my 2nd eevee by porcupiny

Even though Pokémon GO is not yet available to download in Asia, there have been rumours of people playing in South Korea and China. Could this be true?

So we all know by now that Nintendo’s Pokémon GO has taken the world by storm, but people living in Asia are still unable to officially download the augmented reality mobile game.

The South Korean online magazine INVEN posted pictures on July 13 of people on the South Korean island of Ulleungdo playing Pokémon GO. People have also been seen playing in Inje County and Gangwon Province in South Korea, and Xiangyang in China.

Famous Korean hacker Lee DooHee was quoted as saying, “[T]here are several people playing Pokémon GO near the Sokcho gymnasium (South Korea),” and “they have actually caught around 20 Pokémon”.

Pokémon GO operates through Google Maps and therefore people were expected to have problems once travelling overseas from regions where the game is downloadable such as America and Australia. But it appears as if this isn’t the case for some clever tech heads.

▼Pokémon GO operates through your phone’s GPS

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At present, Pokémon GO is not registered on the Google Play Store or App Store outside of these regions. So how are these people in Asia playing Pokémon GO?

It appears that these clever folks are using foreign Google and Apple accounts to download the game. However, they still shouldn’t be able to play because of the game’s reliance on GPS tracking through Google Maps. According to Yahoo! News, people in areas above the 38th parallel north line, which runs through China, South Korea, and central Japan, have so far been able to play Pokémon GO. Though we’re still not sure if that’s a coincidence or not.

▼The 38th parallel north line

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So, for our readers in Asia, have you been able to play Pokémon GO yet?

Source: Yahoo! News Japan
Top image: Flicker/Porcupiny
Insert images: Pokémon GO official website, Wikipedia/Planetpixelemporium