WELCOME TO THE NEW KOREA THREAD!
Thanks for the many memories, old thread, but the original front page doesn’t hold updated info, and D.Fox isn’t even over here anymore.
WE NOW HAVE A KAKAO OPEN GROUP, follow this link on your mobile or tablet to join: https://open.kakao.com/o/gZgv4wp
If you’re visiting, drop a line to let us know where you’re planning to be and when you plan on coming out to play. If you’re moving over here or going to be stationed over here, let us know where you’re going to be living, and I will post your info up in the OP. Using the following format:
SRK Tag:
Location: (If you're on base, giving me the name of the base is fine)
Games Played:
Xbox Live Gamertag:
PSN Username:
KakaoTalk ID:
WHERE DO WE PLAY?
For Street Fighter, pretty much all the arcades are dead zones, and the ones that do exist don’t have very good players left. There were two spots for AE arcade play in Seoul, TM Game Land at Isu Station, and Cheonho Fun Zone at Cheonho station. The arcade at Isu closed in early 2013, but Cheonho has now upgraded their cabinets to AE2012, so there may be play out there.
For now, in Seoul, our main place to play is at ArcadeStream. It’s console gaming centers, with fixed rate fees for playing there.
Cong Tuh - Seocho-gu, Seocho-dong 1442-10, Subo Building B1F \ 서초구 서초동 1442-10 지하1층 (Closest station is Nambu Bus Terminal \ 남부터미널 Line 3
Entry Fee: Sliding scale based on how long you stay, but runs no more than 10,000 KRW for 12 hours.
Games Played: SFV, BBCF, GGXrdR, anything that you want to play. BC McMild (Owner) told me that players have been playing around in SFEX2 as well.
New old place. With Drakefang nixing ArcadeStream, this is the place where everyone will be looking to go. BC McMild is a great guy and accommodating and speaks decent English. He’ll basically run whatever game you want and has a plethora of systems, games, and sticks and pads to choose from. He also has a ton of setups, and is situated in a basement where noise is not an issue. Runs things every day but Monday.
Video directions to to get to Cong
Green Arcade (Closest station is Daerim station \ 대림역, Line 2 or Line 6
Entry Fee Free. I’m not sure on the price per game.
Games Played TTT2, TTT2, and TTT2
I haven’t been here, but I think it goes without saying that this is one of the most famous arcades in the world, definitely most famous in Seoul. If you’re a hardcore Tekken player, you owe it to yourself to come here, as this is pretty much where the best of the best gather in whatever iteration of Tekken is fresh out the box now.
This video is not by me, but thankfully, someone has the same idea as me regarding video directions in Seoul:
UPCOMING EVENTS
USF4 Monthlies: Last Saturday afternoon of every month, ArcadeStream - Seoul This a well frequented tournament with a lot of Korea’s best coming out. 10,000 venue fee gets you one alcoholic beverage, and another 10,000 gets you into the tournament. This tournament will also be streamed live on Twitch.
WHERE TO BUY STICKS/SYSTEMS/GAMES
There are several places to buy of notoriety over here. You can go to the world famous Yongsan Electronics Market (Yongsan Station \ 용산역, Jung-ang Line/Line 1), Gangbyeon TechnoMart (Gangbyeon Station \ 강변역, Line 2), or Nambu Terminal Techno Mart (Nambu Terminal Station \ 남부터미날역, Line 3). There’s a small game store at Coex, but not much to look at there, the three I mentioned are good. Comparison shop here, there are many vendors inside each market. Ask them prices for what you want, (이건 얼마예요? - ee-guhn uhlmahyeyo?) and come back if you find they have the best price.
I have seen everything from TEs, to Joytrons, to Saulabis, to Horis for sale over here, so if you have a specific stick you want, you can probably find it.
Alternatively, you can order an Omni and various arcade parts from eTokki.com. This site is ran by Laugh, and has same day shipping in Korea for a flat rate of 3000KRW.
