimum wage is 1.5 times larger, so it would be 6165 (app. $5.40) won/hour.



If we say the progamers practice at least 60 hours a week, and if only half of them are part of the 1.5x rate, the minimum amount they need to be paid for a week is 308,250 won (app. $270), for a month, 1,339,345 won (app. $1,180), and for a year, 16,072,155 won (app. $14,000). The minimum wage for a A-team player would be 16 million won, and for B-team player, it would be 20 million (app. $17,600). This shows how much these progamers are working.



If we put these regulations on progaming, the number of progamers would decrease significantly, and some corporations will give up. The increase in pay of a progamer over time will also decrease. However, this will greatly increase the conditions of life of progamers.



This is the reality. B-team players are given a dorm, but they don't get paid. They don't even sign a single thing, let alone a contract. Even if they leave, there are plenty to choose from. The bigger teams pay them 500 thousand wons a month.



What if you're one of the players that play in proleague? They sign a contract. It's not a labor contract, but a civil contract. Even then they get paid 10 million won a year on average and usually doesn't pass 20 million. A few "star" gamers earn over 200 million a year. I'm sure there are a few progamers who get paid between those two numbers, but we won't know exactly how much that is. The pay is not released to the public. Even "A" doesn't know how much his teammates get paid.



Hong asked if the practice hours are mentioned in the civil contract. "A" said no. Hong said if they're going to make certain hours of practice mandatory, it should be a labor contract. Although the hours are not listed in the contract, a civil contract can be nullified by the sponsors at any time, so the players must obey the hours.



Even though StarCraft is an individual sport, a progamer can't participate in even the preliminaries without being in a progaming team. The system is set up so that the sponsors have ultimate control over the progamers. If it's too much to change the contracts to labor contracts, there should be at least a guarantee of the players' rights and futures. The gamers get treated neither as the "creator" of game content nor the "laborers" for the gaming teams.



"What's my plan for the future? That's my #1 problem."



The most sensitive problem for progamers is the mandatory military service. There are a lot of B-team gamers that worry about military service and quit. The famous progamers attend universities to delay the time. Boxer even went to a graduate school before joining the Air Force, forming the Air Force ACE team.



The gamers that are less famous apply for the Korean Cyber University to delay going into military service. "We really just leave the lesson on and practice. We only pay attention shortly before exams, and we take the test online. We don't listen carefully to the lecture." They don't have the time to learn. "If they gave us a few hours a day, I think I can prepare for my future..."



"A" seemed to have thought about this problem long enough already. He said he was worried about his own future when asked. What happened to his retired peers? "It's not like your experience as a progamer help. Most go into coaching or show programs. Some go abroad to study, and others attend classes at a school. The rest don't do well." I asked what "not doing well" meant. "They don't have a job. There's nothing they can do."



Another opportunity for the progamers is to try to be a progamer for StarCraft II. However, Blizzard made StarCraft II with e-sports in mind, unlike StarCraft. You can't even play against each other without connecting to Battle.net. (In StarCraft it was possible through LAN).



KeSPA negotiated with Blizzard on the topic of StarCraft II as an e-sport, but it didn't go well. They don't allow the progamers to play StarCraft II. Hong asked, "Does it make sense for them to be able to stop us from playing? It's just a game." "A" answered, "I don't know." StarCraft II is currently in beta testing phase.



"I think I'll have a problem with it if they don't let us play after the official release. Like when StarCraft was first released, there will be few of us who change to that game if there are prize tournaments. StarCraft II is on the same line as StarCraft. Those who are good in StarCraft also do well in StarCraft II. It's only the beta but there are worldwide tournaments. The retired progamers already participate in StarCraft II tournaments, and are doing well. When it is officially released, those who are not getting paid will be tempted to try StarCraft II competitively.



There may be players that leave the current system of e-sports to try something new if KeSPA fails to negotiate with Blizzard.



The match fixing incident and e-sports after the release of Starcraft II



When something like match fixing happens, the media criticizes individual integrity. Of course being forced to practice over 10 hours a day at a young age can cause problems. I asked about the progamer knowledge training.



"There are two in one year. You need to attend to keep your license. They talk about improving the tenacity of being a progamer, about the spirit of sports that we should have." I asked if players enjoy these lectures. "Not really... Games and sports are different..."



I thought of the soldiers being mentally trained in the military. The poor environment, the unclear future, the bad pay, and being treated like property has a far greater detrimental effect than two days of lecture can fix. The lure of "black money" must have been tempting no matter how much they were getting paid. It was even more heartbreaking that these players, who always put the game and the competition at the center, would get involved in match fixing. What they needed was not a lecture, but the basic human rights. Hong asked this.



Hong: Do you know the term "880 thousand won era"? What do you think it would be like if the minimum wage for the B-team players was 880 thousand wons (app $770) per month?



"A": That would be good. If you earn that much, wouldn't it be a decent job? We live together yet some of us get paid no money while other get paid 200 million wons. There were a lot of players that didn't even receive spending money.... The sponsors try to spend as least money as possible. After a few years, the money given by the sponsors decrease. Since we don't have the money, we're forced to live together. Between 3~8 people use each room.



Hong: Isn't it bothersome to share a room with so many people?



"A": It's fine, since we don't do anything but sleep in those rooms.



Our discussion was nearing its end. Everyone each made a comment.



Noh: E-sports through the TV is extravagant. A lot of teenagers dream of becoming progamers. Although e-sports has the nation's attention, the living conditions of a progamer is bad. There is a "dark side" of progaming that people don't see even though so many large corporations are involved. It reminded me of the B-team pro baseball players. This is a big problem since young men are involved...



"A": There are too many people wanted to be progamers....



Noh: That's why it's like this. They're using the fact that people all want to become progamers against the progamers themselves.



Kim: For the teams, it becomes easier to restrain the players if there are more practice partners. It's easy because they all compete with each other. Since they don't even pay the practice partners, the more the better. KeSPA themselves say that the rise of the number of progamers is the problem, but they're not decreasing the number of semi pro licenses given through Courage. In the end, the kids jump into a hopeless field of competition. This is shameful.



"A": This problem was known for a long time, but was ignored.



Hong: Didn't Boxer say something about a progamers' union?



"A": That talk has been going on for a long time too but the players have too little strength. I don't even know how the leagues will turn out in the future. What can a player do for himself? I don't even know.



Noh: I learned about a new world today. I can now see it from behind the scenes. Our nation at the front of the world of e-sports and I'm embarrassed about the truth. In the future, I'll be sure to think about the rights of progamers.



