In South Korea, there’s a show called Hello Counsellor. On it, the celebrity panel talks with folks dealing with issues, which are often unusual. A segment on a recent episode introduced a couple dealing with game addiction.
On the show, a 22-year-old woman (above) wanted to know how her husband could overcome his problems with gaming. As noted by tipster Sang and reported on various Korean sites, including Chosun.com, the husband, aged in his 30s, took out a loan for 80 million won ($7300) to buy virtual loot.
The man’s wife added that he’s already spent another 20 million won ($1800) on in-game items.
“I can make money by playing games,” said the husband, adding that he can get a rare item worth $10,000 and sell it for $8000 to $9000. Um, OK!
The husband games for five hours a day during weekdays and nineteen hours during the weekend. He often misses work so he can game, with one of his favourites being Webzen’s Mu: Blue.
The couple currently lives with the wife’s parents. The wife explained that she was unaware of his gaming addiction before they married.
In his defence, the husband said that other players knew how he felt.
As with anything that appears on television, your mileage might vary, but the Hello Counsellor studio audience voted the husband’s gaming addiction as the episode’s most serious problem.
And if the couple’s problem is real (and this isn’t simply playing for the cameras), it might be a good idea for them to move out of the in-laws’ house. The safety net isn’t doing the couple any favours.
‘게임 중독 남편’ 사연 공개, “뮤블루, 굴착소년쿵 등” 게임에 쓴 돈이 자그마치… [Chosun.com — Thanks Sang!]
게임 중독 남편, “게임 때문에 800만원 대출” [Jose Ilbo]
게임 중독 남편, ‘뮤블루-굴착소년 쿵’에 천만원 썼다 [SBS]
Comments
10 responses to “Stupid Man Took Out $7000 Loan For In-Game Items”
I probably spent like $100-$150 just so I could upgrade my player in NBA 2k13… I had a lot of regret after that
Their inflation sounds pretty bad.
It was pretty bad early in Korea’s modern history, and spiked again in 1998, but it has been pretty normal since. Through its 50 year history it has lost nine tenths of its value compared to the US dollar (to which it was pegged until the late 90s). It started at 125 Won to the $US, and now it is around 1200, which is the same level it was at in ~2000.
EDIT: I know exchange rates and inflation aren’t the same thing, but comparing to a currency that doesn’t have rampant inflation is a good baseline, so long as neither currency is considered over or undervalued. And the numbers are easier to find.
so he spent $9100 so he can possibly get a rare item to sell for $8-9000….
So on one hand he is stupid on the other hand he is a person suffering from a horrible mental disorder/addiction. You are a cheeky lad Mr Bashcraft!
Good to see you fully understand the issues of mental illness Mr Ashcraft. You could have titled this article in so many different ways making it a decent read, but you went with the predictable ill informed one instead.
Calling someone stupid because they have an addiction is really ignorant
So if 5 hours a day constitutes an addiction, consider me addicted and/or the bearer of a mental disorder because 5 a day seems like small time to me (and before the flame train arrives, I am merely comparing it to my own daily routine of an average 8 hours+, less now than when I still played WoW)
How can you play 8 hours a day? I’m not being judgemental, I’m really just curious. I only play for 2 hours MAX a day, anything longer and I just get bored, or feel guilty for not doing something productive 🙁
games like Civ where the time just vanishes or League of Legends with friends. I don’t bang it out every day but it is not too difficult a target to hit for me, having a completionist approach to games doesn’t help either.