As for games, this is a trickier subject. With PS3, there’s no region locks on games, so you can buy whatever games you want over here. Some might be Korean or Asian language only, so be careful, when in doubt, check on the Asian editions of those games on Play-Asia before buying.
For 360 games, if you have a Western 360, it will depend on the game. Some games will be free of region locks, where you can play them on any 360, and some will be NTSC-J, and only work on Asian 360s. Once again, check the Asian version of the game you intend to buy on Play-Asia for compatibility before buying.
PLAYERS LIST
Seoul
Spoiler
SRK Tag:Philly-one
Locale: Hongdae
Games Played: USF4
Xbox Live Gamertag: ArcadeStream
SRK Tag: Palamdungi
Games Played: USF4, nba, nfl, nhl
Xbox Live Gamertag: palamdungi
SRK Tag: Beeftime
Location: Gangdong (1 stop out from Cheonho on line 5)
Games Played: SSF4AE2012
SteamID: Beeftime
KakaoTalk ID: jarena3
SRK Tag: n4c0n
Location: Dongjak-gu
Games Played: USFIV
Steam: n4c0n
KakaoTalk ID: n4c0n
SRK: hayan
Location: Seodaemun-gu
Games Played: USF4, Persona
XBL: adpang
Kakao: adpang10
Incheon
Spoiler
SRK Tag: Dan_town
Location: Bupyeong
Games Played: USF4
PSN Username: thisisadventure
KakaoTalk ID: dantown
Bucheon
Spoiler
SRK Tag:Endofdreamz
Location: Bucheon City Hall Station
Games Played: USF4, Tekken. blazblue, guilty gear, persona
Xbox Live Gamertag: Zsabre13
PSN Username:Endofdreamz
KakaoTalk ID:ffxhd
Kunsan AB
[details=Spoiler]SRK Tag: Manny2DGod/Megamanny
Games Played: AE SSF2T/HDR
PSN Username: MegamannyX
XBL/GFWL: Megamanny[/details]
Osan AB
Spoiler
SRK Tag: Hq32oL
Games Played: MvC2, Tekken Series
PSN Username: Hq32oL
Phone: 010-6683-0417 (also used for Kakao)
SRK Tag: MXBrugalz
Games Played: SSF4, SFXT
Xbox Live Gamertag: Mx Brugalz
SRK tag: RagingStormX
Arriving: November 2015
Games: USF4, CvS2, ST, A2, wanting to learn KOF13
XBL: jeffhizzle254
PSN: jeffhizzle254
Steam: jeffhizzle
Fightcade: RagingStormX
Suwon
Spoiler
SRK Tag: Angry Abel
Games Played: SSFIV AE, BlazBlue: CP, Skullgirls, KoFXIII, SF3, SF2, TTT2
PSN Username: rabidabel33
KakaoTalk ID: jsheils
Pyeongtaek
Spoiler
SRK Tag: krnred225
Location: Songtan-dong, Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi-do
Games Played: SFIV series
Xbox Live Gamertag: N/A
PSN Username: N/A
KakaoTalk ID: minkyang
Daegu
Spoiler
SRK Tag: HaruhiFTW
Games Played: 1 hour of AE
Xbox Live Gamertag: HaruhiFTW
PSN Username: N/A
KakaoTalk ID:
Daejeon
Spoiler
SRK Tag: scratchback
Games Played: AE
PSN Username: sunswipe78
SRK Tag: SFinDaejeon
Games Played: AE mostly, but I’d love to play ST…
PSN Username: Doctor_Dav13
KakaoTalk ID: 010-7404-2479
Busan
Spoiler
Empty for now
NOTE: We also have a KakaoTalk group chat available. Please add me, and let me know you’re from SRK, and I will add you to the group chat.
FAQ
Q. Will my N. American/European Xbox 360 work in Korea?
A. European, definitely yes, and that goes for Euro PS3s too. Depending on the country, you won’t even have to buy an adapter for it to fit in a socket, as South Korea uses the Schuko (Type F) socket. For North America, yes, but it’s trickier. Not only do you need to get a new plug adapter to fit into the socket, you either have to get a new power brick or buy a voltage converter. American systems are 120V only, Korea uses 220V. I don’t know how much converters are, but I bought a new power brick for my 360 for 25000KRW at Gangbyeon.
