If you go out to the streets of shops with flashing lights and karaoke rooms, you may assume that there will definitely be claw machine games somewhere around the corner. And there is, almost everywhere you turn your head. This is the current trend in Korea, as people spend loads of money on those machines in order to grab a doll out. Middle and high schoolers fill in the rooms of the claw machines with coins in their hands. However, it isn’t easy to succeed in one try. That is why people end up with empty wallets when they walk out of the room of claw machine games. Most cases are, they don’t have a single doll in their hands even though they used up all their money. So why are the claw machine games so popular these days?

At first, all people put their money in the machine with a thought of, ‘Should I try this once for fun?’, or, ‘I think I can get that one out by one try.’. However, after the first try, these thoughts are entirely changed. When the claw misses the doll, users think, ‘Ah that was close. I think I can do it the second time.’. And that is when they meet a high possibility of continuously wasting their pocket money. They try the second time, the third time, the fourth time, and most likely it doesn’t work. But only after they used up all their money, they realise how much they spent, and regret it. Even if they succeed in getting a doll, they may have used more money then the real price of the doll.

People also do it not only for the purpose of getting the doll. If they really wanted it, why don’t they buy it instead of risking money on the untrustworthy claw machine? However, most people do it for the fun. Not only it’s fun when doing the game, the feeling of happiness when they get the doll out is very exciting. This game can help people relieve stress either from studying or working, by bringing the joy to people. Usually, when the users of this game succeed in dropping a doll in the hole, they’re not happy that they got a doll. But they’re more likely to be happy just because they were able to defeat the challenge.

In SNS or blogs, there are a lot of people selling the dolls that they got from the claw machine. Some people are experts on the claw machine that they are able to earn a doll with such a little amount of money. There are Pokemon dolls as well as famous dolls from TV, which enhances the popularity of the trend. Those kinds of doll are expensive, as it is $20000 for one Pokemon doll. For example, if someone gets a Charmander doll for $3000, they have #17000 in profit. But instead of keeping this doll for themselves, some people sell it online for around $10000. Since these dolls are so popular, people are pleased with the chance of being able to buy it for half the real price. Therefore, it mutually benefits both the seller and the receiver when sales happen. The sellers entertain themselves by playing with the claw machine, while the buyers are glad that they are able to buy the dolls on a cheaper price than usual.