Young people watch sports selectively

By Lee Kyung-min

Broadcasting companies here usually focus on Olympic events in which Korean athletes participate. Sports in which no Korean athletes take part are hardly seen unless some world-famous athletes like Usain Bolt compete.

Young viewers in their teens to 30s, however, do not give up on watching the sports they are interested in: they use the Internet to broaden their options.

Online communities and blogs have numerous questions and answers on how to watch the Olympics in real-time via foreign broadcasters’ websites.

According to blogger “flamingo,” an avid cycling fan, people can watch cycling events by downloading a smartphone application, or installing a program on their personal computer to enable live streaming from other countries.

“There are many more races I want to watch including road races and mountain biking, all of which are not — and will never be — aired by Korean broadcasting companies, so I share the information on how to watch them on the computer. I hope this will help,”he said on his blog.

Many online users like him install programs that enable them to use live streaming services from foreign media outlets such as the BBC and NBC.

“For older people, it may be the only option to call the broadcasting company to complain about why certain sports are not aired, but why waste time and energy when I can watch it through other means?” another blogger wrote.

Such a trend comes as more and more young people no longer cheer for Korean athletes out of patriotism but rather regard sports as for personal enjoyment, a drastic contrast to how the older generation approached events.

“I watch the Olympic games because I want to see competition among the best of the best — the fittest, the most talented athletes who have practiced over the past four years for a single goal,” a student surnamed Lee, 28 said.

“The idea that Koreans have to get as many medals as possible, a notion I think being unnecessarily perpetuated by the media, is not that important to me,” he added.