"Pokemon GO" was initially released in July 2016 but South Korea is one of the longest countries to ever have access to the game. The game was a viral hit when it was first released and it seems the excitement over it has gone done considerably over the past few months. Will South Koreans still embrace it after being released six months late?

"Pokemon GO" Release Delay in South Korea

"Pokemon GO" was just released this week in South Korea and almost six months has passed since it was first released. The reason for the game's delay in the country is because "Pokemon GO" heavily relies on Google Maps. This makes the game unable to run as the government has blocked its use in the country for national security purposes because of its war against North Korea, Tech Crunch reports.

How Developer Niantic Labs Was Able to Make "Pokemon GO" Work

After six long months of looking for ways to make "Pokemon GO" work, developer Niantic Labs was able to release it in Korea with the help of Pokemon Korea. However, neither parties detailed how they were able to work around the Google Maps restriction.

Niantic's Dennis Hwang only said that they used "publicly accessible data sources" and built around it in order to make "Pokemon GO" work in the country, Reuters notes. While the game was released during the winter, some people expressed their joy at being able to play it.

There was a slight problem when "Pokemon GO" launched in South Korea but the issue was easily resolved. The game can now be downloaded for iOS and Android devices.

Do you think the "Pokemon GO" hype will catch up in South Korea like the rest of the world did when it initially launched? Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

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