E-SPORTS[1] PLAYS a large role in the gaming ecosystem of South Korea. Elite Korean gamers such as Faker and Rogue have risen to worldwide acclaim, and professional gaming is now a highly desired career path, ranking eighth in an elementary-level dream job survey[2][3]. As a response to e-sport’s rising popularity, higher academia is venturing into e-sports education. Yonsei University announced its own program this semester, the College of Educational Sciences’ new course, “Understanding of E-Sports Team Business,” in partnership with professional e-sports organization Gen. G E-sports.

The landscape of e-sports education

   It has been a decade since universities in South Korea have begun introducing e-sports courses and majors. The most notable programs are Chung-Ang University’s Department of Sport Science, where gamers were included in their athletic roster. Upon making this change, “gaming” is now considered an individual sport during the admission process of Sport Science applicants. Another example is Hanshin University’s Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Convergence for E-sports which opened in late-2021. The graduate school is considered the country’s first advanced academic program solely intended for e-sports education. Lee Min-seok (Res. Prof., Dept. of Sports Indus. Stud.), who teaches Yonsei’s “Understanding of E-Sports Team Business” course and “Introduction to E-sports Industry” undergraduate tutorial (UT) seminar, explained why several Korean universities are growing an interest in e-sports. In an interview with The Yonsei Annals, he indicated the necessity of universities to quickly adapt to social change. It is habitual for universities to respond to e-sports, which has become “the most emerging field within sports and culture.”

   Noteworthy Yonsei University e-sports programs only began in 2021. The Department of Computer Science announced its first large-scale venture, the Yonsei Esports Lab (YES Lab), last spring semester. YES Lab was mainly created to research and engineer performance-boosting technologies for e-sports gamers. Shortly after, the College of Educational Sciences introduced a one-credit course entitled “E-Sports” in the fall semester of 2021. Its curriculum includes a selection of popular games: League of Legends, Starcraft II, Clash Royale, Heathstone, PES2018, and FIFA online 4. This semester, the college’s Sports Industry Studies major opened a full three-credit course with Gen. G. The organization is Korean-owned, based in several locations around the world. In 2020, it was globally ranked the sixth most valuable e-sports company[4] for its ownership and management of several top e-sport teams. They carry multiple world championships under their belt and have cemented themselves as central figures in the e-sports industry. They have begun branching out to other fields including education, and this produced its partnership course with Yonsei—“Understanding of E-Sports Team Business,” which focuses on the e-sports industry from a corporate perspective.

Course curriculum

   “Understanding of E-Sports Team Business” narrows down on both theoretical and practical information regarding the e-sports industry. Lectures range from the fundamentals of e-sports, such as its history and fan culture, to the logistics of e-sport businesses. After mentioning his past experience teaching the theoretical aspect of e-sports, Lee expressed how the Gen. G collaboration offers unique practical experiences for students. “Gen. G’s thorough network within the e-sports industry allows students to meet experts they otherwise would not have been able to,” he said. An exclusive field trip to the Gen. G headquarters in Seoul is another perk of the collaboration. One of these experts who also happens to work alongside Lee as the course’s other lecturer is Steve Lee—Senior Director of Strategy & New Business at Gen. G. His extensive experience in the industry supplies further depth to practical aspects of the course. When asked about the close collaboration between Gen. G. and Yonsei, Steve explained the lack of set academic curricula for e-sports due to its relative newness and added, “Yonsei can eventually create its own majors and courses, but currently, it still requires assistance from a more specialized source, and that’s where Gen. G comes in.”

   The course prioritizes timely topics and states in its lesson objectives that students will be able to acquire “the latest trends in the e-sports industry.” Students are kept up-to-date with weekly group presentations and class debates on both formal and informal topics. This diversity in topics is seen in their syllabus. For instance, week 12 asks students to discuss, “Can e-sports be incorporated into the education system?” while week 14’s discussion revolves around the strengths and weaknesses of one’s personal favorite e-sports league. Furthermore, the collaboration aids job searches for students interested in or planning to work in the e-sport business by providing opportunities to expand their portfolios through several projects. The importance of easing the paths of e-sports enthusiasts into the e-sports industry is further emphasized when Steve said, “we’d like to give our students ideas on what to study and pursue in the future by analyzing current trends in the e-sports industry.”

   With its promising curriculum and lecturers, the course has seen a significant turnout of applicants in its launch semester, ranging from second to fourth-year students. Twenty were accepted from a pool of 36 applicants—totaling a 55.56% acceptance rate. The average mileage points used during course registration was 16.44 with some students using up to 36 points to acquire the course. If the course successfully accomplishes all that it has promised, including expert guest lectures and a field trip, it may see an even larger turnout of interested students in subsequent semesters.

The future of e-sports for undergraduates

   The creation of e-sports programs like Yonsei’s “Understanding of E-Sports Team Business” marks a significant milestone for e-sports education; however, the path towards full acceptance within academia still lies far ahead. “E-sports is still not considered an academic field by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), but if e-sports education and the industry develop alongside each other, it may further cement its position in society,” said Lee. Legitimizing e-sports as an academic field can shift the progression of the e-sports industry by producing better professional gamers and more job opportunities. In its current state, the conditions for e-sports training are severely lacking. Steve further explained, “A lot of [e-sports] professionals rise from unfavorable conditions by practicing 10 to 15 hours a day, but many still do not find success in the business. If we nurture them from an academic angle, we can produce more players and improve the overall infrastructure of the e-sports industry.”

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   E-sports is a staple in Korean pop culture with its popularity amongst youths rising every day. As demand continues to grow, universities across the country will undoubtedly persist in developing more e-sports programs. Yonsei’s “Understanding of E-Sports Team Business” is just the beginning for the institute’s endeavors in e-sports, and we will hopefully find a general improvement for both the world of academia and the e-sports industry in the near future.

[1] E-sports: Electronic sports or competitive gaming

[2] Ministry of Education

[3] Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training

[4] Forbes