People said the first baby kicks tend to feel "like a butterfly inside the stomach". Nah. It felt like a dualshock controller in Playstation 2 inside my belly 😁 It later became stronger as weeks goes by 😍
Solip Park
@solippark.bsky.social
Game researcher (Doctor of Arts) at Aalto University and University of Jyväskylä. Researching migrants in the game industry and gamer & game dev culture in Korea and Finland :)
LOG winter 2024: As the baby started to grow, so as my belly. And our parent's know-hows and gifts surely came in handy!
After some series of thoughts, I've decided to gradually move on from Meta to alternative social media channels to start sharing my comic. For starters, here are some of my earlier comics about my pregnancy! :D FYI, the kid is now already 2 months old <3
On my way back to Finland after #digra25 It was an amazing experience to meet such an inspiring game scholars <3 For those who might have wondered why that one section of the ladies bathroom at the venue was occupied during coffee breaks, sorry that was me hiding and breast milk pumping haha :D
I got to wear the robe and the hat! Aalto ARTS conferment, 13th June 2025. Photo by me and Aina <3
After 4 years of doctoral study in Finland, I recently realised that the Finnish doctoral hat is BLUE - instead of black, which is typical in other majors. And not just regular blue. But SONIC BLUE! Oh, what an interesting place to have a Doctor of Arts degree as a game researcher :D :D
YES! After nearly 4-months since the short- self- attempted coup, Yoon is finally out. 🎉🎉🎉 #Korea www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
Celebrations as president’s impeachment is upheld – as it happened
Removed president says he is ‘very sorry’ to have not lived up to expectations. This blog is now closed
theguardian.com
I've published a short article about how Europe is handling lootbox regulations in one of the Korean news. Special thanks to @leonxiaoy.bsky.social :) www.pressian.com/pages/articl...
확률형 아이템, 유럽은 어떻게 규제할까?
확률형 아이템? 최근 게임업계에서 확률형 아이템 이야기가 많이 거론된다. 확률형 아이템이란, 말 그대로 확률적으로 보상을 획득할 수 있는 아이템을 말한다. 우리가 흔히 알고 ...
pressian.com
Finnish police playing games, as for work. "Trust has been built between young people and the police, and some have even dared to report serious criminal matters. Young people have also been helped to move forward with, for example, mental health problems and cyberbullying cases."
Mikko Meriläinen @merilainen.bsky.social · 2y ago"Luottamusta on syntynyt nuorten ja poliisin välillä, ja osa on uskaltanut kertoa jopa vakavista rikosasioista. Nuoria on autettu eteenpäin myös esimerkiksi mielenterveysongelmissa ja nettikiusaamistapauksissa." Poliisin resursseja saisi mennä enemmän tällaiseen ja vähemmän asevarusteluun.
What a great honour! Today I received a Dissertation Award 2024 from Aalto University School of Arts, Design, and Architecture, for my doctoral thesis "Understanding Game Work Migration: Game Expats in Finland" 🎉
A good summary of what happened in South Korea on 3rd December 2024. The impeachment trial is been on-going since then, and I really hope the impeachment will be ruled and put an end to this political crisis www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How South Korea’s President Planned a Military Takeover, Then Blew It
Yoon Suk Yeol came close to disabling Parliament with a few hundred troops. But he misjudged the power of his people and the willingness of his army to use force. South Koreans worry it could happen a...
nytimes.com
It was my pleasure to talk at Games Now! open lecture at Aalto University about my doctoral research on migrants in the video game industry :) #gameworkmigration #gamework #finland youtu.be/V1OX22EsY5c?...
