How Korea Is Making eSports More Inclusive to All Kids

In South Korea, eSports is big—big enough for large tournaments and endorsements. But it's also big enough for the country's government to sponsor a tourney for disabled students.

Now in its ninth year, the Students With Disabilities Nationwide eSports Tournament recently wrapped up in Seoul, with 394 students competing in games such as Wii Sports Resort, Othello, and online titles like basketball game FreeStyle 2 and baseball game Magu Magu.

As website ThisIsGame and tipster Sang point out, students competed against fellow players with the same disability, whether those with hearing impairment, vision impairment, intellectual disability, or physical disability.


Parents didn't only watch, but in some games, they even paired up with their elementary school-age kids for certain games. Older disabled children paired with non-disabled students in the middle school division.

The event was sponsored by four different government bureaus, one university, and Korean online game company Netmarble. Pro-gamers from e-Sports team CJ Entus were also on hand to sign autographs.

What a wonderful idea for a tournament.

소리만으로 승부, ‘e스포츠 세상에서 장애란 없다’ [ThisIsGame]

