The Netmarble Cultural Foundation kicked off the 2026 National Esports Festival for Students with Disabilities at 1 PM on September 8 at Vivaldi Park Sonokam in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, with around 1,600 finalists and related personnel in attendance.

The National Esports Festival for Students with Disabilities is co-hosted by the Netmarble Cultural Foundation, the National Institute of Special Education, and the Korea Creative Content Agency, with sponsorship from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The Netmarble Cultural Foundation has been co-hosting this event since 2009.

Running through September 8 and 9 under the slogan "A World Opened by AI e! Infinite Possibilities e!", this year's event features 18 information competition categories and 11 esports categories, including Magu Magu Remaster (PC) and Modoo Marble (Mobile). The esports competition expanded to 11 categories following the promotion of FC Online as an official event this year.

The esports tournament welcomes around 1,600 participants, including students from special schools (classes) across the country selected through regional preliminaries that ran from May to July with about 3,000 participants, alongside supervising teachers, special school administrators, and parents.

Except for demonstration categories, category winners will be awarded the Minister of Education Award and the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award. Additionally, excellence and encouragement awards from the Director of the National Institute of Special Education and the President of the Korea Creative Content Agency, as well as the Netmarble Cultural Foundation Representative's Fair Play Award, will be presented.

Do Ki-wook, the head of the Netmarble Cultural Foundation, remarked, "We hope the students gather joyful experiences, and this year we have specially prepared a venue to enhance the capabilities required in the era of artificial intelligence and digital transformation. We will continue to show steady interest and support in narrowing the information gap for students and opening up new leisure cultures."

A variety of events for everyone to enjoy together—including participants, families, and visitors—have also been prepared. Starting at 7 PM on the evening of September 8, the cultural event features stages such as a ballerina who loved a B-boy, an illusion magic show, an e-world quiz show, a hip-hop e-stage, and Play the Beat.

On top of that, attendees can experience autonomous personal mobility rides, AI caricature drawing, VR game experiences, magic paper keyring making, a stamp tour and photo contest, and a match prediction e-challenge.

More details about the Netmarble Cultural Foundation can be found on their official website.