Korea’s PC bang (PC방) industry — the country’s dense network of pay-by-the-hour internet gaming cafes — posted foreign-user growth of more than 80% year-over-year according to first-quarter 2026 industry trend data released by ILovePCBang, one of the sector’s leading trade-data trackers, part of a broader push to export the Korean PC bang model internationally rather than treating it as a purely domestic gaming-culture institution.
That international expansion has taken concrete form: a partnership between Nongshim Redforce and BNM Company opened the first “Redforce PC Arena” location in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with additional overseas locations reportedly in preparation, treating the PC bang format itself — high-end gaming rigs, food-and-beverage service, and hourly seat rental — as an exportable Korean retail concept in much the same way Korean convenience-store and cafe formats have expanded abroad in recent years.
Domestically, the report identified a rebound in MMORPG genre popularity as a key driver of late-night PC bang usage rates, with NCSoft’s “Aion 2” and “Lineage Classic” both credited with pulling gamers back into PC bangs during overnight hours — a genre resurgence that matters directly to PC bang operators’ bottom lines, since MMORPGs traditionally generate longer, more consistent per-session usage than shorter competitive titles.
Beyond gaming itself, the report described PC bangs increasingly evolving into “multi-platform spaces” that combine gaming with upgraded food service — some locations now employ dedicated kitchen staff and offer diversified menus well beyond the instant-noodle-and-processed-snack fare historically associated with the format — alongside brand collaboration “shop-in-shop” concepts that diversify revenue beyond pure hourly seat rental.
With hardware costs rising, the report also noted operators increasingly prioritizing interior remodeling over frequent full hardware refreshes, treating the physical environment and overall experience as a differentiator that can extend a location’s competitive lifespan between major equipment upgrade cycles.
Source: ILovePCBang Q1 2026 PC bang industry trend report; Nongshim Redforce and BNM Company “Redforce PC Arena” Vietnam expansion coverage, 2026.
