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On February 16 2017 13:23 Devolved wrote: Wow, who would of thought? Playing video games for a living as a young adult does not set you up for a high paying career later on in life. Never would have guessed.
A bland basic education into college into a drone like entry into the workforce isnt for everyone.
The fact that he even had a year to live modestly off of progaming is amazing. One year being able to do whatever you love and be paid modest means is accomplishing a dream really
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On February 16 2017 13:28 Devolved wrote:Show nested quote +On February 16 2017 04:52 Lucumo wrote:On February 15 2017 15:11 Waxangel wrote: According to the Joongang Ilbo, Ssamjang was teary eyed as he reminisced on those times, saying “the reality that I couldn’t make a living playing the game I was good at and liked was beating me up me inside.” He made 44k when he was good, so it did work. What worked? Making 44k a year (lower-middle class) at your peak and dropping to 2.6k a year (street bum) soon after is not exactly "working" in my book. 44k a year in Korea is definitely not lower-middle class even more so if you don't have a family to support.
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TLADT24917 Posts
Thanks for sharing. Glad to see things worked out in the end. Sounds like he had quite the rough ride.
On February 16 2017 14:00 Ilikestarcraft wrote:Show nested quote +On February 16 2017 13:28 Devolved wrote:On February 16 2017 04:52 Lucumo wrote:On February 15 2017 15:11 Waxangel wrote: According to the Joongang Ilbo, Ssamjang was teary eyed as he reminisced on those times, saying “the reality that I couldn’t make a living playing the game I was good at and liked was beating me up me inside.” He made 44k when he was good, so it did work. What worked? Making 44k a year (lower-middle class) at your peak and dropping to 2.6k a year (street bum) soon after is not exactly "working" in my book. 44k a year in Korea is definitely not lower-middle class even more so if you don't have a family to support. what would be considered middle class? Also, 44k a year back in 03 is pretty good imo.
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On February 16 2017 14:10 BigFan wrote:Thanks for sharing. Glad to see things worked out in the end. Sounds like he had quite the rough ride. Show nested quote +On February 16 2017 14:00 Ilikestarcraft wrote:On February 16 2017 13:28 Devolved wrote:On February 16 2017 04:52 Lucumo wrote:On February 15 2017 15:11 Waxangel wrote: According to the Joongang Ilbo, Ssamjang was teary eyed as he reminisced on those times, saying “the reality that I couldn’t make a living playing the game I was good at and liked was beating me up me inside.” He made 44k when he was good, so it did work. What worked? Making 44k a year (lower-middle class) at your peak and dropping to 2.6k a year (street bum) soon after is not exactly "working" in my book. 44k a year in Korea is definitely not lower-middle class even more so if you don't have a family to support. what would be considered middle class? Also, 44k a year back in 03 is pretty good imo. From people I know and from statistics I think most people in Korea make about 20-30k so I would consider that middle class.
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Oo wasn't Ssamjang one of the first successful progamers before BoxeR/Garimto era? I even remember that BoxeR used him as very first role model's for himself. I like this kind of articles, taking me so much back (even if I didn't know pro scene exist that time).
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very interesting. thank you for posting this. I believe some of this is true for almost all kinds of professional sports/athletics. a good program would (and does) feature sort of education parallel to the time as an active player. it exists in Germany for example for Olympic disciplines. however I can see, that a (classic) physical sport leaves generally more room for intelectual studies than an intellectual demanding but less physical profession like gaming. is there a way to find better balance? (Think of Polt...)
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51135 Posts
On February 16 2017 14:37 Ilikestarcraft wrote:Show nested quote +On February 16 2017 14:10 BigFan wrote:Thanks for sharing. Glad to see things worked out in the end. Sounds like he had quite the rough ride. On February 16 2017 14:00 Ilikestarcraft wrote:On February 16 2017 13:28 Devolved wrote:On February 16 2017 04:52 Lucumo wrote:On February 15 2017 15:11 Waxangel wrote: According to the Joongang Ilbo, Ssamjang was teary eyed as he reminisced on those times, saying “the reality that I couldn’t make a living playing the game I was good at and liked was beating me up me inside.” He made 44k when he was good, so it did work. What worked? Making 44k a year (lower-middle class) at your peak and dropping to 2.6k a year (street bum) soon after is not exactly "working" in my book. 44k a year in Korea is definitely not lower-middle class even more so if you don't have a family to support. what would be considered middle class? Also, 44k a year back in 03 is pretty good imo. From people I know and from statistics I think most people in Korea make about 20-30k so I would consider that middle class.
yeah especially since he didn't have a family to support or anything, that's really good for a korean person at that time
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It feels like time travel :D
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This really sucks, but it also pretty understandable. Hope the new age "progamers" have a bit more stability after retirement
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On February 17 2017 04:19 darthfoley wrote: This really sucks, but it also pretty understandable. Hope the new age "progamers" have a bit more stability after retirement I don't know if I remember this correctly or not, but didn't kespa made some statements on wanting to help with this?
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that was an incredibly sad story, and 44k is not a lot of money, at least not in the US during 2003-4. especially if your career advancement options afterward are zilch.
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Thanks for posting this. I remember watching his play fondly as a high schooler. Would peruse the VODS. This was a trip down memory lane.
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