Honam University eSports Team 'Suribuong-i' Founded... Catalyst for Related Industry Revitalization

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwanwoo] Honam University established the country’s first e-sports university team, ‘Suribuongi’ (Eagle Owls), on the 26th and began nurturing specialized e-sports personnel.

Last year, Honam University was the only four-year university in Korea to open a Department of E-sports Industry. On this day at 11 a.m., the inauguration ceremony was held at the IT Square 3rd floor Integrated News Center, attended by Jo Gyu-jeong, Dean of the College of Culture, Arts and Physical Education, Jung Yeon-cheol, Department Head, and the team members, marking the start of a vigorous flight.

Honam University’s e-sports team ‘Suribuongi’ includes about 40 students from the Department of E-sports Industry participating in three categories: League of Legends (LoL), Battlegrounds, and Valorant, receiving focused guidance from professional faculty.

At the inauguration ceremony, Jung Yeon-cheol, Head of the Department of E-sports Industry at Honam University, stated, “Following the establishment of a permanent e-sports stadium in Gwangju last year and the opening of the e-sports department at Honam University, sufficient infrastructure has been built. The founding of Suribuongi will serve as a catalyst for revitalizing e-sports,” explaining the significance of the launch.

He added, “To firmly establish e-sports as a popular sport in daily life, we will nurture many amateur clubs and make multifaceted efforts to expand the gaming population, currently perceived as a young generation’s domain, to middle-aged and older adults.”

Student Heo Junha (2nd year, Department of E-sports), who attended the ceremony, said, “I started gaming as a hobby and became a proud founding member of Suribuongi. People around me now recognize gaming as a professional field, so I will continue to work hard with dreams of becoming a pro gamer or coach.”

Suribuongi, which will lead the creation of a virtuous ecosystem for the e-sports industry in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, will officially begin activities with representative games such as League of Legends (LoL) and Battlegrounds.

Starting next month with a Korea-China exchange match, they plan to sequentially hold international university exchange matches in Asia, high school championships, and corporate club competitions.

In addition to simply participating in tournaments, they plan to actively improve the image of gaming through educational cases using gamification and support for elderly gaming to prevent dementia.

Along with this, as related jobs newly spotlighted by the industrial growth of e-sports (such as e-sports management and broadcasting) emerge, they will operate e-sports camps for youth and collaborate with local game developers to build an e-sports game testing platform.

Meanwhile, despite the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the Department of E-sports Industry at Honam University has strengthened its internal capabilities by hosting various competitions such as the Gwangsan District Mayor’s Cup e-sports tournament, Honam Region U-League, and High School Championship.