Natuur[Shield] is a fan of the non-korean community

Kang Min Park is a 18 year old Protoss player who became a semi pro 3 months ago. He's not at any of the proteams yet, but would like to join Khan if he could because he's a big fan of Stork and Jangbi. EffOrt met up with him and asked him about Courage and other things.

Kang Min Park, or Natuur[Shield] as he's better know, has not played any televised games of course, but he's frequently played on online streams. He says he's a regular in shield's clan war lineup and that he recently beat the Neo.G clan 5-0 by himself. He also says that he believes he plays better on a stream because he thinks it's a more important game than many others. He doesn't get all that nervous and believes the few nerves he does get is more of an asset than a problem for him. Natuur only started play StarCraft about two years ago, but now he plays seven to eight hours a day.

How did you feel when you passed courage?
I didn't know how to feel actually. I thought it was a dream and I'm like when do I wake up? It was a very shocking and exiciting moment for me then I realised it was real then I felt real happy and how I really felt, there isn't enough words to describe it. The best part was when I was receiving the title. I played neo.g_pursue in the 6th round, and the one I played in 5th round I don't remember his name but his race was Terran I beat him 2-1

How does SC affect your life and study in school being a semi pro and all?
I always dreamt about becoming pro during middle school. Once I got to the 11th grade I dropped out of school and joined [Shield] clan and Shield academy. I dropped out because I wanted to achieve my dream of becoming pro gamer also when I went to school I didn't have time to play a lot or at all. I trained in shield academy for 10 months and finally was good enough to earn a semi pro title. After I won my semi pro title I started going back to school on weekends.

Do your parents support you with your SC life or do they want you to study? How did they react when you dropped out of school?
They supported me from a very early age with whatever I wanted to do because they didn't want me to regret anything. They are very caring. I did feel sorry afterwards that I chose the SC path instead of studying. But in the end life is too short to regret anything I'm just glad I'm allowed to do what I want. Life should always be this way. Do what you want without causing damage to others^^

What do you plan on doing with your life once SC is no longer popular and sponsered?
I haven't really thought about it before, but if I do become successfull with sc, I hope everything will be fine with whatever happens after

A lot of people say Blue storm favors Terran in the match up TvP what are your thoughts on that?
It favors Terran in late games and long ones. But there is a lot of strategies the Protoss can do in the beginning or even middle game to destroy the Terran before he has a chance to do anything to you. I believe Blue storm is the most balanced map compared to any other.

What are your thoughts on Andromeda?
In PvT I believe it gives the Protoss an advantage early on and somewhat mid game because of the huge middle regardless still balanced but PvZ its harder to play against because zerg mine so quickly on that map due to the close expos. Regardless I think it is a fairly balanced map and very fun to play on it just depends on your style

Do you know anything about the non-Korean scene?
I know of Draco, ToT)Mondragon(, PJ, IdrA and MYM clan. When I just started SC I saw some of their replays and I thought they were good. Sometimes they (foreigners in general -editor's note) request me to play them so I just use my 2nd best race Terran and play them. I usually beat them I have a winning record vs all the foreigners I played but this guy simpl[7th] is good he beat me couple times. I also watched Blizzcon a while back.

What are your thoughts on the foreigner community?
I like the events they do, I also like WCG. What the foreigner community is doing is great I really appreciate the work and I do really like the foreigner community

Would you ever like to compete in a event such as blizzcon if you got the opportunity?
If I did it would really be great just to compete in such an event. I wouldn't really worry about my results. Its a really fun event to watch so playing in it would really make me happy and whatever the results are I'm fine with them ^^


If you had to make a pro team which five people who would be in it?
Stork, Savior, Jaedong, flash and Jangbi

How did you come up with your name? Does it symbolize anything?
Natuur is a icecream company in Korea, I really like icecream ^^. And a celebrity who made the commercial for it, I'm a big fan of her and it almost could mean Nature and I love the Nature

Would you like say anything to the people that will read this?
First, I'm happy that non-Koreans know about me. Also I'm really flattered that people like my game style ^^. I like the foreigner community they're great and their events like Blizzcon are amazing and I like their work! I will try my best so keep on the lookout for my name. Ty EffOrt for interviewing me.

Special thanks: O)Spirit

Links
GosuGamers - Natuur Replay pack