Pokémon GO finally launches in South Korea six months later

Pokémon GO is finally available in South Korea as of today. The hit mobile game was being held up because of its connections to Google Maps, which the South Korean government keeps very close tabs on.

Pokémon Korea CEO Lim Jae Boem claimed that he was happy his company could finally put the game out.

We have waited very long and worked very hard to launch Pokemon Go in South Korea.

Why would Google Maps and Pokémon GO have a hard time working in Seoul and the other metropolis areas of South Korea? Well, the country is still technically at war with North Korea, and the government keeps a close eye on all digital maps for national security reasons. Neither Niantic nor Pokémon Korea were specific in how they got around the restrictions.

We used various publicly accessible data sources.

Welcome to the International Pokémon hunt, South Korea!

Before the game’s official launch, players would go to the city of Sokcho near the North Korean border to play. The city is not considered in South Korea on Google Maps, and Pokémon would indeed spawn there.

South Korea is the fourth largest gaming audience in the world after the United States, Japan, and China. Expect Niantic to do very well with this new release.