2024 Youth Esports Festival 2024-09-20

A Grand Festival Cheering on the Bright Futures of Young Gamer Dreamers

On August 13, the ‘2024 Youth Esports Festival’ was held at Dream Arena in Daejeon. The event was organised by Smilegate’s Heemang Studio in collaboration with the Nexon Foundation, Kakao Games, the Korea Creative Content Agency, and other companies and institutions. The festival was designed to give underprivileged children the opportunity to experience esports and explore career paths in the gaming industry. The Smilegate Newsroom team visited the venue to capture the excitement firsthand. 

This second annual Youth Esports Festival exemplifies the Collective Impact model of social contribution that Heemang Studio aims to promote. This model encourages collaboration among various organisations and companies for greater societal impact. For example, the Nexon Foundation provided the game IP for “KartRider Rush+,” the Daejeon Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency supported venue rentals, and the Korea Council of Community Child Centres helped promote the event. By combining their resources, these organisations created a synergistic impact, making this form of collaboration even more meaningful.   

The 2024 Youth Esports Festival was structured in three parts: an online career education session on the esports industry held on July 10, preliminary matches for “KartRider Rush+” held between July 31 and August 1 for each participating community child centre, and the finals on August 13. A total of 1,730 participants from 128 centers across the country took part in the festival. 

At 11:50 a.m.—an hour before the event began—the 500-seat audience section was already filled. Children chatted in small groups, their faces lit with excitement as they waited for the matches to begin. Some held colourful cheering signs and chanted slogans. The arena buzzed with energy even before the event had officially started. 

At 1 p.m., the “KartRider Rush+” matches officially began. From July 11 to 19, regional qualifiers were held at community child centers in Seoul, Gangneung, Jeonju, Busan, and other cities to select representative teams. Preliminary rounds took place over two days starting July 31 to determine the 16 teams advancing to the main tournament. Each team competed in a tournament format, with matches played in a best-of-three format. The children’s gameplay was broadcast on a large screen, and each win or loss brought waves of cheers and sighs, intensifying the excitement. The loud and passionate cheering from the children raised the energy inside the stadium. 

A Thrilling Taste of Esports Excitement

As the tournament progressed to the quarterfinals and semifinals, the players’ expressions became more intense. Perhaps it was because they were representing their respective community child centers. According to the teachers, the title of “representative player” significantly boosted the children’s self-esteem. The way the children poured all their energy into the matches, just like real esports players, seemed to prove that point. 

Inside the stadium, encouraging shouts like “It’s okay!” and “Good job!” echoed continuously. Lee Ho-won, a teacher from Chuncheon Haenimttorae Community Child Centre, shared the atmosphere at the scene: “We faced a tough opponent early on and were eliminated. I was worried the kids might be disappointed, but they encouraged each other to try again next year, which made me very proud.” 

A child from the Gangneung Community Child Centre, enthusiastically waving a cheering sign that read “Don’t lose! Come back with a win!” said, “The older boys practiced hard for a month, so of course I thought they should make it through.” Every time the children and their friends appeared on the big screen, their faces lit up with excitement as if they had become the stars of the show. 

The much-anticipated final match was between the “True Love Kart ver.2” team from the Gangneung Chamsaram Community Child Centre and the “Happy Riders” from the Gyeonggi Gippeum Community Child Centre. The two teams had faced off once before last year. Since they had some knowledge of each other’s capabilities, the atmosphere leading up to the final was even more intense.

The final match began with loud cheers from the audience. The first speed match was won by Happy Riders, and the second item match went to True Love Kart ver.2, pushing the final to a showdown between each team’s ace. The faces of both aces filled the stadium screen in a split view, and the last match began with a countdown. The two racers went head-to-head in a neck-and-neck race. In the end, the player from True Love Kart ver.2 crossed the finish line just moments ahead, clinching the championship title.

Choi Hyun-uk, ace of True Love Kart ver.2, shared his thoughts on the win: “Last year, we competed as True Love Kart ver.1, but with one new member and improved teamwork, we came back this year as ver.2. I want to thank my teammates and teacher who helped us perform well, and all the friends who cheered for us.” 

Twice the Fun with a Variety of Experience Booths

The event venue also featured a range of game-related experience booths that captured the children’s attention. Reflecting trends in the game and esports industries, the experience zone included booths where kids could try out AI technology. Children explored various event spaces such as the AI Creation Zone, AI Cheering Zone, Lucky Zone, and Play Zone, making the most of their breaks. Among the most popular attractions were the AI Character Creation experience, where faces were scanned and transformed into game characters, and the Make-Your-Own Game BGM activity. 

An AI game special lecture also drew attention. Children took part in a program where they planned and created games using AI, spending time building titles like Othello and Tetris.  

The children also made good use of the gold coins they earned from each event. They spun the lucky roulette in the Lucky Zone, exchanged coins for snacks at the snack bar, and enjoyed arcade games in the Play Zone. For this event, SPC Group sponsored treats like Pokémon bread, milk, and PSG uniforms, while CJ Freshway provided popcorn, cookies, and juice. 

Jung Hye-jung, a teacher from the Asan Banwol Community Child Centre in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, shared her thoughts: “It was meaningful that both children and teachers participated in the Youth Esports Festival as referees and players, taking initiative and building a sense of community. I hope that esports will continue to be seen as a festival and that gaming gradually becomes a medium for spreading regional culture.”

Kwon Yeon ju, Director at Heemang Studio, stated, “I hope this festival becomes something the children can proudly say was a joyful experience,” and added, “We will continue striving to make Heemang Studio a platform that connects new values. In particular, we aim to serve as a hub that enables institutions, community child centres, and companies to come together to address social issues.” She emphasised, “We will establish ourselves in fostering a sustainable environment for creativity for future generations.”