I mean are they that intellectually superior to us Americans that they just roflstomp at tournaments? I don't get it. Is it because we don't take it as seriously over here? I'm just really confused, I'm trying to think of other sports (small lol at calling SC2 a sport but I digress) where one country clearly dominates a sport (individually speaking) over all the other countries and I can't think of one that's widely out of proportion like it is for SC2 and Koreans

Crazy practice regimes in Brood War probably helped.

Wow, this went racist really fast. The more accurate question would be "why do Koreans spend as much time as they do playing Starcraft?" The answer to that is mainly because the US government provides strong military support to South Korea to protect them from North Korea. This allows South Korea to spend what would be military money on their own infrastructure, leading to wider Internet access, among other things. This probably explains why Starcraft became so popular in South Korea, which, in turn, explains why Starcraft II is just as popular.

Probably something to do with how StarCraft and many other 90s multiplayer focused PC games of that era were ushered into popularity through the rise of internet cafes in Asia and such. That's my guess though.
 
Edit: Also, lots of practice.

HRS AND HRS AND HRS OF PRACTICE

PPl. have predilections due to culture, values, study habits etc. I think SC2 favours alot of memorization and rote learning, and perhaps(i'm just making a guess) these do factor in. Add a modern inclination to innovate and change up, and maybe over the averages things be rocking for Koreans. But I really do not know.

The answer to that is mainly because the US government provides strong military support to South Korea to protect them from North Korea. This allows South Korea to spend what would be military money on their own infrastructure, leading to wider Internet access, among other things.

Racist.

Because, genetically, they have an inherent, tactical military expertise.

That's what happens when you squint at the screen while playing.
 
 
 
... Yeah I just went there motherfuckers.  COME AT ME

That's what happens when you squint at the screen while playing.
 
 
 
... Yeah I just went there motherfuckers.  COME AT ME

That's what happens when you squint at the screen while playing.    ... Yeah I just went there motherfuckers.  COME AT ME

@Video_Game_King said:

Wow, this went racist really fast. The more accurate question would be "why do Koreans spend as much time as they do playing Starcraft?" The answer to that is mainly because the US government provides strong military support to South Korea to protect them from North Korea. This allows South Korea to spend what would be military money on their own infrastructure, leading to wider Internet access, among other things. This probably explains why Starcraft became so popular in South Korea, which, in turn, explains why Starcraft II is just as popular.

Infrastructure reasons coupled with a huge PC-bang culture lit the first SC like a puddle of gasoline. As a result people took it very seriously for competition and that's how we get 12 hour a day practice regiments for 6 days a week. You play a game that much with a high stakes competitive environment like that, you'll get pretty good.

Wow, this went racist really fast. The more accurate question would be "why do Koreans spend as much time as they do playing Starcraft?" The answer to that is mainly because the US government provides strong military support to South Korea to protect them from North Korea. This allows South Korea to spend what would be military money on their own infrastructure, leading to wider Internet access, among other things. This probably explains why Starcraft became so popular in South Korea, which, in turn, explains why Starcraft II is just as popular.

No, I think it's because they can actually get paid to play it fairly easily (at least on the outside it looks like that) as opposed to other countries where making money gaming is not quite so easy.

Only my perception from the outside, though. Even when I was skipping school to play fighting games for money (bets) at the arcade I never dreamed I'd be able to make a living off it.

Ignore the typical retarded trolls of the giantbomb forum.
 
Koreans follow extreme practice regimes with very little pay. In the brood war days they essentially had to earn the food they ate through tournament earnings and sponsors, nowadays alittle less stricter for the GSL pros, but still a really tough lifestyle. They play the game about 8-10 hours a day from what I understand and this includes practice matches with teammates and laddering on the BNET server. There is not a precise answer why they are so much better than foreigners but alot say its due to how hard they work towards a goal. The chinese also prove to be extremely good at sc2, although that scene has not fully developed yet since they only recently received the game over there. Some chinese players have already taken out the likes of Idra and Boxer just as a few examples.

Starcraft is just way more popular there, and the more people there are playing, the better the best players are going to be. It's a fact, jack. 

@endless_void: There's no reason to go around calling people retards. I've been around a lot of the world, but I cant come close to saying I know everything about everywhere. If you know something someone doesn't state what you know and leave it that. No need to insult peoples intelligence as if you're somehow superior. It's unnecessary and downplays your otherwise legitimate point.

They just practice much harder than the average non-Korean progamer. It is as simple as that.