Solip Park - Game Work Migration: Experiences of Game Expats in Finland
YouTube video by Games Now!
youtu.be
Workshop coming up! 🔥 It is my pleasure to announce our upcoming workshop, "Exploring Game Work Migration" at DiGRA 2025! Find out more osf.io/m4wgv See you in Malta <3
Paper accepted! ❤ I'm excited to announce that my paper "The Rise of Gamer-Consumers: Anger, Protests, and Divisions in South Korean Gamer Activism" has been accepted to the upcoming DiGRA 2025. See you there! digraconference2025.org (P.S My workshop was also accepted. Details coming soon)
DiGRA 2025 - Malta
The Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) conference is an international academic conference dedicated to the study of digital games and related phenomena. DiGRA is a global organization that pro...
digraconference2025.org
President Yoon said publicly that the recent election was rigged. And that was one of the main reasons he declared martial law on 3.12.24. This sparked two investigations: An impeachment trial by the legislators AND a criminal trial by the investigators --- the latter is just what happened today.
Authorities arrest president Yoon Suk Yeol after dramatic hours-long standoff
Yoon Suk Yeol faces insurrection charges and an impeachment trial after trying to impose martial law last month.
bbc.com
Back in 2021, PMG reported on the unseen games industry crunch taking place at outsourcing studios in SE Asia. Since then, the companies we looked at have continued to work on some of the biggest games in the world, without any push to improve the conditions of the artists doing that work. (1/7)
Defence! Karonkka! Family trip! Sauna! And South Korea's democracy! (Yes, the president was impeached, and we watched it live on our way to Tallinn :D) What a weekend <3 <3
I once published an article about Korean gamer's "truck protest" phenomenon, where gamers crowdfund and send LED billboard trucks to protest against game companies' faulty live ops. Many have asked, "...how?". I'd say "well...": youtube.com/shorts/Ns8dV... See my article: dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1...
South Korea's K-pop protesters keep the pressure on President Yoon | DW News
YouTube video by DW News
youtube.com
In Korea, it's quite common to put "K-" in front of everything. K-drama, K-pop, K-games, K-foods, etc, with a mixed feeling of being "proud" at the same time "cynical". Now, as of yesterday, people in Korea introduced a new term: "K-Martial Law". youtu.be/_VCy6VWsU9U?...
South Korea President Yoon lifts martial law | DW News
YouTube video by DW News
youtube.com
Martial law was rejected by the South Korean parliament. Phew! youtu.be/7oxo71DvAhQ?...
South Korea's parliament votes to block martial law | BBC News
YouTube video by BBC News
youtu.be
My doctoral thesis is now available publicly online in PDF. 10 days until the defence, also means 10 days until you can publicaly say "I object!" to this defence (nooo please don't🙈) aaltodoc.aalto.fi/items/df3b0f...
Understanding Game Work Migration: Game Expats in Finland
This dissertation explores the experiences and creative work practices of migrant game developers ("game expats") in Finland, focusing on the factors that motivate them to move to or leave the country...
aaltodoc.aalto.fi
When I see F2P and loot box discourse here in the West & Western academia, it generally covers the issue of gaming and SoMe. Meanwhile, in South Korea, with 20+ years of F2P, now EVERYTHING is in loot boxes. Comics, TVs, music, merchandises, novels, etc.
Let's see how this also applies to South Korea...(Spoiler alert: we're looking into it.)
Leon Xiao@leonxiao.com · 2y agoYou know it’s a cool research method when the BBC asks to replicate it. I used social media ad repositories to find that 93% of ads failed to disclose loot box presence: doi.org/10.1016/j.cl.... @twgerken.bsky.social of BBC News found 90.9% of games failed to comply: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article....
Again, the player have won in a court case against a massive game corporation in South Korea. In summary: Plaintiff have won in the 2nd trial against Maple Story, in specific to the 'Cube' randomising upgrade system that was deliberately informed wrongly to its players thisisgame.com/webzine/news...
메이플 '보보보 사태', 이용자 승소로 결말… 넥슨 5% 환불 판결
아이템 매매 관련 법리적 판단 아닌, 소액사건심판법 따른 상고 기각
thisisgame.com