What is politics to them?



Many people would say this. "It's so awesome to earn money playing games. What about that is labor? If you think it's that bad, just don't do it!" The society and the "adults" say "You started it because you wanted to do it. You should be able to endure it" naturally. If you think about it that way, no person in the field of sports or arts would be able to earn as much as they work. (Sadly, this is the truth in Korea)



The problem is that when a hobby becomes a market, nobody talks about the rights of the people that produce the content. Some say, to solve this problem, they need to "make it bigger." However, as e-sports grew, the ones suffering at the bottom of the pyramid continued to suffer, and only the "star" progamers' pays increased. It actually had the opposite effect as kids drawn to the scene by these stars found themselves at the bottom of the pyramid, unable to climb. The "adults" are making profits out of the children's passion.



After the long discussion ended, we had dinner together and had a drink. Kim and I talked about "A" 's bright moments and expressed our personal thoughts on the progamers involved in the match fixing incident. "A" doesn't know politics, but he said he has positive feeling towards former president Roh. When asked about Noh, he responded that he knew who he was and didn't have a negative image of him. I didn't say anything about it to "A", but as he was leaving he told me that he would vote for Noh since he at least knows his face. I didn't show it but my heart sank. I wondered what politics, that I'm interested in politics, means to them. As I returned home, I thought to myself that no matter who he votes for, I hope "A" has time to come out and vote on June 2nd.



+ Show Spoiler [Original Article] + 지난 16일 e스포츠계는 충격에 휩싸였다. 현직 프로게이머까지 가세한 스타크래프트 경기의 승부조작 사실이 검찰에 의해 확인됐기 때문이다. 우승 경험까지 있는 프로게이머가 승부를 조작해 불법 도박사이트의 베팅 결과를 뒤집고 수수료를 받았다는 사실에 많은 팬들은 허탈함을 감추지 못했다.



20대를 갓 넘은 청년들의 이같은 행위가 스포츠의 순수한 정신을 더럽혔다는 비난이 줄을 잇고 있지만 그들이 왜 그런 선택까지 하게 되었는지에 대해 주목하는 이들은 별로 없다. 프로게이머들의 방송 경기에는 수많은 군중이 몰리지만 그 뒤에는 오랜 시간에 걸친 무한 경쟁과 착취 시스템이 존재한다. 이를 해결하기엔 '게임으로 돈을 버는 것은 노동이 아니다'라는 이중적인 인식 역시 걸림돌이다.



승부를 조작한 프로게이머들을 비난하는 데 그칠 것이 아니라 그들의 '현실'을 들여다봐야 하는 이유가 있는 것은 이 때문이다. 프로게이머들의 삶과 노동조건을 보여주는 기고를 2회에 걸쳐 싣는다. 편집자



어떻게 말을 꺼내야 할지 망설였다. 나는 오랜 스타리그 팬이면서 또한 진보신당 당원이지만, 진보정당이 주최하는 이런 간담회가 프로게이머에게 어떻게 받아들여질지 알 수 없었다. 프로게이머의 생활은 민감한 주제였다. 가령 진보신당이 '프로게이머의 인권' 문제를 제기했을 때 e스포츠 구단이나 프로게이머, 심지어 팬들조차도 '실정 모르는 이들이 판을 들쑤시는' 것으로 여길 수도 있었다.



2010년 5월 15일 토요일 저녁. 프로게이머 승부조작 사건에 대한 공식적인 검찰수사 발표가 나기 전 날이었다. 검찰수사 보도가 난 이후라면 인터뷰가 더 어려웠을까? 소속구단과 신원을 숨기기로 했다는 점도 매우 조심스러웠다. 진보신당 노회찬 대표, 홍원표 정책연구위원, e스포츠 칼럼니스트이자 팬덤의 오랜 '네임드'인 김정근(필명 pain)씨가 함께 간담회에 참석했다.



스타리그라는 강호 무림(江湖武林)



한윤형: 혹시 <묵향> 보셨어요?



프로게이머A: 예. 봤어요.



A는 예상보다 훨씬 선선히 대답했다. 사는 세계는 전혀 다르지만 어쨌든 동시대를 사는 젊은이였다.



한윤형: <묵향>을 보면요, 주인공이 어릴 때 이름도 없이 다른 아이들과 함께 마교에 끌려와서 무공을 배우고 성장하잖아요. 근데 성장하면서 동료들이 어느 순간 하나둘씩 사라지는 경험을 하고, 그러면서 자신은 성장하면서 더 높은 위치에 올라가고……. 프로게이머 세계가 참 강호 무림과 비슷하다는 생각을 했어요. 데뷔할 때부터 오늘에 이르기까지 A님의 시선으로 바라본 프로게이머의 삶, 본인과 본인의 시선에 잡힌 사라진 동료들의 삶에 대해서 얘기해 보았으면 합니다.



프로게이머의 삶을 얘기할 때 처음으로 나오는 주제은 '부모와의 갈등'이다. TV에서도 종종 소개된 가장 유명한 프로게이머 임요환(30, SK텔레콤 T1 소속)의 경우 PC방에서 스타크래프트를 하고 돌아다니는 것을 부모가 몰랐다고 한다. '프로게이머'란 것이 대회 상금을 노리는 사람이던 시절, 즉 방송사리그가 없던 시절의 일이다. 반면 현재 e스포츠 스타리그의 최강자로 군림하는 이영호(18, KT 롤스터 소속)는 부모를 끈질기게 설득했고 결국 부모의 격려를 받으며 프로게이머가 되었다. 이미 억대연봉의 프로게이머가 '롤 모델'이 된 시대의 일이다.



A도 갈등을 피해갈 수 없었다. 부모님은 미래가 불확실하다는 이유로 프로게이머에 도전하는 것을 허락하지 않았고 A 역시 그런 부모를 이해했다. "어느 부모가 고생길을 간다는데 좋아하겠어요. 뒤도 잘 안 보이는 직업인데……." 그렇게 아옹다옹하는 몇 개월의 시간이 흐른 후 간신히 부모의 허락을 받았고, 입단 테스트에서 실력을 인정받아 팀에 들어가게 되었다.



요즘은 입단테스트를 받게 해줄 인맥을 만들기 위해 클랜 생활을 거치기도 하고 스무 살이 넘으면 입단테스트를 받는 게 불가능에 가까워진다. 최근 입단테스트를 받는 후배들의 연령에 대해 물어보니 A는 이렇게 답변했다. "최소 10대죠. 스무 살이 마지노선이라 할 정도에요."



