The Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korea University’s School of International Sport Science at its Sejong campus, agreeing to embed project-based esports work directly into the university’s regular degree curriculum. The deal was signed on 10 June 2026 during the 2026 E-KUS (Esports Korea University Sejong) Esports Forum on the Sejong campus, and is KeSPA’s latest move to professionalise South Korea’s esports education pipeline. KeSPA Secretary General Kim Cheol-hak and Kim Sang-ho, Chair of the School of International Sport Science, both attended the signing.
What the Partnership Covers
The agreement sets up a cooperative framework that links the esports industry with Korea University’s regular curriculum, rather than treating esports as an extracurricular add-on. The two organisations will work together across four main areas.
- Creating and operating project-based courses tied directly to industry needs
- Jointly developing and running industry-academia programmes
- Sharing human networks and physical infrastructure
- Collaborating on event sponsorship and promotional activities
The organisations also plan joint research and collaborative projects, with the project-based, industry-linked courses set to be established and operated as part of the standard degree programme.
KeSPA’s Push to Professionalise Esports Education
The MoU continues KeSPA’s broader institutional drive to formalise how South Korea trains the people who staff its esports industry, from players to production and management roles. Kim Cheol-hak framed the deal as a foundation for that pipeline. “This agreement will serve as a meaningful stepping stone for fostering talent and promoting industrial development in the esports sector together with Korea University Sejong campus,” the KeSPA Secretary General said in remarks translated from Korean. “Moving forward, we will support the cultivation of convergent talents equipped with both professional expertise and practical experience, ensuring that creative outcomes derived from the curriculum lead to industrial advancement.”
Inside the E-KUS Esports Forum
The signing took place at the E-KUS Esports Forum held on the same day at Korea University’s Sejong campus. Across the forum, industry and academic representatives delivered topic presentations and took part in panel discussions, while brand booths and other programmes ran alongside the talks.
With the agreement now in place, KeSPA and Korea University Sejong move from signing to delivery, designing and running the project-based, industry-linked courses that the MoU puts at the centre of the curriculum.