The Seoul Dynasty have been staggering their ticket release on the ticket platform of Yes24. This website is a popular ticket seller in South Korea. Lately, there seems to be a bit of negativity around the Seoul Dynasty, especially in relation to the homestead tickets from international fans. The Dynasty have done so much for fans and their players that can be overlooked and it is time to pay the proper attention to it.
Language
Whether it is Youtube videos, official team twitch streams, or messages on social media the Seoul Dynasty always have English subtitles or separate posts. International fans take this for granted or forget that this is not the norm. Even in the Dynasty’s Discord, there are many times that staff members will respond to both Korean and international fans. They will answer the questions as best they can and will generally chat with the fans within Discord or even Twitter.
Video/Media
This is most evident in the Seoul Dynasty twitch streams. The team has a translator that either vocally translates or types the translation in the chat for the international fans to read. Yes, other teams do this, such as London Spitfire who last season did AMA’s that Susie Kim would translate from the players to the fans. The Seoul Dynasty started this practice all the way back in Season 1. There were many moments when the poor Seoul Dynasty translator was trying to keep up with the boys’ rap God speed banter in the games. It allowed for international fans to interact and understand what was going on in the moment.
The Youtube videos that the Seoul Dynasty put up always have subtitles built into the videos for the international fans. This again is something that the team doesn’t need to put their resources into, but they do. The translations allow for not only the fans of the city that they represent to understand the content but a much larger audience. On Twitter, after a Youtube video release, many screenshots and gifs can be seen both from the Korean fans and international fans.
Social Media
Social Media is a direct line of conversation between the organization and the fans. The Seoul Dynasty makes sure to put out important information in two statements or tweets. One will always be in Korean while the other will be a translated version. This allows for the international fans to get the same intended message as the Korean speaking fans. Translating is an art. With so many possible words, all with different connotations, there can be multiple fan translations that subtly conflict with each other. Seoul putting out an English and Korean version ensures that fans get from the source what they are trying to relay in the wording that they want to relay it. This might not sound big but a missed comma, a slightly different translated word could through the Tiger Nation into confusion on important situations.
[ Regarding the #OWL2020 matches ]#TigerNation pic.twitter.com/As4cwk90jF
— Seoul Dynasty 🐯 (@SeoulDynasty) January 30, 2020
The past Seoul Dynasty players are infamously not active on social media. When they did go on Twitter or Instagram many times their captions or tweets would be in both English and Korean for all of their fans.
Fan Events
The Seoul Dynasty has been good at setting up fan events for both Korean and international fans. As the first two seasons of the Overwatch League have been based in California it has been hard for some Korean fans to get to see the team in action. The Dynasty has had after matches video messaging fan meetings with Korean fans who go to a Gen G sponsored watch party. This allowed for Korean fans to get a similar experience as fans who got to see Seoul at the team of the day match at Burbank.
Team of the Day Events
The Seoul Dynasty also made sure that the ‘team of the day’ events were special for the fans at Burbank. They made multiple free merchandise items, including the iconic facemasks, for the fans that were at the games that day. In Season 1 on their last team signing day, there was a massive crowd staying to meet the team. As gifts were not allowed some of the team members such as Byungsun ‘Fleta’ Kim, Jinhyuk ‘Miro’ Gong, Jinmo ‘Tobi’ Yang, and Jinwoo ‘Gambler’ Heo to come out and greet fans. At this time before the match, they accepted the gifts as well as took photos, which was a nice gesture that the team did for fans who did want to give their favorite players something.
In Season 2 the team knew how much the fans had missing Miro who had recently retired from pro play. They flew Miro all the way to Burbank to be at the team of the day event and meet with the fans. This shows how much they care about the fan experience on their team days.
Off-Season Events
Off-season Seoul Dynasty has done multiple pre-season events for their Korean fans. The Pacific Challenge was an event that had the Seoul Dynasty face against the Guangzhou Charge. This was almost a mini homestand as Korean fans were able to buy tickets to watch the match in person, be a part of a Q&A, as well as a meet and greet. The event was streamed for international fans to watch. In the most recent offseason, Gen G con was their big event. The organization allowed for an English stream and casters to cast the matches that Seoul did with the NYXL. It was a celebration for both the Korean fans as well as international fans.
Most recently the team had their first Tiger Nation Club event for the VIP fan club members of the Seoul Dynasty. This event was in January in Korea. International fans who had bought the VIP package could probably not be a part of the event. The Dynasty could have always just decided that wasn’t their problem and focused on the fans that would be able to come. Instead, they sent a private Youtube streaming link to all fans who would not be able to be there. Whether the fans were international or in Korea but couldn’t go they all had an opportunity to experience the whole event through the stream.
Not only was the event was available to everyone, but the fan package that was given out was also extended to those who were not at the event. The Seoul Dynasty took care of all of their fans no matter the language or where they were located.
Player First Organization
It is not just the fans that the Seoul Dynasty takes care of. The organization really takes care of their Overwatch Pros. Players’ well being it can be a forgotten aspect of esports. The Seoul Dynasty is dedicated to helping their players whether it is to get them the best deal in a new team, supporting them as streamers, respecting their wishes, or believing in players when others don’t. Many fans support the players just as much as the overall team, therefore knowing that the organization also prioritizes that helps give peace of mind to the fans.
Know people have been asking about @SeoulDynasty given what’s going on in China. We’re on it – player safety and health comes first, and we know what’s going on is much bigger than us / the game and have given the league our feedback.
— Gen.G Arnold (@arnoldwh) January 26, 2020
The team has always had amazing staff behind the players to help and support them. They have hired English lessons, exercise trainers, general managers, translators, general staff to make sure the players have everything that they need so they can just focus on the game. The housing facilities for both Season 1 and Season 2 had the players’ best interests in mind. They have also allowed players to take a break and reset their mental and physical health, prioritizing the individual over team results. Seoul has always put their players first so that fans would never worry about the players.
2020 Positivity
Going into 2020 with all grumbles of some international fans, it is important to remember everything that the team does for the fans. The Seoul Dynasty has done so much for their fans and players that can easily be overlooked when talking about the team. Many times when a team is brought up it is numbers and stats, and if it is about team management it is because of something negative. In 2020 hopefully more fans can mention and appreciate what their team and organization do for them and their players. Here is to a season of continued thankfulness that the Tiger Nation has towards the Seoul Dynasty.
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