Communications and Media

Problem of online computer gaming addiction in South Korea
The problem of internet addiction in South Korea has been identified as on the biggest problem affecting the nation. With the South Korea being the most wired nation in the world, an estimated 90 percent of it residential house are supplied with cheap, high speed and reliable internet (Gluck, 2002).

Due to these prestigious provisions, online gaming has increasing become a professional sport among the youth population of the nation. According to available statistics, the social life of the young tasks of South Korea is dominated by the PC bang internet parlors (Gluck, 2002). Just to be appreciated here is the fact that these internet parlors are found in almost every street of the nation.

Although internet related addictions have been termed as a major social and economic threat in many countries, the problem in South Korea is acute. This has been closely associated with the fact that the country ideally has a universal internet access (Choi, Hwang,  Jang, 2008). Over the recent few years, it has become a common thing to hear of an internet user die of exhaustion after engaging in internet gaming for days with not even rest but also food (Huh,  Bowman, 2008). According to reports from the South Korean government, the problem of internet addiction is threatening the competitive future of the nation in the global economy. This is because most students are reportedly missing out of school just to engage in internet gaming (Cho, 2010).

This is no doubt a self destructive behavior, which at its very least is putting at stake the social life of the youths of the nations. Just to be appreciated is the fact that internet use and particularly internet gaming has been identified as a leading cause of psychological problems amongst members of the global community (Choi, Hwang,  Jang, 2008). This is simply because such games evidently increase aggression among the users while at the same time compromise their physical social lives (Choi, Hwang,  Jang, 2008). This can only amount to negated social life, a factor which leads to anti-social behaviors and all it entails. This is in fact the biggest problem facing the South Korean nation while dealing with its acute problem of internet addiction. Such are because a country with negated social structure finds little in its harmonious coexistence.

Internet addiction in South Korea has founded to be a real threat to the security of the youths (Cain, 2010). Prior to the governments declaration of internet addiction as a national disaster, at least six internet game related murders cases had been reported (Cain, 2010). This is explained by many psychological analysts as a direct result of the aggressiveness brought by video game addiction particular to the youths. Just to be understated is that, internet gaming is founded as a major professional sport among the youths of the republic of South Korea. This makes it a possible source of conflict of interest particularly given the fact that such activities are not governed by legally binding rules and regulations (Gluck, 2002).

According to a recent research finding, it is estimated that an approximated 30 percent of the Koreans aged below eighteen are at risk of sustaining internet addiction (Cho, 2010). This is because this group of youth is spending not less than two a day on internet, mainly chatting and playing games. In fact, the research findings clearly indicated that out of this population an estimated more than half a million are evidently showing signs of internet addiction (Cho, 2010). Such was characterized based on the observation that this group showed eminent inability to stop using computers as well as increased drive to engage more in using the internet for longer sessions. This was also evident from the fact that this young population was marked with serious withdrawal symptoms such as angers and depression in the event that they were denied access to the internet (Choi, Hwang,  Jang, 2008).

As a symbol of the magnitude of the internet addiction in South Korea, the government has over the past few years invested in the establishment of internet addiction counseling and rehabilitation centers (Gluck, 2002). Currently, there are an estimated 140 such centers as well as treatment programs in at least 100 hospitals (Cho, 2010). Still, the government operates an internet addiction rescue camp, the first of its kind in the world. According to statistics from the internet addiction treatment schemes, it is evident that the overwhelming majority of the victims are male (Gluck, 2002). This has been closely attributed to the fact that most of the addictive internet activities are gaming. Such could also be explained on the basis that the South Korean nation is founded on the Islamic faith, a factor which significantly compromises the freedom of the girl child.

Comparison with other countries
The problem of internet addiction among members of the human community has been a source of concern from the social, professional, economic, and political fronts in the global community. Countries like the United Kingdom and the United States of American have evidently identified these as a psychological problem that threatens the sustainable social and economic development in the countries. However, the republic of South Korea has been identified as having been seriously hit by the internet addiction problem. This has been attributed to the fact that South Korea is the most wired country in the world (Gluck, 2002). This makes internet reliable and relatively affordable compared to other nations.

According to available statistical information, it is estimated that high school students in South Korea spends an estimated 23 hours a week of internet gaming (Gluck, 2002). This number of hours is quite high compared to the 12 hours spent by American students at the same level on internet. The biggest concern for the South Korean nation is the high rates school dropout caused by internet addiction. The low rates of internet addiction are due to the fact that unlike in South Korea, internet games and virtual sex are mainly accessed at home. It is worth noting that in South Korea, the PC bang internet parlors are practically found in every street, a factor that promotes their frequency of access and thus addiction (Huh  Bowman, 2008).

However, it is seemingly clear that the problem of internet addiction is more pronounced in Asian countries. According to a recent research report, an estimated 13.7 percent of adolescent adult internet users in the Chinese nation are claimed to meet the internet addiction criterion (Cho, 2010). Nevertheless, this figure could have been highly if it were not for the 2007 move by the Chinese government to restrict computer games. It has been established that the law in China current allows its citizens not more that three hour of using computer games daily.

All in all the fight against internet across nations seem to be the same due to a number of reasons. First, internet addiction has been found to be the hardest psychological disorder to treat (Choi, Hwang,  Jang, 2008). This is mainly due to the fact that internet access has sufficiently taken its place in our social and economic lives. Another reason is that internet is commonly available and censoring its use remains a big challenge for governments. All this serve to increase the problem of having high rates of relapse to the internet addiction problem after treatment.