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How South Korean gaming cafés made online gaming a social activity

South Korean PC bangs are gaming cafés where people play on networked computers side by side. Their late-1990s growth drew on arcade culture, changing businesses, and fast networks. Explore what a shared room offered that playing online at home did not.

5–7 min

Questions you could explore

  • What did the shared room provide that a home computer did not?
  • How did network access, pricing, and shared space contribute to the appeal of Korean PC bangs?

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