Boxer being in the army was a major news all over the world. A progamer entering the army and still getting to play StarCraft. LATimes has a featured article on Lim Yo-Hwan.
Every now and then a major news magazine picks up the the South Korean progaming phenomenon. This time the Los Angeles Times has put StarCraft progaming in the spotlight, writing about the 27-year-old progamer Lim Yo-hwan, better known as Boxer.
"He is in the air force now. Conscripted. Snatched away from his calling and from the fans who revered him for leading their sport - no, their passion - to respectability. It was like Elvis getting out of the Army. The Emperor was back." The comparisons to American heroes does not stop there, the writer Bruce Wallace also mentions him as South Korea's Babe Ruth (picture) of gaming.
A PR opportunity they couldn't miss
Wallace continues to bring up general facts that we progaming junkies already know of, such as his previous dominance in the progaming scene, being in the Korean Air Force and that he wrote his biography Crazy As Me at age 25.
"The air force clearly knew it had a special conscript in Pvt. Lim Yo-hwan. Lim in uniform was a PR opportunity it couldn't miss. The air force formed its own electronic gaming team and asked him to lead it into battle against the enemy: e-sports clubs sponsored by South Korea's big TV, telecom and shipbuilding corporations."
Lim Byong-tae, Boxer's father, says that he gave his progamer son a hard time.
- I scolded him a lot. And I refused to buy him a computer. Of course I was disappointed. He was my only son, says Lim Byong-tae.
This and much more is brought in the well written article about the Terran Emperor. For the full article, enter the link provided below.
Links
LATimes.com - Gamer is royalty in S. Korea
TeamLiquid.net - Source
