strange korean customs

On some random web browsing while looking for a review of a particular Korean movie, I ran across this picture.

http://www.pcgames.com.cn/fight/starcraft/mingren/0408/pic/pcgames_X2KT_tossgirl.jpg

What's amusing about this picture is that this cute little girl can destroy you at Starcraft. She plays Starcraft professionally in Korea. I don't mean that in any sexist way, because I really do think that the lack of high-level female participation in things like Chess and other mental exercises is just a matter of not having the requisite gender input at the top of the sieve.

It is, however, a little surreal clicking for a trailer on YouTube and getting some weird Korean television show where people play Starcraft in front of a live studio audience of swooning fans. And those kids playing, while being disturbingly good at something as trivial* as Starcraft, really do seem to be popular -- one step shy of, say, TV character actors from what I can tell.

In an interview with the player in the pic above, she credits her speed and talent at Starcraft to having played the piano. She then explains how all she thinks about these days is Starcraft.

My instant question was, "Would I rather my child be fantastic and world-famous at something so trivial or simply be normal -- or even mediocre -- at something (music) which ultimately builds more character?"

And then I thought, "Wait, she's not *that* much younger than me. She's kinda cute, too."

"My mom says I'm a catch/
I'm popular"

* There was a time when I was alarmingly good at some video games, so I don't use the description "trivial" without merit. But seriously, being that good at a video game isn't even like being good at Checkers much less being good with arts or literature. Checkers will still be popular the day you die. I guarantee you that Starcraft or Counterstrike or World of Warcraft (or heaven forbid, craptacular FPS Halo) will be mere footnotes in history.