The Asian economic crisis changed the way the Korean government approached games. In part, Bangs -- PC gaming rooms -- grew in popularity among the droves of newly laid-off workers because during the crisis they provided a livable income. Some of the reasoning behind that, however, was that the government was providing subsidies to new Bang owners.

Between around 1997 and 2002, subsidies for broadband Internet access made owning a Bang one of the most financially attractive forms of self-employment.

The results are evident on every street in South Korea: the Bang exploded. Bangs, in turn, were an important contributor for leading Korea from the economic crisis in the late nineties.

While there's a certain awareness and respect for the cultural and economic importance of the gaming sector, that same culture creates other unique regulatory concerns.

As online gaming continues to grow, it has rekindled worries over gaming's potential negative effects.

In the early 2000s, the media began giving an immense amount of publicity to the deaths of young South Korean gamers.

Among other sweeping cultural changes, South Korea's Office of the Prime Minister and Policy agency set up four commissions to explore the phenomena of "Internet Addiction."

While the Korean government can now boast one of the most culturally informed and balanced measures for understanding the health effects of gaming, the K-scale, at present there's new pressure from parents and Korean experts to regulate minors.

Parents are actually calling on the government for the power to "abolish" online gaming accounts for their children under the age of 18. Huhh sees the generational gap between frustrated parents and players as just one side of the issue in South Korea.

"More profoundly," he says, "In Korea, you can find a place for online gaming anywhere."

Even savvy and involved parents can find it impossible to control their children's usage. In Seoul there's at least one PC room on every street -- oftentimes many more. Huhh says that right now, officials are considering different ways of limiting children's play.

Makers of the Korean arcade-style MMO game Dungeon & Fighter have actually imposed limits on how much monster killing, any single player can undertake in a single day.

When asked if the 100-minute-per-day limit hurt the game's image, Huhh remarked, "Ironically, this policy contributes to the popularity."

Other issues are not so well received.

China, while the biggest overseas market for the Korean industry, is a hotbed when it comes to IP issues. Some of the most popular Korean games, Lineage, Mu, Ragnarok, Kart Rider and Audition, are being hacked and set up illegally in China.

While piracy, royalty payments and private servers are hot issues between the two countries, the regulation of gold farming is taking unique turns.

What's interesting about the Korean take on gold farming isn't that some are for or against it, but that groups are lobbying the Korean government.

While in countries like China, the majority of the legislating and enforcement comes from the top, countries like Korea sport a sophisticated and policy-minded gamer public.

"In South Korea you have a more politically aware gamer than in the states," says Joshua Fairfield. "Gamers in the U.S. are gamers second. They're usually something else first... You don't hear about pro-gamer legislation."