Esports fans from around the world gather in Seoul for GES 2024

The Grand Peace Hall at Kyung Hee University in eastern Seoul was filled with excited fans wearing team jerseys and waving banners of the countries they were rooting for as they attended Game Esports Seoul (GES) 2024 on Sunday.

Fans receive autographs from PUBG Nations Cup players at the Grand Peace Hall at Kyung Hee University in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, during a fan-signing event at Game Esports Seoul 2024 on Saturday. [KRAFTON]

The Grand Peace Hall at Kyung Hee University in eastern Seoul was filled with excited fans wearing team jerseys and waving banners of the countries they were rooting for as they attended Game Esports Seoul (GES) 2024 on Sunday.

The three-day event, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by the Seoul Business Agency (SBA), was the first edition of GES, inviting esports fans to experience and watch games, including the PUBG Nations Cup (PNC). The event ran from Friday to Sunday at Kyung Hee University in Dongdaemun District.

“This is my second time attending an esports event in Korea,” Patryk Swierzy, a 25-year-old from Poland, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Swierzy, who works in the esports industry, traveled from Poland to Korea during his long vacation to attend the event.

“I’ve been here all weekend, and overall, I think the event was pretty well executed.”

The final day of GES 2024 began with the Seoul Cup championship matches in PUBG: Battlegrounds and League of Legends, held on an outdoor stage next to the Grand Peace Hall.

The Seoul Cup, which began in 2017 as an international pro league, transitioned into an amateur competition for students in 2022 to help expand the industry and nurture young talent, according to the city government.

“I think it’s a great initiative,” Swierzy said, explaining that he had watched the tournament earlier that day.

Fans stand in line to enter the Grand Peace Hall at Kyung Hee University in eastern Seoul on Saturday. [KRAFTON]

The Seoul Cup brought together middle and high school students from across the country, with two teams and 16 individual players competing in the finals on Sunday after progressing through online preliminary rounds. Some players even came from specialized high schools that focus on preparing students for careers in the esports industry.

Outside the Grand Peace Hall, around 20 gaming companies set up booths, where families, couples and friends moved from booth to booth to try different games.

“Our game is a rhythm-based title where the player’s character roams through a village, completing stages,” said a spokesperson from Bridgemusic, the developer of 28 Rhythm Performance Game, at the company’s booth. The company is one of several incubated by the SBA, receiving support for their facilities and content development.

“We plan to release early access in the first half of next year and officially launch the game after that,” the spokesperson added.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, right, looks around the booths set at Game Esports Seoul 2024 in eastern Seoul on Sunday. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

At the booths, small and mid-sized companies tested early versions of their games, gathering user feedback to improve the final products.

Among the companies present was Plithus, a game-testing platform.

“Indie game developers often lack channels to meet users,” said Plithus CEO Lim Chan-young. “On our platform, users who test games and complete surveys earn points, where these points can be exchanged for prizes."

Over the past year, around 300 games have been tested on the platform, Lim said.

Korean players hold the championship trophy at the Grand Peace Hall at Kyung Hee University in eastern Seoul after they win the PUBG Nations Cup on Sunday. [KRAFTON]

The three-day GES 2024 concluded on Sunday, with Korea winning this year's PNC.

Korea narrowly defeated the United States by just one point, marking its second consecutive victory. During the three-day match, 16 countries, each represented by four players, competed for the championship trophy.

“With esports being officially included as a medal event in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, gaming is now recognized as an intellectual sport that requires professional-level thinking, teamwork, quick decision-making and even physical stamina,” Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said during his congratulatory speech before the final match on Sunday.

The PUBG Nations Cup has been held annually since 2019. This year’s tournament was jointly hosted by the Seoul city government and game developer Krafton.

The mayor also noted that esports had become a typical hobby for 3.7 billion people worldwide as of 2022.

"The city views esports as a key area for future growth and will continue to actively host international esports competitions and various amateur tournaments in the future," he said.

Fans receive autographs from Norwegian players at Game Esports Seoul 2024 on Sunday. [CHO JUNG-WOO]

In addition to watching matches, GES 2024 offered conferences featuring game experts from academia and industry, as well as networking sessions. A DJ party themed around DJMAX, a popular rhythm game in Korea, was also held on Friday.

Students were given special opportunities to visit the backstage of the PNC 2024 venue and attend a career session to explore jobs with companies like Nexon and Electronic Arts.

“Esports is much bigger in Korea compared to Belgium, where I’m from,” said Emma Van Waesberghe, a senior exchange student at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, who attended the event.

“I love that people can actually turn gaming into their sport.”

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]