숙소 생활환경과 연습시간을 물어보다



입단 후엔 공동생활이 시작되었다. 지금처럼 기업 스폰서가 제대로 붙어 있던 시절은 아니었다. "아파트 한 채에 열 몇 명이 사는 거죠. 다 같이 둘러앉아 밥을 먹을 만한 공간이 없었죠. 거실에 컴퓨터가 열 대쯤 있고, 방에 이층침대가 몇 개 있어요. 침대 모자라면 바닥에서 자기도 하고……." 흔하지는 않은 일이지만 종종 멤버가 바뀌었다. 몇 명이 빠지고 몇 명이 들어왔다. 군대를 가게 되거나, 생활이 힘들어서 포기를 하거나, 학업을 하겠다고 나가는 경우가 있었다. 물론 실력이 안 된다고 해서 팀에서 내보내는 경우도 있었다. 요즘도 2군 선수는 대중없이 나가거나 들어오기도 한다.



그래도 숙소는 점점 좋아졌다. 기업 스폰서가 e스포츠 바닥에 들어오기 시작했다. 대기업팀은 다른 팀에서 선수를 빼갔고, 그렇지 못한 팀은 연습생을 많이 받아서 새로운 선수를 발굴하는 쪽에 주력했다. 숙소 생활 분위기는 어땠는지 궁금해졌다.



한윤형: 군대 내무반 분위기는 아닌가요? 남자들끼리 공동생활하려면 그럴 것 같은데.



프로게이머A : 아 그런 건 아니에요. 나이에 따라 형 동생 하긴 하지만 그게 군대 같은 서열과는 달라요.



홍원표 연구위원은 연습시간에 대해 물어보았다. 프로게이머의 생활 사이클은 일반인과는 다르다. 10시 정도에 일어나 아침을 먹고 하루를 시작해 새벽에 일과가 마감된다. <온게임넷>에서 방영 중인 리얼 다큐 '강민의 올드보이'를 보면 하이트 스파키즈 팀의 점심식사 시간은 오후 네 시였다. 리그가 주로 저녁시간에 진행되기 때문에 그 시간에 최상의 컨디션을 맞추기 위해서인 것 같았다. 연습시간을 들어보니 도중에 점심, 저녁 식사시간을 한 시간씩 계산해서 뺀다고 해도 1군의 경우 11시간30분, 2군의 경우 13시간30분이 연습시간으로 정해져 있었다. 정해진 것이 그만큼이란 얘기다.



빠질 수는 없을까? 그러려면 사유가 있어야 한단다. 모 팀의 모 게이머는 비욘세 콘서트를 꼭 보고 싶다고 연습을 빠졌다. 그런데 하필 당시 팀 분위기가 안 좋았다. 결국 그는 팀의 지시에 불응했다는 이유로 징계를 받아 2군으로 강등됐고 재기하려 노력하다가 결국 은퇴했다. "겹친 문제가 있었을 것 같긴 한데 제일 큰 사유가 그거라고 하더라고요."



경기가 많기 때문에 쉬는 날이 별로 없다. 주말에도 경기가 있으니 당연히 주말에도 연습일정이 짜인다. A가 속한 팀의 경우 일주일 경기가 끝나는 순간부터 하루 반가량의 휴식이 주어진다. 온게임넷과 MBC게임의 경기일정은 너무 빡빡하다. 일 년 열두 달 동안 리그가 없는 '스토브 기간'은 한 달 정도에 불과하다. 리그가 커지고 프로리그 경기 숫자가 늘어나면서 이런 현상은 더 심해졌다. 선수들도 불만은 있지만 뭐라고 할 방법이 없다. 김정근 씨가 이렇게 논평했다.



"한국e스포츠협회(KeSPA)는 팀 스폰서를 하는 기업들이 모여서 구성된 거죠. 그들 입장에선 홍보에 유리하기 때문에 경기수를 늘리려고 합니다. 1년 내내 경기를 틀어야 합니다. 많이 튼다고 돈을 더 주는 것도 아니니 그게 편한 거죠."





▲ 화면으로 보이는 프로게이머들의 삶은 화려하다. 하지만 그 이면엔 근로계약도 없이 삶을 통제당하는 수많은 연습생들의 '강호 무림'이 있다. ⓒ연합뉴스(자료사진)



게임방송이란 콘텐츠에 기여한 선수의 권리는?



홍원표 연구위원은 자연스레 리플레이의 저작권 문제를 지적한다. 그런 게 있다면 무작정 경기수를 늘리려고 하지는 않을 거라는 거다. 가령 드라마가 케이블에 넘어가서 재방송을 하면 케이블 방송국은 해당 작가에게 저작권료를 지불해야 한다. 연주자가 악기를 연주하면 그 공연 내용은 연주자의 것이 된다. 이처럼 리플레이의 저작권 혹은 게임시연에 대한 저작권이 프로게이머에게 있어야 한다는 것이다.



이 문제는 매우 복잡하다. 가령 방송중계 VOD의 경우 단순히 게이머의 리플레이가 아니라 중계진의 해설과 옵서버의 화면구성이 덧씌워진 것이다. 우리가 중계방송을 볼 때 이 콘텐츠 생산에 개입한 주체는 한 둘이 아니다. 블리자드라는 게임회사가 있고, 그 게임을 통해 자신의 기량을 발휘한 프로게이머가 있으며, 마지막으로 게임방송국이 있다.



지금 e스포츠에서 인정되는 권리는 게임방송국의 권리이며 프로게이머의 권리는 그들에게 연봉을 주는 구단주들의 모임인 협회가 대리행사하고 있다. 블리자드는 스타크래프트2 출시를 계기로 e스포츠 시장에서 자신들의 권리를 주장하려 한다. 이들의 각축 속에 한국 e스포츠의 평범한 게이머들의 권리는 묻힌다.



구단이 '창작자'로서의 이들의 권리를 가져간 만큼 연봉으로 대우해주면 좋겠지만 이들은 '노동자'도 아니다. 진보신당 노회찬 대표는 프로게이머의 노동자성에 관심을 기울였다. 그는 프로게이머가 회사와 근로계약을 체결해야 한다고 본다. 프로게이머가 회사와 정식으로 계약하는 노동자가 된다고 생각해보자. 그러면 먼저 미성년자 노동의 문제가 걸린다. 우리나라 법으로 15세 미만이 일을 하면 아동학대다. 요즘 유명한 프로게이머들의 경우 만 15세에서 16세 사이에 데뷔했다. 하지만 전태양(16, 위메이드 폭스 소속)의 경우 만 13세에 데뷔했다. 노동자로 본다면 아동학대다.



