PC bang

PC bang
A PC bang in 2006
Korean name
Hangul
PC방, 피시방 or 피씨방[1]
Hanja
PC房, 피시房, 피씨房
Revised Romanizationpisibang or pissibang
McCune–Reischauerp'isibang or p'issibang

A PC bang (Korean: PC방; lit. PC room) is a type of internet cafe or LAN gaming center in South Korea. Patrons can use computers, often to play video games in person with friends, for an hourly fee.

Although the per capita penetration of personal computers and broadband internet access in South Korea is one of the highest in the world, PC bangs remain popular as they provide a social meeting place for gamers (especially school-aged gamers) to play together with their peers. Aside from the social aspect, PC bangs' ability to offer access to expensive and powerful high-end personal computers (better known as gaming PCs), designed specifically for video gaming, at a comparatively low price has also bolstered their popularity.

  1. ^ "PC방" is the usual transcription in South Korea. "피시방" and "피씨방" are transcription of exclusive use of Hangul. The former corresponds to South Korean standard orthography for writing loan words (외래어 표기법), but many South Koreans wrote as the latter when using Hangul exclusively.