MONEY FROM WEBSITE

(12-18) 04:00 PDT Seoul -- Choi Yeon-sung avoids going out most days, and when he's on the street, he puts his head down -- to dodge the whispers, the stares and the pleas for autographs.

[Podcast: Video gamers gain fame and fortune in South Korea. ]

Such are the hardships of a celebrity video game player in South Korea.

Choi has 90,000 members in his fan club. He pulls down $190,000 a year in salary and winnings combined, in a country where the average annual income is $16,291. At 23, the boyish-looking professional gamer has achieved a level of fame bestowed elsewhere on movie idols, soccer stars and Olympic champions.

Video game competitions draw hundreds of thousands of avid fans who watch on massive indoor screens, or on one of two game-only cable channels broadcasting 24 hours a day. An estimated 18 million South Koreans, more than one-third of the country's 48 million people, play video games online. That adds up to an $8.7 billion industry, with the government spending more than $100 million each year to promote, research and develop the market.

The pinnacle for professionals like Choi is the annual World Cyber Games, which was founded in South Korea in 2000. And this year Choi won a gold medal in the game he plays almost exclusively -- StarCraft, developed by Blizzard Entertainment of Irvine.

The games, held in Monza, Italy, in October, saw 700 competitors from 70 countries, competing for $462,000 in cash and prizes. South Korea won the Grand Champion title followed by teams from Russia and Germany, with the U.S. tied for fourth.

What accounts for the success of pros like Choi?

"In Korea, many people study so much, spending 10 to 12 hours each day studying for the college entrance examination," said Kim Hyun Seok, chief executive of International Cyber Marketing in Seoul, which produces the World Cyber Games. "That's the kind of attitude they're accustomed to. So they can practice games for 12 hours a day."

South Korea's broadband

The players also represent a country whose premier position in the gaming world is due in large part to the advances it has made in technology. South Korea has the world's highest rate of broadband penetration -- a must for online video gamers -- with over 80 percent of households hooked up to high-speed connections, compared to over 40 percent in the United States, according to Point Topic, a technology research firm in the United Kingdom.

It is also home to cutting-edge global companies like Samsung Electronics -- maker of mobile phones, digital televisions and other electronic devices -- and a prime sponsor of professional video game competitions here. Backed by sponsors like Samsung, SK Telecom, and shipbuilders STX Co., the pros specialize in a variety of games, notably FIFA Soccer, published by Electronic Arts in Redwood City, and WarCraft, also developed by Blizzard Entertainment.

But by far the most popular is StarCraft an intergalactic war game that has millions of fans in South Korea, including Choi, who started playing the game seven years ago. In 2000, Choi was picked up by SK Telecom, which sponsors T1, one of 11 teams that make up a professional league that focuses on StarCraft.

Choi lives alone in his condo in Seoul, but most of the players in the 17-member T1 team stay together year-round in the SK Telecom training camp, in two adjacent apartments in a prosperous neighborhood south of the Han River.

A silver team van parked outside the camp on a bright, chilly autumn day was covered with phone numbers and scrawled statements such as "Lim Yo-Hwan, I'm yours, I belong to you," and "Marry me, Lim Yo-Hwan." Lim, a teammate of Choi's and a legend among gamers, recently entered the military, a heartbreaking development for hundreds of thousands of young South Korean women.

The team's regimen

Inside the camp, a house mother does all the laundry and cooking for players -- all male -- ranging from teens to early 20s. They sleep two or three to a room, surrounded by trophies, stuffed animals and team photos.

The players start practicing after lunch of homey Korean dishes such as fried tofu. They break for dinner and a trip to the gym to lift weights and do aerobic exercise before heading back to the training camp, where they practice until 2 a.m.

The regimen is rigorous because there are up to three competitions per week, in individual and team events. Many of the players are enrolled in a cyber-university where they major in game-planning and other high-tech subjects. It also postpones mandatory military service.

In the team practice area, rows of computers line the walls and spill into the kitchen of an apartment. The players, clad in socks, sweats and track pants and T-shirts, wear headphones and stare at the screens, the fingers of their left hands flying in a blur while their right hands jerk the mouse back and forth. They play against themselves, and others online. Mugs of tea and bottles of vitamins sit beside the terminals.

