South Koreans leaving jobs and families to flock to a remote fishing village to play Pokemon Go

SINCE its release Pokemon Go has been responsible for some strange events, but none have been quite as bizarre as the “Pokemon Go holy land”.

IF YOU thought your Pokemon Go addiction was bad, you have nothing on the South Koreans leaving jobs and families to flock to a fishing village to play the game.

The South Korean town of Sokcho has seen an influx of would-be Pokemon Masters as it is the only place in the country the augmented reality game works.

Capitalising on the attention, the small town has been advertising free Wi-Fi on social media and has been dubbing itself “the only Pokemon Go holy land on the peninsula”.

Sokcho is promoting where Pokemon Go players can find Wi-Fi.

The reason players are having to travel to the city close to the North Korean border has to do with the country’s mapping data.

“Due to government restrictions on maps data, it’s impossible for Pokemon Go to work properly using Google Maps service in South Korea,” a source wishing to remain anonymous told Reuters.

The security restrictions mean Google has been blocked from providing map features — such as real time information, 3D maps and personal transport directions — across a significant proportion of the country.

While the country does use government-issued maps with sensitive areas excluded, a law prevents Google from exporting the mapping data to protect the country against infiltration from North Korea.

Google is currently challenging South Korea’s national-security laws, arguing the they are outdated and unfairly inhibit the tech giant from offering the full range of its services.

The reason Sokcho is able to provide the mapping data needed for Pokemon Go is because it has not been classified as South Korean territory.

Sokcho is the ONLY city where Pokemon GO is available in Korea... some of my friends have started a journey already! pic.twitter.com/6STQdFcjfq

— Sejun Park (@pokemon_tcg) July 13, 2016

According to the Korea Herald, the sheer number of South Koreans making the Pokemon Go journey has been so high that bus tickets from Seoul to Sokcho have sold out.

Writing on an internet message board, one budding Pokemon Trainer said he only visited the town for the purpose of playing the game.

“I didn’t go to some big tourist attraction; all I did was walk around for tens of kilometres to play a game,” he wrote, reported the New York Post.

“But I’m more satisfied with this than any other trip. I would still be in Sokcho had it not been for an urgent issue.”

After sampling Pokemon Go with city officials, the mayor of Sokcho even wished prospective players happy hunting.

As the app is currently only available in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Japan, South Korean users are using VPNs to mask their location in order to catch ‘em all.

Research firm Newzoo claims South Korea is the world’s fourth-biggest gaming market after China, the United States and Japan, which makes this bizarre scenario understandable.

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