SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The seaside South Korean city of Sokcho is enjoying a surge of visitors who are wandering the streets at all hours as they look at their smartphones. Why? It appears to be the only place in the country where Pokemon Go players can chase the mobile game’s virtual monsters.
Local restaurants, hotels and businesses are trying to capitalize on the sudden craze by luring tourists with photos of Pikachu and other monsters in their backyard and promising free gifts to the Pokemon “trainers.” The mayor pledged to increase free Wi-Fi hotspots and battery charging stations, and travel agencies have launched Pokemon-themed tour packages to Sokcho. Hotels in the east coast city near the North Korean border reportedly saw a surge in reservations.
The mobile game has become a blockbuster hit in the U.S. within less than a week of its launch, but it has not been officially launched in South Korea and might never be. The country is likely to be excluded from the Pokemon Go’s Asia launch because South Korea’s government restricts Google Maps service for security reasons.
Niantic Inc., a San Francisco spinoff of Google parent Alphabet Inc., relies on Google Maps to overlay cute Nintendo characters onto the physical world. Gamers have to find spots in the real world to capture and train Psyduck, Meowth and other virtual monsters.
Media reports attributed the monsters’ appearance in Sokcho to map glitches. By the way Niantic organizes the region, Sokcho and its neighboring area bordering North Korea were reportedly categorized as North Korea. Neither Google nor Niantic immediately responded to emails seeking comment Thursday.