[Asian Games] LoL National Team Receiving Military Service Benefits “We were Born with the Times”

“I think I was born with the times.

Thank you."

For Korean elite athletes, winning an Olympic medal or winning a gold medal in the Asian Games is the highest honor.

In addition to the honor of having reached the highest level of the sport, male athletes also receive military service benefits. 스포츠토토

In particular, military service benefits for male athletes stop their athletic careers.

It is a very good ‘reward’ as it can continue without it.

Any young Korean who has to serve their country for more than a year envies athletes who receive military service benefits.

At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, e-sports became an official sport for the first time.

The six members of the Korean national team of League of Legends (LoL) showed off their powerful performance and proudly won the gold medal by winning all games without losing a set.

All men's gold medalists at the Asian Games receive military service benefits, but fans' views toward the LoL national team are a bit special.

Unlike swimming and fencing, where the gold medalists were present that day, LoL is a 'sport' enjoyed by the majority of Korean teenagers.

That's why many fans envy, think more highly of, and envy the LoL national team that has received military service benefits.

On the 30th, a press conference was held at the Korean Sports Council's Sports Diplomacy Lounge at the Grand New Century Hotel in Hangzhou, China, with the athletes who won gold medals the previous day.

At this event, a somewhat embarrassing request was made to the LoL national team, 'Please say something to the young people who are going to serve in the military.'

‘Faker’ Lee Sang-hyeok (T1) tried to pass the microphone to ‘Ruler’ Jae-hyuk Park (JD Gaming), who was sitting in the back left.

Jaehyuk Park waved his hand.

Lee Sang-hyuk turned to the right and looked at ‘Chovy’ Jeong Ji-hoon (Gen.G).

Jeong Ji-hoon picked up the microphone.

Jeong Ji-hoon said, "We have military service benefits, and I am thankful that we were born in the right times.

I respect those who go to the military.

I hope they have a good life."

There is also a view that views them as ‘desperate’.

The question is, does it make sense to receive military service benefits for a gold medal won through e-sports without breaking a sweat?

This ultimately touches on the fundamental question of ‘Is e-sports a sport?’ and furthermore, ‘What is a sport?’

Lee Sang-hyuk, a world-renowned ‘superstar’ representing e-sports, clearly expressed his thoughts on this.

He said, “The traditional concept of sports is to move your body and be active, but what is more important than that is that if the process of playing and preparing has a positive influence on many people, and if the sight of competing inspires you, I think that is the most important meaning of sports.”

“Winning a gold medal would have been a great help to many people,” he said.

He also emphasized that e-sports can go beyond sports and become a medium for generational communication.

Lee Sang-hyeok declared, “I can confidently say that LoL is the most popular sport in Korea,” and added, “Even if people from my parents’ generation know games, they often only know StarCraft.

“It may be the greatest joy in itself,” he said.