No. They did try with OTT services with some success, but no comparable live streaming services exist AFAIK. Rather conveniently though, Naver, the biggest portal service in Korea, announced a game streaming service set to be released in 2024. I guess Naver did know something about a windup of Twitch in Korea months ago?
Afreeca has an interesting controversy section on their Wiki[1] detailing various social problems.
It has a somewhat ominous last line about South Korean attitudes towards personal broadcasting platforms from here[2]. Apparently South Korea is also one of the few countries where Pornography is illegal. But I saw conflicting accounts of who supports that politically and if it's really just a barrier for non-VPN traffic.
Knowing the age demographic that Twitch can attract, and that Twitch has very popular Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches[3] and Just Chatting[4] sections.
I'd be curious if that perspective has an element in wanting streaming and internet service generally in the hands of a few companies, and not American ones.
> Apparently South Korea is also one of the few countries where Pornography is illegal.
Which is incorrect, though it is commonly framed by majority male-dominated communities. Korean law distinguishes pornography 성인물 from obscene material 음란물 and only legalizes pornography, and it's true that the line between them is quite blur, but most pornographic works are not considered obscene and can be legally imported if there is a demand.
The actual reason for these kind of complaints is that, most non-obscene pornographic works are already available and only considered illegal because of the copyright violation. People want a free porn, easy ways have been blocked for the obvious reason, and they say something about the freedom of expression but still don't want to pay for them. This absurd argument makes actual changes much harder.
> I'd be curious your thoughts if that plays an element in wanting streaming and internet service generally in the hands of a few companies, and not American ones.
I doubt Afreeca will be able to capture most streamers in exile. In fact it's clear to me that most will just go to YouTube, because when Twitch gave up with clips and stream archives, many if not most streamers moved them to YouTube instead. Naver's new service may find some niche but it's unlikely to match YouTube's existing offers.
I think there are two modes of pornography control, either implemented as control for fractions of exposure or for conformity to a normalcy. Sinosphere default is mode 1 no-butt-naked, but SK with stronger Western influence has cohorts that supports the other mode, is how it shows to my eyes.
> Knowing the age demographic that Twitch can attract, and that Twitch has very popular Pools, Hot Tubs, and Beaches[3] and Just Chatting[4] sections.
Korean opinion would be almost the opposite of banning this. Right-wing Koreans hate feminism and love naked anime girls; imagine if online porn addict gamers were an actual political force and had terrorist groups. If a mobile game company adds a woman and her outfit isn't sexy enough or she's making hand signs that might possibly be feminism they'll invade their offices, demand the artist is fired, and it'll actually happen.