만 15세에서 17세까지의 경우 노동을 할 수 있지만 이 경우엔 노동시간이 문제가 된다. 이 나이의 청소년을 야간노동하게 하는 것은 불법이다. 노회찬이 말했다. "유럽 어느 국가에 이런 일이 있었어요. 뮤지컬을 하는데 대본상 아역이 필요했고 아역배우를 썼단 말이에요. 근데 그 나라에서 그 나이의 소녀는 그 뮤지컬이 공연하는 시간에 노동하는 게 금지되어 있었던 거예요. 그래서 사회 전체가 그 문제로 논쟁을 했죠. 이게 단순히 한 명의 문제가 아니라 사회의 기본 틀에 대한 합의 문제였기 때문에 그렇게 논쟁을 했던 거예요."



또한 근로계약을 맺을 경우엔 최저임금이 지급되어야 한다. 2010년 최저임금은 4110원이다. 주44시간 근로를 하는 20인 미만 사업장의 경우 월급은 92만8860원이다. 그런데 구단은 게이머에게 주당 60~75시간의 연습을 요구하고 있고 이 시간 중 절반 이상은 휴일근무와 야간근무다. 휴일근무, 야간근무, 연장근무에 대해선 1.5배의 시급인 6165원이 적용된다.



최소한 주당 60시간 연습을 한다고 치고 그중 절반의 시간에 1.5배 시급이 적용된다고 계산하면 주급은 30만8250원, 월급은 133만9345원, 연봉으로 계산하면 1607만2155원이 된다. 쉽게 말하면 1군선수의 최저임금은 연봉 1600만 원 정도, 2군선수의 최저임금은 2000만 원 정도가 된다. 이게 프로게이머들의 노동 강도다.



이 기준을 적용할 경우 1,2군 프로게이머의 숫자는 크게 줄어야 할 테고 일부 기업은 구단 운영을 포기할 것이다. '스타 프로게이머'의 연봉 상한선도 낮아질 것이다. 그래도 이렇게 할 경우 수많은 청소년과 젊은이들의 열정이 착취당하는 현실은 많이 개선될 것이다.



현실은 이렇다. 2군 연습생은 숙식을 제공받되 연봉이 없다. 그들은 계약서를 안 쓰는 것은 물론 간단한 서약서도 쓰지 않는다. 자의로 언제든지 나올 수 있는 사람들이다. 그들이 나와도 뽑을 사람은 얼마든지 있다. 관대한 구단에선 이들에게 월 50만 원 정도의 지원금을 준다.



프로리그 엔트리에 올라가는 10명 가량의 1군선수에 포함되면 어떨까. 그들은 계약서를 쓴다. 물론 근로계약서가 아닌 민사계약서다. 1군조차도 막 올라오면 연봉이 500만 원인 경우가 있다고 한다. 평균적으로는 1000만 원을 넘고 2000만 원에 못 미친다. 리그를 주름잡는 '스타' 게이머 몇몇의 연봉은 2억이 넘는다. 그 사이에 우리가 이름을 익히 알만한 선수들의 연봉이 있겠지만 그것이 얼마인지는 알 수 없다. 연봉금액은 팬들에게 공개되지 않는다. A도 대략 자신의 팀의 연봉의 상한선과 하한선을 알고 있을 뿐이다.



홍원표 연구위원은 계약서에 연습시간이 명시되어 있는지를 물어보았다. A는 그렇지 않다고 대답했다. 홍원표는 숙소에 잡아두고 시간을 통제할 정도라면 그건 민사계약이 아니라 근로계약이 되어야 한다며 놀라워했다. 숙소생활과 연습시간은 계약서상 강제력이 없지만 구단은 민사계약을 언제든지 파기할 수 있기 때문에 프로게이머는 이에 따를 수밖에 없다.



스타크래프트는 개인시합임에도 불구하고 프로게이머는 구단에 소속되지 않으면 리그 예선에 참가하는 것조차 금지된다. 구단이 선수에 대해서 절대적 우위를 가질 수밖에 없는 체제를 만들어 놓은 것이다. 만일 민사계약을 근로계약으로 대체하는 것이 힘든 일이라 한다면 프로게이머와 그 지망생들의 최소한의 생활과 미래를 대비할 권리를 보장하는 방법이 따로 고민되어야 할 것이다. '창작자' 대우도 못 받고 '노동자' 대우도 못 받는 청소년·청년들을 이렇게 광범위한 규모로 굴릴 수는 없다.



"향후 진로가 뭐냐고? 나도 가장 고민 되는 문제"



프로게이머에게 가장 민감한 것은 군대 문제다. 군대 문제를 고민하다 떨어져나가는 2군 게이머들이 많다. 유명 프로게이머들은 특별전형으로 대학에 입학하기도 한다. 임요환은 대학원까지 입학하며 게이머 생활을 지속하다 일종의 '상무 게임단'에 해당하는 공군 에이스 창단 후 공군 입대했다.



특별전형에 합격할 만큼 유명하지 않은 대부분의 선수는 한국 사이버대학에 입학하여 입대를 연기한다. "사실 (인터넷강의) 틀어놓고 연습을 하거든요. 시험 칠 때 잠시 찾아보고 시험치고, 인터넷으로 시험 치죠. 강의 자체를 열심히 듣는다거나 이러진 않아요." 팀에서는 공부할 시간을 보장해 주지 않는다. "하루에 몇 시간이라도 시간을 주면 자기계발하면서 미래를 대비할 수 있을 텐데……."



A는 이 문제에 대해 이미 많은 생각을 한 것으로 보였다. 향후 진로를 어떻게 예상하느냐고 물으니 자신도 그 부분이 가장 고민된다고 한다. 은퇴한 동료 선수들은 어떻게 되었을까? "(프로게이머 생활이) 경력이 쌓인다거나 그런 것도 아니기 때문에 어렵죠. 대부분이 코치로 가거나 방송 쪽으로 가요. 유학 간 사람도 있고 학교에 가서 공부하는 사람도 있고요. 나머지는 안 좋아요." 안 좋다는 게 무슨 말이냐고 물어보았다. "일을 못하고 있다는 거죠. 할 일이 없어요."