@endless_void: There's no reason to go around calling people retards. I've been around a lot of the world, but I cant come close to saying I know everything about everywhere. If you know something someone doesn't state what you know and leave it that. No need to insult peoples intelligence as if you're somehow superior. It's unnecessary and downplays your otherwise legitimate point.

i saw someone say once that it's just how they approach the game. in the example, they said that koreans are always trying to find more shortcuts and hammer out newer more efficient and effective builds and compositions, and everyone else is just trying to emulate what they've already seen koreans do. it's the difference between writing a guide, and following a guide. 
 
wish i could remember who it was.

@_jackbauer said:

@Video_Game_King said:

The answer to that is mainly because the US government provides strong military support to South Korea to protect them from North Korea. This allows South Korea to spend what would be military money on their own infrastructure, leading to wider Internet access, among other things.

Yup, that'd be good 'old fashioned Amerrcan ignorance.

How the hell is that American Ignorance?

This thread is going places.

Competition, time spent and practice.

I'd say the extremely centralized nature of South Korea has a lot to do with why they're so good at Starcraft. Seoul is one of the most population dense cities in the world, which means that everyone lives really close together. This allows teams of players to practice together at net cafes or even in pro gaming houses. In North America and to a lesser extent Europe, people are much more spread out, which means that they don't have as much contact with other Starcraft players, so they have to be self-motivated to practice, unlike in Korea where there's coaches and teammates to push you. Also, since they play more, and in close proximity to other players, they can get better much quicker as your teammates can see how you practice, what you practice, and how much you practice. They'll help you practice efficiently, eliminate your weaknesses and train harder than most non-Korean pro gamers.

I dunno, probably the same reason why Americans are good at football...  
  
its just popular there

Yeah well I can kick any Korean's ass at hockey so whatever

From what I understand, in Korea, they value video game players in a whole new light. The best ones are treated like the biggest celebrities or athletes here in America. So it's a different attitude towards games and gamers.

hahaha even the first post was racist...  this thread is funny. 

Perhaps because they consider StarCraft A SPORT.

the swedens rape the us at counterstrike well before counterstrike source and THE CGS fucked everything up. thanks valve

Apparently dog is a brain food.

Mass practice...heck, they even have schools in which you practice esport games.

I dunno, probably the same reason why Americans are good at football...

Is like why men are better than women in mathematics and physics, it´s genetic.

Koreans are better at SC II because it's very similar to StarCraft, which they're also better at. Now the reason because they're better is because due to the internet boom that took place in the country in the 90s internet cafes started popping out everywhere, and their owners needed to somehow attract people to them by choosing a game they would let you play - since SC was a good competitive game in that time, boom. You got yourself a winner.
 
Other than that it's pretty much what others said - extreme practice regimes.

It's because they're Korean.

South Koreans are fed with special tactics at an early age. This is why they are so good.

I mean are they that intellectually superior to us Americans that they just roflstomp at tournaments? I don't get it. Is it because we don't take it as seriously over here? I'm just really confused, I'm trying to think of other sports (small lol at calling SC2 a sport but I digress) where one country clearly dominates a sport (individually speaking) over all the other countries and I can't think of one that's widely out of proportion like it is for SC2 and Koreans

They are just genetically better than the rest of us. It's that simple.

The fact the South Korean government embraced SC:BW helps a lot in this. When BoxeR leaves for his military service and the government makes Air Force Ace just for him.. its big.

As stated in earlier posts, they practice 10+ hours a day, and this came from BW. If you go back and watch when Brad visited the oGs/TL house, all you saw them do was play. In house ranking tournaments, laddering on the korean server, and customs with the best players around. They have nothing to worry about, everything is handled for them, cleaning, cooking, bills and so on. Their only concern is one thing and its SC2. Combine all this with Special Tactics and you get what we see now. Will it change? I hope one day the skill gap isn't as big as it is now, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

They are just genetically better than the rest of us. It's that simple.

@endless_void said:

@sirdesmond said:

They are just genetically better than the rest of us. It's that simple.

I really hope this guy is being sarcastic.

Me too.

It's their whole mentality regarding the game, very few outside korea take it as seriously as the koreans do and put as much time into it, it's pretty simple, really. Also on top of that they have their pro houses, which is a pretty rare thing over "here".

Easy, they don't have sports. They have Starcraft, if America (or any nation) paid people to play starcraft instead of sports then Americans could be just as good. They aren't like genetically different then everyone else just instead of watch football, they watch starcraft, instead of playing football, they play starcraft. Simple answer.

Easy, they don't have sports. They have Starcraft, if America (or any nation) paid people to play starcraft instead of sports then Americans could be just as good. They aren't like genetically different then everyone else just instead of watch football, they watch starcraft, instead of playing football, they play starcraft. Simple answer.

Because it's pretty much their national pastime.