Kim Ka-eul is not only one of the first pro female e-athlete, but also a frist-gen professional gamers in Korea and the only player-turned manager. Back in 1999, she started her career in women's leagues and won countless titles, competing in the Star Craft, War Craft and FIFA Soccer leagues. She then began the coach of the Samsung Khan five years later.

The Korea Times states there are thirteen professional gaming clubs registered at the Korea e-Sports Association. Kim, however, is the only manager with professional playing experience. The other managers are brought in from the entertainment industry and have little gaming knowledge. They tend to care about getting good sponsorship than the nuts and bolts of playing.

Kim is different she says. "We don't pay big money to buy star players like other teams, and we are not trying to use the club to make money," she adds. "Our club is more like a membership of gamers. I try to train young people, teaching not to be spoiled and to make them role models for other young people."

The rest of the article goes into Korean pro-gaming, which is much further along than its American counterpart. Fascinating stuff are peppered throughout the piece, punctuated with quotes from Kim like "Pro gaming is still a very difficult profession, and it has a very short lifespan." For pro-gaming trends and signs of things to come, Korea is my magic eight ball.

Full Story [Korea Times]

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