South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

December 30, 2010

A 19 year old South Korean boy died after playing a game for more than 12 hours, according to a Daily News report (citing a Korean Times report). According to the report, a young man identified only by the surname "Moon" arrived at "PC Bang," an Internet cafe in the city of Ulsan, at around 2 a.m. on Dec. 27. He spent eight hours playing an "online action game" then went home to have a meal. Moon returned to PC Bang at 10:30 a.m. and resumed playing the game. At around 12:00 he collapsed and was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors were unable to save him.

Local officials are investigating just what happened to Moon. The Daily News report doesn't come right out and blame games but it hints at it with the subtitle "Excessive gaming does more than just kill social lives, apparently." The government has been cracking down on Internet Cafes that let school-aged children from playing past certain times, and a recent law made it illegal to build a gaming parlor within a 200-meter radius of a school.

Source: Daily News

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Comments

Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by steelbox on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 14:22.

This 200 meters restriction is also a law in Brazil. None game parlor can be setup within that range of a school. And i would back it up a law to prohibit minors from playing during school time. 15-16 year or less.

Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by Flamespeak on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 03:26.

Where is the 12 hour statement coming from?

He arrived at the place a 2 AM, according to the article, then took a break to get something to eat at 10 AM and returned to continue playing at 10:30 AM. Then he died at noon.

This means he played for 8 hours, took a break for lunch then passed on after playing for 1 and a half hours. That is 9 and half hours of gaming total WITH a break so it shouldn't even be considered a marathon.

Just saying, if an 8 hour straight session of looking at computer screen causes death, then office workers are screwed.

Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by Dante on Sat, 01/01/2011 - 17:29.

He lasted only 12 hours? What a whimp...

Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by ChuckLez on Fri, 12/31/2010 - 22:02.

Is this the pro starcraft player Moon?

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Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by Fadobo on Mon, 01/03/2011 - 05:34.

Isn't Moon better known for playing Warcraft III? (Even though he is pretty good in SCII recently).

But no, "Moon"/"Mun" is a rather common Korean surname. But the player Moon though, is called Jae-Ho Jang and is 25. The guy in this report is 19. I guess it would be a much bigger story if the pro-player "Moon" actually died...

Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by ZippyDSMlee on Fri, 12/31/2010 - 17:35.

Er..... ok... how well fed was the child and how was his health.... as a normal healthy kid can go a few days on lite sleep and nurshiment rather easiy....

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Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by edmoss87 on Fri, 12/31/2010 - 18:45.

He was 19; an adult and old enough to vote in South Korea, so he should have been able to take care of himself. In fact, the article states the he did. Since we don't know what the cause of death was, it may have been due to a medical condition that he was unaware of. A very tragic death, but nothing to do with gaming.

Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by edmoss87 on Fri, 12/31/2010 - 10:54.

Well, whatever the cause of death was, I think it's certain the gaming session wasn't it. Even if going without food or exercise for 12 hours could kill you (it couldn't), he took a break, presumably walked a short distance and ate.

Also, the times in the article only show that he played the game for 9 and a half hours, where they got the 12 hour figure remains a mystery.

Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by Sephariel on Fri, 12/31/2010 - 04:02.

Although this is a tragic indident, I have trouble thinking excessive gaming is the cause of death, as it seems rather low. Back when I was this guy age, about six years ago, I frequently had 12 hours gaming sessions a day alongside others, even seldomly going up to 16 hours (yes it was a big nolife time in my life) with no side effects whatsoever.

Mayhap this yougster had a medical condition.

Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by Aidinthel on Fri, 12/31/2010 - 02:16.

We really need to know a cause of death to draw any conclusions from this. Info on the kid's family life would also be helpful.

Re: South Korean Teen Dies after 12 Hour Gaming Marathon

Submitted by Kajex on Fri, 12/31/2010 - 01:00.

Well... at least they said "excessive" gaming, not just gaming in general.

Moderation- it's the only thing humanity needs more of.

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