"In the beginning, while playing the game, I am kind of sober," said Choi, who is tall and muscled. "By the middle of the game, I almost black out. There's nothing in my brain. My fingers move faster than my brain orders."

But along with such 21st-century skills, players must maintain old-fashioned decorum. They cannot swear or get angry, or get drunk, whether they are competing or not, said Je Hun-ho, director of the Korea e-Sports Association, founded in 2003, which certifies each pro gamer.

"We make them gentleman," Je said.

T1's head coach, Ju Hoon, 33, handsome with a mischievous smile and a following of his own, said the team's training includes learning to express themselves when they win and to deal with fans.

Many players are shy and show little emotion, win or lose, he said. But when one player crowed too much, such outward expressions were banned as "inconsiderate." It puzzled fans because they could not tell who won.

"Now they train [to be] happy when they win a game," said Ju, a graduate of Seoul National University, one of the country's most prestigious schools.

As popular as video gaming has become, it's still not what most parents dream of for their children.

Ju said he kept his profession a secret from his parents until they saw him coaching on television.

"I could not tell my parents they spent their money for this," he said, with a laugh. "It was so unexpected to find their son doing this. But now they're supporting me."

'It's OK now'

Likewise, SK Telecom teammate Park Yong Wook, 23, hid his talents from his parents. Without telling them, he moved to Seoul from Busan, South Korea's largest port city -- for a shot at going pro.

"Later, when I got older, and I became better, I wanted to show myself. It's OK now," said Park, whose spiky hair and glowing skin have won him a bevy of female fans who ply him with cuddly toys and other gifts. "I personally don't think I'm that sexy or good-looking. I try not to focus on that. I try to give them my ability. That is more important."

An hour before a recent StarCraft match, fans began gathering at the MBC Hero Studio. Built specifically to televise competitions, it is located deep within an enormous underground shopping mall in Seoul, called COEX. Many fans were teenagers or in their 20s, evenly split between men and women, clad in jeans and sweaters and stylish miniskirts and knee-high boots.

About 100 fans packed the benches, waving white banners emblazoned with a cartoon of Park -- depicting him with his glasses, headphones, wings, and a pointed tail, and the cryptic words "Kingdom Devil Toss Run." ("Kingdom" is Park's online handle. "Devil Toss" is his nickname, because fans say his style is like that of the devil against his enemies.)

Park and his opponent, both wearing sneakers and color-coordinated uniforms, faced off behind a glass wall while the audience followed the action on overhead screens, along with a non-stop analysis by three commentators sporting skinny ties.

"He should have attacked! This is not a time to defend," shouted one.

Adoring fans

Although gaming is primarily a male pursuit, more women have become spectators.

Im Su Jeong, 27, was introduced to video games by her brother. Now she plays. And she adores another professional, Jeon Sang Wook, because "he's very cute, handsome, and he's very good at it. He likes the attack. Now he has become more defensive, but still has more strategy."

Kim Bo Ram, 16, attends live matches twice a week, to learn strategy and meet with other enthusiasts. She wants to be a pro gamer, in a sport that so far has few female professionals.

"I am very proud Korea has professional players," said Kim, who wore glasses and a baggy Mickey Mouse sweatshirt. "This is an opportunity to introduce Korea to the world. I hope it can be even bigger in the future."

Many players hone their skills in the country's more than 22,000 PC-bangs, or computer lounges outfitted with comfy chairs and fast Internet connections that cost about $1 per hour.

On a Friday night, the smoky basement-level lounge at Interizone, one of Seoul's largest PC-bangs with 98 computers, was filled with the tinny din of cheers, music and other sound effects from strategy, poker and shooting games.

Lee Young Jin, 21, spent the last six months living here, practicing Counter-Strike, a video shooting game. He plays on a team of five and hopes to land sponsorship soon.

He naps at the PC-bang, going home only to shower and change his clothes. He doesn't have much time for his friends anymore, said Lee, pale, his long hair tied into a ponytail. The fashion design major is taking a break from college, to the distress of his parents.

"I have big expectations, because being pro gamer is like being a movie star," Lee said. "I can be on television and earn a lot of money and earn popularity and have a scheduled life. Better than this."

With his $170,000 salary, plus winnings, Choi has bought a new house for his parents and his own apartment in an upscale, modern neighborhood in Seoul, and is putting his older brother through law school.

But it's not all fun and games.