현행 스타리그 프로게이머들에게 남겨진 또 하나의 가능성은 올해 블리자드에서 출시하는 스타크래프트2 게이머에 도전해 보는 것이다. 하지만 블리자드는 스타1 때와는 달리 애초부터 e스포츠를 염두에 두고 스타2를 만들었다. 블리자드가 주관하는 베틀넷에 접속하지 않고서는 유저끼리 대전할 수조차 없다.(스타1의 경우 베틀넷 서버를 통하지 않고 컴퓨터끼리 네트워크망을 연결해 대전하는 일이 가능했다)



블리자드와 협회(KeSPA)는 스타2를 e스포츠화 하는 문제를 두고 저작권 협상을 벌였으나 결렬되었다. 현재 구단에서는 선수들에게 스타2를 하지 못하게 한다. "상식적으로 그걸 못하게 한다는 게 말이 되요? 그냥 게임인데." 눈이 동그라져서 홍원표 위원이 묻자 A는 "전 모르겠어요"라고 대답했다. 스타2는 지금 베타테스트 서비스 중이다.



"그런데 스타2 정식 출시되고 나서도 금지하면 좀 그럴 것 같아요. 예전에 스타1이 처음 나왔을 때처럼 상금 거는 대회가 생기면 그쪽으로 넘어갈 게이머가 있겠죠. 스타2는 스타1의 연장선에 있어요. 스타1 잘하던 이들이 스타2도 잘해요. 스타2는 베타 테스트지만 벌써 세계적으로 리그가 만들어지고 있거든요. 이미 (과거 스타1 게이머였다가) 은퇴한 선수들이 스타2리그에 참여 중인데 상위권이에요. 정식 출시되면 연봉 많이 받던 애들은 스타1에 남아 있겠지만, 안 그런 경우는 도전하고 싶을 거예요."



협회와 블리자드의 협상이 끝내 결렬되고 협회가 계속 구단 선수들을 통제한다면, 현행 e스포츠 체제를 떠나 새로운 도전을 하게 될 선수들이 나오게 될 지도 모른다.



승부조작 사태와 스타2 출시 이후의 e스포츠는?



승부조작 사건 같은 것이 터지면 주로 언론은 개개인의 도덕성을 질타한다. 물론 어린 나이부터 숙소에 틀어박혀 하루 10시간 넘게 게임에만 몰두한 청년들은 건강이나 가치관 형성의 면에서 문제가 생길 소지가 많다. 프로게이머 소양교육에 관해 물어보았다.



"1년에 상반기, 하반기 두 번의 소양교육이 있어요. 교육받아야 프로게이머의 자격이 유지가 되죠. 주로 프로게이머의 인성강화, 스포츠 교수를 초빙해서 얘기를 해요. 기본적으로 가져야 할 스포츠 정신에 대해 강의를 하죠." 호응이 있는지 물어보았다. "호응은 별로……게임과 스포츠가 다르기도 하고……."



군대에서 장병들이 정신교육을 받는 장면이 연상되었다. 협소한 환경에서 생활하고, 미래가 불확실하고, 노력에 걸맞은 대가를 받지 못하고 소모품 취급을 받기 일쑤인 이 청년들에게 1년에 두 번의 소양교육이 무슨 의미를 지니리라 생각하기 어렵다. 연봉이 높았든 낮았든 그들에게 '검은돈'의 유혹은 매력적이었는지도 모른다. 무엇보다 게임을 사랑하고 승부를 중요시했을 그들이 승부조작에 참여하게 되었다는 것은 너무나도 슬픈 일이었다. 그들에게 필요한 건 소양교육이 아니라 최소한의 권리였다. 홍원표 연구위원이 물었다.



홍원표: '88만원 세대'라는 말 알아요? 2군 프로게이머 최저 월급이 88만 원 정도라면 어떨까요?



프로게이머A: 88만원 받으면 다행이죠. 그 정도면 좋은 직업이지 않을까요? 같이 생활하는데 2억에서 0원까지 있는 거예요. 팀에 왔다 나갔다 하는 동생들 보면 용돈도 못 받으며 하는 애들도 많았고……'빡세고'……. 기업들이 돈을 그렇게 쓰려 하지 않아요. 창단 하고 몇 년 지나면 지원이 줄죠. 돈이 없으니 숙소에서 생활할 수밖에 없죠. 저희는 3명~8명이 한 방에서 자요. 독방은 없고.



홍원표: 여럿이서 한 방 쓰면 갑갑하지 않아요?



프로게이머A: 괜찮아요. 방에서 뭘 하는 게 아니라 잠만 자고 나오는 거니까요.



간담회가 정리되어 가고 있었다. 다들 한마디씩 소회를 나누었다.



노회찬: 가끔 케이블방송 채널에서 e스포츠 보면 화려하잖아요. 그리고 게이머가 많은 청소년들의 '로망'이죠. 그만큼 관심을 많이 가지고 있고. 그럼에도 불구하고 사각지대라는 거잖아요. 많은 사람의 관심이 집중된 화려한 조명의 무대 뒤에 숨겨진 비정상적인 환경이 있는 건데, 성공에 대한 욕망 때문에 그 과정에서 일어나는 일들이 묻히죠. 이렇게 뒷면이 허술하다니, 능력 있는 대기업들이 관여하면서도 말이에요. 프로야구 2군 선수 생각이 많이 났습니다. 자라나는 청소년들과 관련된 문제라면 그보다도 훨씬 심각한 건데…….



프로게이머A: 하고 싶은 사람이 너무 많아서…….



노회찬: 그러다 보니까 어차피 뭘 보장 안 해줘도 알아서 하고 대우가 나빠도 감수하니까 그런 거겠죠. 결과적으로는 많은 사람들이 부러워하고 하고 싶어 하는 것을 역이용하고 있다는 그런 느낌이 듭니다.



김정근: 팀 입장에선 연습생이 많아지면 통제하기가 쉬워요. 서로 경쟁하게 되니까 편하죠. 연습생에게 돈을 주는 것도 아니니까 많이 굴리면 굴릴수록 좋은 거죠. 협회에선 스스로 프로게이머 증가율이 문제라 하면서도 커리지 매치에서 뽑는 준프로 자격(드래프트를 통해 프로가 되기 위한 예비 자격. 준프로의 70%가 프로가 됨)의 숫자를 줄이지 않고 되레 늘리고 있습니다. 결국 수많은 아이들이 (스타리그의 스타를 꿈꾸지만 스타와는 상관없는 팀 프로리그 홍보를 위한) 대책 없는 경쟁의 현장에 뛰어들지요. 안타깝습니다.



