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| Students play "go" — "baduk" in Korean — at Lee Se-dol's baduk academy in Seoul, Thursday, when the second match between Lee and AlphaGo was played. / Yonhap |
By Baek Byung-yeul
The historic five-game go match between Korean grandmaster Lee Se-dol and Google's AI program AlphaGo has placed the ancient board game under the spotlight.
The game of go, or "baduk" in Korean, had been one of the most popular games in East Asian countries, up until the 21st century when people started seeking entertainment in other mediums such as video games.
With the world's eyes focused on the match between the Google-developed computer program and the world's top go player, the popularity of the board game is showing signs of bouncing back.
Officials at the Korea Baduk Association (KBA) said they have been receiving an increasing number of inquiries recently from parents asking about how their children can become players or where to learn the game.
"It is possible that this phenomenon was caused by popular television dramas like Misaeng or Reply 1988 that feature the game," said a KBA official. "And we hope the match between Lee and AlphaGo will lead to an increased boom in go."
Go could regenerate public interest thanks to 2014 TV drama "Misaeng" that tells the story of a failed go player who tries to adjust to life as an office worker.
In addition, the recently ended smash-hit TV series "Reply 1988" also drew public attention to the game as it features popular actor Park Bo-gum as a star go player.
"Due to the dramas and the human versus computer match, we have seen more young students come to local go academies," the official said. "Frankly, we feel sorry for Lee's defeat, but we believe shedding more light on go in the media could certainly lead to a go boom here."
The popularity of go can be also seen in retail stores.
According to Lotte Mart, the local supermarket chain sold 61.5 percent more go game-sets from March 1 to 8, compared with the same period last year. Auction, the Korean unit of eBay, also saw a 42 percent increase in the sale of go sets from Feb. 8 to March 8 compared with the same period last year.
Aladdin, a local online bookstore, said there has been a 150 percent increase in sales of books on go from March 1 to 8 compared with the same period last year.
