Netmarble Cultural Foundation holds ‘National Disabled Students e-Festival’
Disabled students from 17 provinces participated in regional qualifiers
e-sports and information competitions were held… Generating enthusiastic heat,
Students preparing for the Everyone’s Marvel competition are listening to the game rules.ⓒDailyan Lee Joo-eun Reporter, ‘[Dailyan = Reporter Lee Joo-eun] The faces of disabled students preparing to compete in an e-sports tournament showed a mixture of tension and excitement. They played practice games in advance to warm up, engaged in conversation to relax in their own ways, and more. The teachers in charge, waiting for the students competing, were seen eagerly watching the games with more concentration than the students themselves.’,
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, ‘The ‘National Disabled Students e-Festival’, dubbed as the e-sports Olympics for disabled students, has kicked off. This event has been jointly sponsored by Netmarble Cultural Foundation, the National Special Education Institute, and the Korea Creative Content Agency since 2009.’,
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, ‘Upon visiting The-K Hotel in Yangjae on the 3rd, several tourist buses were lined up from a distance, and the lobby was bustling with students and teachers who had gathered from all over the country to participate in the festival. They are those who were selected through regional qualifiers held for education offices in 17 provinces nationwide from June to July.’,
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, ‘On this day, a total of 28 events, including 10 e-sports tournaments and 18 information competitions, were held. The venue was a melting pot of students preparing for the games. Despite the fatigue from long journeys, they were seen cheering while observing the games.’,
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A student competing in the Everyone’s Marvel game. Waiting for their dice turn.ⓒDailyan Lee Joo-eun Reporter, ‘Elementary students predominantly participated in the board game ‘Everyone’s Marvel’ tournament hosted by Netmarble. Students with developmental disabilities and those in integrated classrooms participated as a team of two.’,
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, ‘Hasehun, an instructor at Daegu Central Elementary School, mentioned, “The biggest advantage of practicing before the competition is the interaction among peers. In fact, as students get older, the opportunities for activities that both students with disabilities and non-disabled students can enjoy together decrease, but preparing for this festival allowed them to gather during lunchtime or other spare times to play games and spend time together, which was nice.”‘,
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An ‘Othello’ game booth set up at the e-sports venue. ⓒDailyan Lee Joo-eun Reporter, ‘One of the standout games among many was a game using ‘Othello’ for competition. It’s a computer game played with a mouse, where the goal is to acquire more stones of the color chosen by the player.’,
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, ‘Visually impaired and low-vision students were seen competing at the event. They used a sense reader, which informs about the row, column, and the status of cells located in various directions, to play the game. By pressing the arrow keys on the keyboard to change the position, the color of stones placed at that location is announced through sound in headphones. When they find the location to place a stone by moving their fingers, they press the shift key.’,
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Students participating in the Othello game are focusing intensely with nerves on their hands and ears.ⓒDailyan Lee Joo-eun Reporter, ‘The students were seen concentrating with their eyes moving, focusing intensely with nerves on their hands and ears. The booth was set up in the quietest corner of the venue to provide an environment conducive to the students’ concentration.’,
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, ‘Kim Ung-gi, an instructor at Jeonbuk Maeng-ah School, remarked, “Many visually impaired individuals enjoy Othello, using it as a good channel for communication, playing games and interacting through specially designed websites for the blind. A student from our school achieved first place, and through such activities, students feel a sense of accomplishment, enhancing their self-efficacy. It’s very positive.”‘,
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, ‘The event was attended by about 1,600 people, including Conservative Party member Kim Ye-ji, Innovation Party member Kang Kyung-suk, Netmarble Cultural Foundation CEO Kim Sung-chul, main participants, and officials.’,
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, ‘Netmarble Cultural Foundation CEO Kim Sung-chul said, “Every year, a large number of about 3,000 disabled students, along with their parents and teachers, compete in e-sports and demonstrate their IT skills. The event has played a significant role as an open festival where they can experience the process of technological and industrial progress and have the opportunity to enjoy culture and education, which was difficult for disabled students to access. It’s meaningful that through IT technology, the e-sports culture, information, and educational opportunities were opened up to them.”‘,