프로게이머A: 사실 오랫동안 이런 문제가 알려져 있었지만 묵인되어 왔죠.



홍원표: 임요환 선수가 선수협 만들자는 얘기도 했잖아요?



프로게이머A: 그 얘기도 오래 전부터 나왔는데 선수가 힘이 너무 없어요. 리그가 앞으로 어떻게 될지도 전혀 모르겠어요. 선수가 자신을 위해 뭘 할 수 있을까? 그것도 잘 모르겠어요.



노회찬: 새로운 세계를 알게 되었어요. 이제 무대 뒤 풍경이 그려집니다. 세계적으로도 e스포츠가 가장 앞선 나라인데 현실이 이렇다는 건 부끄럽습니다. 앞으로 선수들을 위한 권고안이나 정책대안 등을 더욱 고민해 보도록 하겠습니다.



그들에게 정치란 무엇일까?



많은 사람들은 이렇게 말할 것이다. "게임하면서 돈 번다니 감지덕지지. 그게 무슨 노동이야? 그게 부조리하다 생각하면 그딴 거 하지마!" 사회와 '어른'들은 "네가 원해서 시작한 일이니 이런 정도는 감내하라"는 말을 자연스럽게 한다. 그렇게 따지면 모든 스포츠나 문화예술 종사자들은 노력의 대가를 받을 수가 없게 된다.(사실 그것이 대한민국의 현실이다)



문제는 문화영역에서의 취미가 산업화가 되었을 때 그 콘텐츠의 생산자를 인간적으로 배려하는 방식이라는 점을 아무도 말하지 않는다. 그 문제를 해결하기 위해 "그래서 더더욱 파이를 키워야 한다"고 말하기도 한다. 하지만 e스포츠계의 파이가 커질 동안 피라미드 아래쪽에서 고생하는 이들의 처우는 나아지지 않았고 '스타 프로게이머'들의 연봉만 높아졌다. 오히려 그들을 보고 이 판에 들어온 수많은 청소년들 때문에 황당한 환경에서 고생하는 이들의 숫자는 더욱 늘어났다. 이렇게 '어른'들은 청년들의 열정을 착취하는 중이다.



길지는 않았던 간담회가 끝난 후 우리는 함께 저녁식사를 하며 막걸리를 한잔씩 마셨다. 뒤풀이 자리에서 나와 김정근 씨는 '스덕 본능'을 발휘하여 A가 가장 빛났던 순간들과 현재의 e스포츠, 그리고 승부조작에 참여한 게이머들에 대한 인간적인 분노를 토로했다. A는 정치에 대해 전혀 모르지만 노무현에 대해서는 좋은 감정을 가지고 있다고 했다. 한명숙에 대해서는 최근의 검찰수사에 대해서만 알고 있고 유시민도 좋아한다고 했다. 노회찬에 대해 물어봤더니 누군지 알고는 있었고 나쁜 이미지는 아니었단다. 헤어질 때 A는 내가 아무 말도 하지 않았는데 '그래도 얼굴을 본 사람이니 만약 투표하러 갈 시간이 있으면 서울시장 후보 노회찬을 찍겠다'고 약속했다. 내색은 안 했지만 마음이 울컥했다. 문득 그들에게 정치가 무엇인지, 내가 정치에 관심을 가진다는 건 무슨 의미인지가 궁금해졌다. 집으로 돌아오며, 누구에게 투표를 하든 그도 6월 2일에 투표를 할 시간이 있었으면 좋겠다고 생각했다.



Source:







