Poker Writer
Poker in South Korea appears to be growing in popularity despite the game being almost entirely illegal there. This creates an interesting position for the game in the country and puts South Korea in a unique dynamic to create a complex Korean poker scene.
The high-end casinos cater only to foreigners. Glitzy poker tournaments such as the Triton Super High Roller in Jeju, which has recently set records and have attracted big-money foreign poker players. But Jeju freezes out Koreans who want to play high-level poker, leaving local citizens with limited options.
Because of the illegal nature of poker and gambling in general in South Korea, a lot of Koreans who want to play poker turn to so-called “Hold’em Pubs”. The play at these pubs centers on food and drinking, with poker as a background theme. Players pay to play and winning enough can lead to getting into more official real-money tournaments.
The legal avenues for poker may be limited to the one legal casino in the country for locals, Kangwon Land Casino. But those serious about poker in Korea turn to other discreet methods to play in secret locations. Should they seek them out, private games are available for those in the under-the-radar poker community of Korea. Several online players use VPNs to compete with players around the world as well.
WSOP Success Putting Korean Poker on the Map
Korean poker was put more on the map in the 2025 WSOP when Daehyung Lee made the Main Event final table to become the highlight of a succesful WSOP for Korean players. Even though Lee’s stay at the final table was short, being eliminated in one hand, his run to the final table made headlines in Korea.
Overall, eight different players representing South Korea have won a WSOP bracelet. The first of which came in 2019 when Sejin Park won the 13,000-entry Colossus event. That was the first-ever bracelet for a South Korean in an open bracelet event. His friend Jiyoung Kim won the Ladies Event earlier that same 2019 WSOP, making it two for South Koreans in one year.
Outside of bracelet wins, the number of Korean players has greatly increased in the last few years of the WSOP. Observing any event, it is common to see several Korean players cashing and making deep runs. Just one example of this was three other South Korean players, other than Lee, making the top 100 of the 2025 WSOP Main Event.
Perception of Poker in Korea Remains Negative
Overall, poker retains negative connotations in South Korea due to its connection to gambling, which is traditionally considered the domain of organized crime in the country.
PokerScout’s managing editor, Alex Weldon, taught English in Korea in the early 2000s and says his students were awed and slightly aghast when they saw him riffle-shuffle a deck of cards. Even that technique is associated with gambling in the country, while overhand shuffling is more common for social games.
However, the importance of E-sports and mind sports in Korean culture could provide the answer. Proponents of poker in the country will try to build on poker’s reputation as a cerebral game of skill while distancing it from gambling.
Some Korean players who have made big splashes at the WSOP in the past have even had to conceal their play back home. One example is Gyeong Byeong Lee, who lied to his parents during his deep run in the 2017 Main Event. He told PokerGO at the time:
Poker is not popular in Korea. Korean people think that poker is very bad. I cannot tell my parents that I’m playing poker. I lied to them, and told them I’m just playing a tournament,
While poker’s visibility in South Korea has increased since his 2017 comments, that perception remains prevalent, especially among older demographics. Most of the Korean players at the WSOP are on the younger side, and it is more closely linked to the gaming aspect of e-sports.