"The happiest thing is I earn money," Choi said. "But I don't feel freedom. I am the person that everyone recognizes."

BAY AREA / Firms benefit from growth of gaming

Bay Area tech companies are getting into the game in South Korea.

Developers, chipmakers and other high-tech businesses here and across the United States are sponsoring gaming competitions and players, launching new products and forming partnerships with South Korean companies.

"Korea is very wired, the population is tech savvy and people are very passionate about gaming," said Tammy Schachter, a spokeswoman for Electronic Arts Inc. in Redwood City, the world's biggest video game publisher.

In the United States and Europe, most consumers buy games to play at home on computers or video consoles, like Xbox or PlayStation.

In South Korea, most gamers play for free online, but will pay for extras, a model U.S. game developers are looking at.

In June, Electronic Arts' FIFA online soccer game in South Korea drew 100,000 concurrent players. Users pay for energy drinks, better coaches and other content in the game, spending $7.31 on average in October.

"Korea is a very important market to us," said Paul Sams, chief operating officer for Blizzard Entertainment of Irvine, which developed the massively popular StarCraft video game. "Korea has been at the forefront of this relatively new form of sport and entertainment."

Sams also said that "competitive gaming continues to expand in other parts of Asia and the rest of the world."

South Korea's games craze has also attracted chipmakers AMD Inc. in Sunnyvale and Intel Corp. in Santa Clara, and tech industry giant Microsoft Corp., all sponsors of the country's World Cyber Games.

"We're trying to win the hearts of gamers as they learn about gaming in Internet cafes, so when they decide to purchase their own computers, they'll have a preference for Intel's technology," said Randy Stude, director of Intel's worldwide gaming program office, formed in August.

In addition to South Korea, Intel also sponsors professional video game teams in the United States, and Europe, he said.

Nvidia Corp., the Santa Clara maker of computer graphic chips, also sponsors pro-video game players.

"To be prominent in Korea is great for us strategically," Nvidia spokeswoman Sheryl Huang said. "This is a snapshot of what it can be in the future, where competitive sports can go. We see where it's going with young adult males. It's a highly coveted demographic."

In the United States, professional gaming is growing, but is far from the level of popularity it enjoys in South Korea. Some players get money from team sponsors, such as Santa Clara-based Nvidia Corp., and from winnings. But most keep a day job.

Major League Gaming, a video game console-based league, has approximately 150 players, said spokeswoman Amy Janzen. Only the "very top" -- a small handful of players -- make the kind of money the better-known Korean gamers earn.

Janzen said the league aims to boost the take of players, "to give an aspirational focus. It's an important part of growing the sport and taking it to the mainstream."

The Cyberathlete Professional League, which focuses on PC-based games, has a roster of more than 500 pro gamers, said Angel Munoz, founder and president -- but they've yet to be treated like rock stars.

"The U.S. will get there, but it will be years until we get that kind of mass appeal," Munoz said. "It's like the early stages of baseball, when there was public interest but not enough money to sustain the sport. Players had to supplement their income."

In October, Wesley Cwiklo won a gold at the World Cyber Games in the Project Gotham Racing 3 event, the sole medal winner for the United States at this year's competition.

South Korea's computer lounges, known as PC-bangs, are places where addicts feed their demons.

More than a million South Koreans were estimated to be addicted to video games in 2005, according to government figures.

Some died from excess, such as the 28-year man who suffered heart failure brought on by dehydration and exhaustion, after playing for 50 hours straight.

And there was the businessman in his late 20s who disappeared into a PC-bang for three months, tracked down only after he withdrew money from his father's account, said Kim Mi-Hwa, a counselor at the government's Center for Internet Addiction Prevention and Counseling.

"The problem is not the Internet, but something basic in life is wrong," said Kim, whose clients typically visit her once a week for six months. "Even after the treatment, they need to use the Internet. It's necessary in Korea. But they have to learn how to manage their time and how to control themselves."

The percentage of addicts has declined from 3.3 to 2.4 percent of the population, from 2004 to 2005, after a government public education campaign and the expansion of its treatment centers, which are administered under the government's Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity & Promotion.

The professional pursuit of computer gaming is an international phenomenon. To watch a video clip of competitor Choi Yeon-sung (handle: 'Ilove OOv'), go to: tinyurl.com/yz2b9r