The world of e-sports was engulfed in a state of shock on the 16th. It was found that current progamers were involved in match fixing. A lot of the fans were dismayed to learn that even a starleague champion made profit from using illegal betting sites and fixing matches.People are criticizing the progamers involved for perverting the spirit of sports, but not that many people are pointing out why they made such decisions. Progamers are hailed by many fans, but behind the screen, there is a very competitive system. The problem only worsens by the fact that most people believe that "earning money through gaming isn't labor."We should not stop at criticizing the progamers that were involved, but also look into the "reality" behind their motives. This article is to show the lives and the labor conditions of progamers. Editor.I didn't know where to start. I was a veteran starleague fan, and a member of the progressive political party, but I didn't know how this would be taken by the progamers. The lives of progamers were a sensitive subject. The progamers and even fans might say "they're talking about something they don't even know about" if the progressive party raised the issue of rights of progamers.2010-5-15 Saturday night. It was the day before the official statement on match fixing. Would the interview have been harder if I tried after the statement? I was careful to tell them that their identity would be confidential. The Progressive Party Representative Noh (from here on: Noh), Political Researcher Hong (from here on: Hong), and E-Sports Columnist Kim (aka pain, from here on: Kim) attended the meeting.Mr. Han (the author, from here on: Han): Have you read "Mookhyang" (a martial art novel)?Progamer "A" : Yes."A" answered more willingly than I thought. Although we lived in completely different worlds, we were both young men from the same time period.Han: In the novel, the main character learns martial arts and develops along with other children even without a name. One by one, his peers start to disappear, and he develops further and rises to a higer place. I thought starleagues were kind of like that. Since you debuted, to today, what are your views on the lives of progamers, both your life and the lives of your peers that disappeared with your success?The first thing that comes up when talking about the life of a progamer is the conflict with parents. The most famous progamer, BoxeR , said that his parents did not know he played StarCraft. Back then "progamer" meant just a person looking to earn money from gaming, before games were broadcasted. On the other hand, the top player right now, Flash , persuaded his parents and became a progamer with parental support. However, this is a story of a progamer who rose in the era where earning over a hundred thousand dollars a year playing games were "role models"."A" also couldn't avoid the conflict. His parents did not allow him to become a progamer because the future is too uncertain, and "A" also understood his parents. "What kind of a parent would want their kid to lead a difficult life? The future is very dim when you become a progamer....." After a few months, his parents allowed him to pursue his dreams, and after passing the test, he joined a team.Nowadays, in order to get connections to be able to take tests for progaming teams, people spend a lot of time in clans. Once you hit 20, it becomes almost impossible to be tested to join a team. When asked about this, "A" answered "You have to be at least in your 10's. 20 is the oldest you can be."After he joined the team, the life with the team started. It was before when large sponsors funded each team. "Over ten people lived in one apartment. There was no room to eat together. There were about 10 computers in the living room, and there were a few bunk beds in the bedroom. If there were not enough beds, we slept on the floor...." It didn't happen often, but the teammates kept changing. Few left, and few joined. Some went to military service, gave up, or left for education. Of course there were a few that were kicked out for not being good enough. Still now, B team players come and go without ever being well known.The dorm became better and better. The sponsors began to look at e-sports. The large corporations took players from other teams, and others accepted a lot of practice partners to pick out new talents. I started to wonder how it was like living with a team.Han: Is the hierarchy strict? I think it must be since only men are living together."A": Nope. There are older and younger players, but it's not a strict hierarchy.Hong asked about the practice time. A daily cycle of a progamer is different from that of a normal person. They wake up around 10 and their day starts after eating breakfast, and it continues until late night. If you look at "Nal_rA's Oldboy" from OGN, the SPARKYZ team ate lunch at 4PM. I think it was to achieve the optimal condition when the leagues take place in the evening. The practice time, not counting time for food, was 11 hours and 30 minutes for A team members, and 13 hours and 30 mnutes for B team members. This was mandatory.Can you skip it? If you want to, you must have a reason. A progamer from some team wanted to watch a Beyonce concert and did not attend practice. That day happened to be a bad day for the team. He was punished and pushed down to B team, and ended up retiring trying to rise back up. "I think there were other reasons, but he said that was the biggest reason."There are barely any days off. There are matches in the weekends, so you have to practice even in the weekends. "A" 's team gets a day and a half off starting right when the last match of the week ends. MBCGame and OGN have very busy schedules. In a year, there is only one month period where no leagues go on. This became worse as time went on. The players are dissatisfied, but have no way of speaking out. Kim put it this way."KeSPA was formed by the corporations that sponsor the teams. Because it helps them advertise, they try to increase the number of matches. They fill up the whole year with matches. It's not like they have to pay more to have more matches."Hong pointed out the copyright issues of replays. If there was such a thing, KeSPA would not simply try to increase the number of matches. If a drama is shown again on a different channel, that channel must pay the original company a fee. If a musician plays a piece, that music becomes the musician's. The same should be applied to progamers and replays.This problem is very complicated. The VOD shown on TV is not simply the replay of a progamer, but it contains the explanation of the commentators and the views of the observer. When we watch these games, there are many parties involved. There are Blizzard, the gamers, and the broadcasting companies.Right now, the games are the properties of the broadcasting companies, and the rights of the players are handled by the sponsors that pay those gamers, through KeSPA. Blizzard is trying to claim their rights in the e-sports market with the release of StarCraft II. These powerful organizations silence the rights of the average progamer.If the sponsors paid the progamers as much as they took the rights away, it would be okay, but the progamers aren't even considered laborers. Noh concentrated on the labor-like state of progaming. He thinks that progamers should have a labor contract with their sponsors. Think about it for a moment. That would cause the problem with child labor. The law prevents children under 15 from being in labor. The famous progamers debuted when they were 15 or 16. Players like BaBy debuted at the age of 13. If we see them as laborers, it is illegal.The gamers between 15 and 17 years of age can be in labor, but the problem is time. The law prevents adolescents from being in labor at night. Noh said, "There was once this situation in Europe. There was a musical, and a child actor was needed. However, the girl from that country was too young to be put into labor at the time of the showing. The whole country went into debate. It's not a single person's problem, but a problem for the whole society. That's why there was so much debate."Also, the minimum wage must be met with a labor contract. The minimum wage for 2010 was 4110 wons per hour (app. $3.60). For 44 hours a week, the minimum wage is 928,860 won per month (app. $820). The progamers are required to practice around 60~75 hours a week, and over half of these hours are during weekends and late nights. The weekend and late night minimum wage is 1.5 times larger, so it would be 6165 (app. $5.40) won/hour.If we say the progamers practice at least 60 hours a week, and if only half of them are part of the 1.5x rate, the minimum amount they need to be paid for a week is 308,250 won (app. $270), for a month, 1,339,345 won (app. $1,180), and for a year, 16,072,155 won (app. $14,000). The minimum wage for a A-team player would be 16 million won, and for B-team player, it would be 20 million (app. $17,600). This shows how much these progamers are working.If we put these regulations on progaming, the number of progamers would decrease significantly, and some corporations will give up. The increase in pay of a progamer over time will also decrease. However, this will greatly increase the conditions of life of progamers.This is the reality. B-team players are given a dorm, but they don't get paid. They don't even sign a single thing, let alone a contract. Even if they leave, there are plenty to choose from. The bigger teams pay them 500 thousand wons a month.What if you're one of the players that play in proleague? They sign a contract. It's not a labor contract, but a civil contract. Even then they get paid 10 million won a year on average and usually doesn't pass 20 million. A few "star" gamers earn over 200 million a year. I'm sure there are a few progamers who get paid between those two numbers, but we won't know exactly how much that is. The pay is not released to the public. Even "A" doesn't know how much his teammates get paid.Hong asked if the practice hours are mentioned in the civil contract. "A" said no. Hong said if they're going to make certain hours of practice mandatory, it should be a labor contract. Although the hours are not listed in the contract, a civil contract can be nullified by the sponsors at any time, so the players must obey the hours.Even though StarCraft is an individual sport, a progamer can't participate in even the preliminaries without being in a progaming team. The system is set up so that the sponsors have ultimate control over the progamers. If it's too much to change the contracts to labor contracts, there should be at least a guarantee of the players' rights and futures. The gamers get treated neither as the "creator" of game content nor the "laborers" for the gaming teams.The most sensitive problem for progamers is the mandatory military service. There are a lot of B-team gamers that worry about military service and quit. The famous progamers attend universities to delay the time. Boxer even went to a graduate school before joining the Air Force, forming the Air Force ACE team.The gamers that are less famous apply for the Korean Cyber University to delay going into military service. "We really just leave the lesson on and practice. We only pay attention shortly before exams, and we take the test online. We don't listen carefully to the lecture." They don't have the time to learn. "If they gave us a few hours a day, I think I can prepare for my future...""A" seemed to have thought about this problem long enough already. He said he was worried about his own future when asked. What happened to his retired peers? "It's not like your experience as a progamer help. Most go into coaching or show programs. Some go abroad to study, and others attend classes at a school. The rest don't do well." I asked what "not doing well" meant. "They don't have a job. There's nothing they can do."Another opportunity for the progamers is to try to be a progamer for StarCraft II. However, Blizzard made StarCraft II with e-sports in mind, unlike StarCraft. You can't even play against each other without connecting to Battle.net. (In StarCraft it was possible through LAN).KeSPA negotiated with Blizzard on the topic of StarCraft II as an e-sport, but it didn't go well. They don't allow the progamers to play StarCraft II. Hong asked, "Does it make sense for them to be able to stop us from playing? It's just a game." "A" answered, "I don't know." StarCraft II is currently in beta testing phase."I think I'll have a problem with it if they don't let us play after the official release. Like when StarCraft was first released, there will be few of us who change to that game if there are prize tournaments. StarCraft II is on the same line as StarCraft. Those who are good in StarCraft also do well in StarCraft II. It's only the beta but there are worldwide tournaments. The retired progamers already participate in StarCraft II tournaments, and are doing well. When it is officially released, those who are not getting paid will be tempted to try StarCraft II competitively.There may be players that leave the current system of e-sports to try something new if KeSPA fails to negotiate with Blizzard.When something like match fixing happens, the media criticizes individual integrity. Of course being forced to practice over 10 hours a day at a young age can cause problems. I asked about the progamer knowledge training."There are two in one year. You need to attend to keep your license. They talk about improving the tenacity of being a progamer, about the spirit of sports that we should have." I asked if players enjoy these lectures. "Not really... Games and sports are different..."I thought of the soldiers being mentally trained in the military. The poor environment, the unclear future, the bad pay, and being treated like property has a far greater detrimental effect than two days of lecture can fix. The lure of "black money" must have been tempting no matter how much they were getting paid. It was even more heartbreaking that these players, who always put the game and the competition at the center, would get involved in match fixing. What they needed was not a lecture, but the basic human rights. Hong asked this.Hong: Do you know the term "880 thousand won era"? What do you think it would be like if the minimum wage for the B-team players was 880 thousand wons (app $770) per month?"A": That would be good. If you earn that much, wouldn't it be a decent job? We live together yet some of us get paid no money while other get paid 200 million wons. There were a lot of players that didn't even receive spending money.... The sponsors try to spend as least money as possible. After a few years, the money given by the sponsors decrease. Since we don't have the money, we're forced to live together. Between 3~8 people use each room.Hong: Isn't it bothersome to share a room with so many people?"A": It's fine, since we don't do anything but sleep in those rooms.Our discussion was nearing its end. Everyone each made a comment.Noh: E-sports through the TV is extravagant. A lot of teenagers dream of becoming progamers. Although e-sports has the nation's attention, the living conditions of a progamer is bad. There is a "dark side" of progaming that people don't see even though so many large corporations are involved. It reminded me of the B-team pro baseball players. This is a big problem since young men are involved..."A": There are too many people wanted to be progamers....Noh: That's why it's like this. They're using the fact that people all want to become progamers against the progamers themselves.Kim: For the teams, it becomes easier to restrain the players if there are more practice partners. It's easy because they all compete with each other. Since they don't even pay the practice partners, the more the better. KeSPA themselves say that the rise of the number of progamers is the problem, but they're not decreasing the number of semi pro licenses given through Courage. In the end, the kids jump into a hopeless field of competition. This is shameful."A": This problem was known for a long time, but was ignored.Hong: Didn't Boxer say something about a progamers' union?"A": That talk has been going on for a long time too but the players have too little strength. I don't even know how the leagues will turn out in the future. What can a player do for himself? I don't even know.Noh: I learned about a new world today. I can now see it from behind the scenes. Our nation at the front of the world of e-sports and I'm embarrassed about the truth. In the future, I'll be sure to think about the rights of progamers.Many people would say this. "It's so awesome to earn money playing games. What about that is labor? If you think it's that bad, just don't do it!" The society and the "adults" say "You started it because you wanted to do it. You should be able to endure it" naturally. If you think about it that way, no person in the field of sports or arts would be able to earn as much as they work. (Sadly, this is the truth in Korea)The problem is that when a hobby becomes a market, nobody talks about the rights of the people that produce the content. Some say, to solve this problem, they need to "make it bigger." However, as e-sports grew, the ones suffering at the bottom of the pyramid continued to suffer, and only the "star" progamers' pays increased. It actually had the opposite effect as kids drawn to the scene by these stars found themselves at the bottom of the pyramid, unable to climb. The "adults" are making profits out of the children's passion.After the long discussion ended, we had dinner together and had a drink. Kim and I talked about "A" 's bright moments and expressed our personal thoughts on the progamers involved in the match fixing incident. "A" doesn't know politics, but he said he has positive feeling towards former president Roh. When asked about Noh, he responded that he knew who he was and didn't have a negative image of him. I didn't say anything about it to "A", but as he was leaving he told me that he would vote for Noh since he at least knows his face. I didn't show it but my heart sank. I wondered what politics, that I'm interested in politics, means to them. As I returned home, I thought to myself that no matter who he votes for, I hope "A" has time to come out and vote on June 2nd.Source: http://www.pressian.com/article/article.asp?article_num=10100518102804&Section=08&page=1 On May 20 2010 22:50 LanguageofObscenity wrote:

