An arcade located on the second floor of SM Mall. I go there every other day when I'm in Angeles.
In 1998, when StarCraft was released and a revolution occurred, shifting teenagers' leisure time from arcades to PC bangs, I still stubbornly played Tekken and King of Fighters after school instead of going to PC bangs. Unable to overcome the overwhelming tide of StarCraft, and despite the bitter reality of local arcades disappearing one by one, and even as youth arcades transformed into games like Sea Story for survival, I continued to frequent arcades.
It's fascinating that this World of Fun arcade keeps pace with trends in Korea. Korean arcades are now increasingly filled with crane games and prize redemption machines instead of the traditional joystick and button setups. They are being reorganized to focus on coin karaoke and racing games, and this place is following suit.
At World of Fun, you don't use real money; you play games with special arcade coins. One coin costs 5 pesos. If you buy a large quantity, you get bonus coins.
I mostly play claw machines, ticket redemption games, and racing games (Mario Kart).
It's large and crowded, making it fun to just watch.
When I'm playing games with a pile of coins, children who look like they're from impoverished backgrounds sometimes come up with pitiful expressions and ask for just one coin. I proudly give them one by one.
This past February, a group of Korean children came and were playing games. I asked them:
Why did you come here?
We came to learn English for two months.
Oh really? How much does it cost?
It's around 800!
800? You're lying! You're too young to be telling such lies to adults!
It's true. You can find it by searching "Dak Gong Camp" on Google.
Dak Gong Camp.......
I was quite surprised by the wealth disparity and culture in the Philippines, but I realized that Korea is the same in ways I'm unaware of. Two months of English immersion for children costing 800 is something only the upper class can dream of. Looking at them again, they seemed to exude an aura of wealth.
I remember leaving because I didn't have the courage to ask any more questions...
