[New Release] The Era of Sports Otaku

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Donghyun] The era of the ‘deokhu’ has arrived. More people are immersing themselves in their favorite fields and achieving success. ‘Deokhu’ is a shortened form of the Korean pronunciation of the Japanese word Otaku, ‘Odeokhu,’ and is now used in a positive sense to refer to people who have passion and interest beyond that of an expert in a certain field. It has shed its past image as an underground culture and is now establishing itself as a culture in its own right.

The book Sportsdo Deokhusidae (Sports Also the Era of Deokhu), which contains stories of people who are exemplars of successful ‘deokhu,’ shares vivid experiences of how 18 ‘deokhu’ who love sports more than anyone else have built successful lives through ‘sports deokjil’ (sports fandom). Readers can hear various stories, from a passionate American football fan who became a terrestrial American football broadcast commentator to someone who got a job at a professional volleyball team through ‘sports deokjil.’ Especially, sports enthusiasts may feel a sense of kinship, and those considering a career in the sports field can learn know-how on how to connect ‘sports deokjil’ with their careers.

The authors of this book met through a sports-loving club called ‘Red Shirts’ and have built friendships while sharing ‘sports deokjil.’ They stated that they wrote this book to show many people that it is possible to live a happy and enjoyable life as a ‘deokhu’ even in the sports field.

The authors said, “Even those who are not interested in sports can better understand and empathize with those around them who are passionate about sports,” and added, “We hope this book can be an opportunity for all sports deokhu in Korea to form a shared understanding.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.