Hi everyone! I've got some messages fron Yoon-hyung Han, who's the author of the article. He asked me to translate his words since he can't really speak English. LOL. He wanted me to let you guys know some basic stuff about South-Korean media, E-sports scene, and ultimately himself.



First of all, Pressian is a web-based daily newspaper which is pretty big compared to other leftist internet journals in South Korea. (probably the biggest among them i reckon?) . Fomos is much credited in the Starcraft fandom, but in fact Pressian is a much bigger journal in the web as a general media source. BUT, because these so-called 'progressive' or 'leftist' journals in South Korea weren't really dealing with/ aware of the problems in E-sports scene, Han, who is a member of the New Progressive Party (I know it's a ridiculous name but such party does actually exist), decided to write an article about it and published it on Pressian. After the release of the article, Pressian receievd a number of phone calls from unanimous readers and they protested saying that the E-sports scene doesn't work like that anymore, but we are assuming that these people are actually those who work in the field. (And of course, they are afraid that controversies regarding players' working environment become publicised)



Becuase most South Koreans are business-inclined, their reaction to this kind of problems is usually this: "But if corporations withdraw, isn't that a greater difficulty?". So corporations do not really have any reluctance in exploiting workers, and they treat the players in pretty much the same manner.



Han and his friends see that the fandom as a whole should take some sort of actions after the release of SCII. (read the article thoroughly again please if u r puzzled why choose not to take actions immediately)



And if such action does really take place, Han says that he would really appreciate it if Team Liquid guyz can do something like a petition then (regardless of the form), coz many Koreans do really care about what foreigners say. lol

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