South Korea
South Korea is a country in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. Historically, South Korea's Smash scene was very niche, owing to the poor market standing of Nintendo in the country (notably, the Wii U and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U were never officially sold in South Korea); this started to change after the release of the Nintendo Switch, which granted newfound popularity to Nintendo in the country and allowed a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate South Korean competitive scene to begin blooming. Though still largely grassroots, the South Korean Smash scene now sees respectable attendance numbers.
The first Ultimate and Melee Power Rankings were released in May 2019, with Ultimate being headed by JJROCKETS, a Midwest player who was residing in the country at that time. The return of Tanark to South Korea and the new wave of online warriors attending offline tournaments caused rapid growth of the scene in both size and skill level.
South Korea was among the nations who participated in the SWT: East Asia South Ultimate Online Qualifier, with three Korean players qualifying for the regional finals in Japan. However, none of them were able to attend due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Smashers
- See also: Category:South Korean smashers
Notable players
| Tag | Character(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 Ashen |
  |
Recognized by LumiRank 2023 as the best player from South Korea that year. One of the few South Korean players with wins on ranked players, having defeated NaetorU at Weekday Shinosuma #192.5. |
| beanmoney |
 |
The best South Korean player in the first half of 2023. |
| JJROCKETS |
 |
Originally from Illinois. Resided in South Korea between 2019 and 2021 as an English teacher and became a prominent organizer in the scene. The best South Korean player in the region's first season. |
| LynZle |
  |
The best South Korean player in the region's third season. One of the few South Korean players to travel outside their region. |
| Sala |
 |
Originally from NorCal. Won Melee Uprising 2022, making him the highest-scoring wildcard player for the Smash World Tour 2022. |
| Sejun |
 |
Although better known for his activity in competitive Pokémon and the Pokémon TCG, he was also a notable Smash player for some time, placing 2nd at the SWT: East Asia South Ultimate Online Qualifier Last Chance Qualifier. |
| Tanark |
  |
The best South Korean player in Smash 4 and the best player in Ultimate in the region's second season. One of the first South Korean players to gain recognition beyond South Korea, especially after residing in New England in 2017 and 2018. Won the SWT: East Asia South Ultimate Online Qualifier Last Chance Qualifier. |
Tournaments
- See also: Category:South Korean tournaments
Notable tournament series
Tournament series that have achieved recognition outside their local region.
| Tournament | Games | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackout at Blackmarket (Seoul) |  |
Monthly (fourth Saturday of the month) | |
| Liquor Burger Monthly at Liquor Burger (Incheon) | |
Monthly (third Saturday of the month) | |
| Seoul Smash at Retro Game Bar (Seoul) | |
Monthly (second Saturday of the month) | |
| The Daegu bimonthly at Etoh's | |
Monthly (second Saturday of the month) | |
| Uprising (Seoul) |  |
Annual | Ongoing |
Notable tournaments
Tournaments that featured at least one game at a superregional level.
| Tournament | Date | Entrants | Supermajor | Major | Superregional | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uprising 2019 | August 31st-September 1st, 2019 | 126 | — | — | |
— |
Largest singles events
| Rank | Tournament | Date | Game | Attendance | Winner | Character(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uprising 2019 | August 31st-September 1st, 2019 | |
126 |  MkLeo |
 
|
| 2 | Uprising 2022 | September 3rd-4th, 2022 | |
77 |  kept |
 
|
| 3 | Uprising 2023 | October 14th-15th, 2023 | |
75 | Neo |
|
| 4 | Seoul Smash 31 | July 29th, 2023 | |
74 | Ashen |
|
| 5 | Seoul Smash 11 | November 30th, 2019 | |
64 | LynZle |
|
| Seoul Smash 27 | December 18th, 2022 | |
ADverb |
| ||
| 7 | Seoul Smash 6 | July 13th, 2019 | |
62 | Tanark |
|
| Seoul Smash 22 | July 10th, 2022 | |
Tanark |
| ||
| 9 | Blackout 2 | June 29th, 2019 | |
61 | Tanark |
|
| 10 | BLACKOUT | May 25th, 2019 | |
57 |  Neath |
|
