Sokcho, a popular vacation destination in northeastern coast in South Korea, is packed these days even before the summer holiday peak has begun with crowds who have not come for the usual sea and mountain scenery but to try out a new game.

Pokemon Go - an augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic Inc. and invested by Nintendo Co. - has created such a huge splash that the police in some cities in the United States had to issue safety warnings as gamers glued to their phones in quest for landmarks known as Pokestops to capture and collect pocket monsters with their smartphones had become injured and targets for crime.

The Google Map location-based augmented reality game has generated even more bizarre phenomenon in Korea where the game is not officially available yet. That had not stopped game-savvy Koreans. The word got around that the game can be activated in Gangwon Province and most active at the expo site in Sokcho. The exact reason why the places catch the signals that have been blocked by the programmers is unclear. Some say because they are closer to North Korea that is not subject to blockade before the game release. South Korea does not supply map data to Google for security reasons.

Whatever the reason, gamers are happy to experience the hottest newcomer to the game scene. “I’ve played Pokemon till the latest sixth edition. I am heading to Sokcho Expo Tower because I hear that most appear near there,” said 19-year-old Lee Chang-hoon who was on the packed bus heading to Sokcho.

Tickets for Sokcho sell fast at the bus terminal in southern Seoul as more and more join the hunting spree.

The location-based game became a phenomenal hit as soon as it was released on July 6 in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. It will be released in Japan next week. Details of release in Korea are unknown. Korea reportedly has been excluded in the global release as Niantic was not able to receive detailed map information of the country from the Korean government.

To play the game inspired by all-time favorite Pokemon characters, users download the game application on their Android or iOS smartphones and the camera automatically projects the real world. The 3-D Pokemon characters randomly appear on streets and parks which are for users to catch and collect for battle purposes.

Market watchers note that Pokemon Go will be a turning point for the global mobile industry to revive after being in slump due to the saturated smartphone market.

In only five days after its release, Pokemon Go has reached 7.5 million downloads with average daily sales reaching $1 million. In annual terms, sales are estimated at whopping $1 billion. Users are able to download the application for free but items need to be bought. Despite the paid content, Pokemon Go has made its name as the mobile app with the highest daily usage time of 43 minutes in North America, beating Whatsapp (30 minutes) and Instagram (25 minutes).

According to market research firms MarketandMarkets and Digital Capital AG, the global augmented reality market has shown 70 to 80 percent growth this year, and is expected to reach in between $79.8 billion and $120 billion by 2020.

Korean hunters meanwhile are readying for another migration upon news that their digital preys will arrive in Busan next week as the southern coastal city will benefit from geographic proximity when the game is released in Japan across the sea next week.

By Sohn Jae-gwon and Yeon Gyu-wook

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]