Q. Will my N. American PS3 work in Korea?
A. It should. I’ve seen video of fat American PS3s being ran without a converter in Germany, and Germany is 220V. If you’re worried about it, then you can look at the back or bottom of your PS3 for the voltage rating. If it says 100-240V, then you’re safe, and you just need to get an adapter so it will fit into a Korean socket. If it says 120V, then you will need to buy a converter.
Q. Why are there no good arcades anymore?
A. Economics suck. Korea had a good arcade scene even 2 years ago, suddenly it’s drying up. Places like Cong and CafeID are much more cost efficient to put in long hours of play and still get the social experience that an arcade offers. Some games were also never available outside of Japan on arcade (e.g. VF5FS), so many players gravitated toward home console play.
There’s probably other reasons as well, but with CafeID and Cong, the only place to really consider going for that 100% authentic arcade experience, Green Arcade is about the only place left.
Q. How is online play in Korea?
A. Better than the West, for sure. Korea has one of the best average internet speeds in the world, 100MBPS download and upload speeds are not uncommon, and they have good pings with Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The caliber of play will be better than in the west, and the netcode for SF4 functions better than in the west. Marvel netcode is still abysmal here, and I don’t know about any other games.
Q. Can I use Korean XBL codes/purchasing with my American account?
A. No. In order to use Korean payment methods, including prepaids, on XBL, you must migrate your account to Korea. There’s a benefit in doing it, in that you can have the payment tacked onto your phone bill balance, and pay all of it together. If that’s not enough of an incentive for you, and you have a way to pay for stuff on Paypal, you’ll be needing to get codes from your native land on eBay, or put a credit card on file that you can purchase points/subscriptions in your home currency with.
Q. GRRR why can’t I find opponents online in Korea?
A. Set your region to Japan. It’s easy to do on Xbox Live, but you’ll literally have to sign up a new account for PSN. Unless you have a Korean national ID card (and I think it has to be a citizen’s card, not a foreign resident card), you can’t get a Korean PSN account. In all honesty, a Japanese account will net you the most players, since nearly everyone in Asia sets theirs to Japan as well. I’m not sure, so don’t quote me on this, but I believe you can change your country to Japan in your Steam profile to ensure you get the Japan flag on USF4. For GGPO no one’s going to care so don’t even bother trying, Korean flags are fine.
Here’s a guide on how to set up a Japanese PSN account: http://kotaku.com/5982662/how-to-make-a-japanese-psn-account-on-the-new-psn-and-how-to-navigate-the-store
Q. What about [old/obscure game]? Is there a scene for it here?
A. That’s a tough question, because I don’t know every scene. There used to be Melty Blood being played in Isu, but since the arcade closed, I don’t know where they play anymore. I know there are ST players, but I don’t know where there are cabinets in Korea. I have had a couple players give me their GGPO usernames from here though. There’s apparently a SF2CE scene over here, but I don’t know where they play.
Other games, you really got me. I haven’t heard anything about CVS2 or 3S about here in a LONG time. But BC at Cong has nearly every game you’d want to play if you know someone that will play it with you, and I’ve seen SamsonK and others play 3rd Strike at Cong before, so it’s possible.
Q. What’s the difference between Korean arcade hardware and Japanese? I’ve heard there’s a difference.
A. Japanese sticks have a gate and use springs for resistance. Korean sticks have no gate, and use rubber grommets for resistance. The difference is night and day, and if you play on Korean cabinets, you’ll have an adjustment phase trying to find your diagonals properly. But they are still pretty quality.
Japanese have two button types, Sanwa and Seimitsu. Sanwa have ligh resistance, and you can actually breathe on them and activate the buttons. Seimitsu are still pretty responsive, but far less than Seimitsu. Korean Crown buttons are sort of in the middle, and have a more rubbery feel to them than Sanwa or Seimitsu. Note that I said, rubbery, not cheap. There is a difference.
