By Kim Se-jeong
The government's recent decision to lift the nighttime online game curfew for children younger than 16 is rekindling debate on the measure.
While the government says abolishing the regulation, called the "shutdown system," will invigorate the game industry, parents and youth welfare groups say the four-year-old rule was beginning to bear fruit by stopping online game addiction among children.
The shutdown system requires Internet gaming companies to cut access to their servers for children younger than 16 from midnight until 6 a.m. It was adopted in 2012 to prevent addiction and ensure that children got enough sleep, in the aftermath of a murder case by a game-addicted child.
But now the government, led by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism that governs the game industry, plans to abolish the shutdown for all ages. Instead it will allow access to online games with parental permission.
The gaming industry welcomed the move.
With the change, gaming companies will no longer bear the responsibility to cut off connections for their young customers after midnight.
They opposed the total shutdown since its implementation, saying the measure would suppress Korea's burgeoning gaming industry. They have also raised questions over the efficacy of the regulation because of loopholes, as the shutdown was not applied to mobile games.
Young professional gamers, who argued the measure would undercut Korea's standing in the world's internet gaming field, also welcomed the new move.
"As we see from the sweeping popularity of Pokemon Go, gaming is an important content industry," a culture ministry official said. "It is a culture, not a drug."
However, critics argue the lift is supporting game companies to make money at the expense of children's health.
They say the total shutdown is effective: according to a study by the Korea Creative Content Agency, 2.5 percent of elementary, middle and high school were addicted to online games in 2011 before the shutdown was implemented, but that dropped to 0.82 percent in 2012.
Even within the government, some oppose abolishing the system. "The change will endanger children," an official from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said on condition of anonymity. "We now encourage children and parents to talk more about what games to play and how long to play. This is a better process."
The Constitutional Court also ruled in 2014 that the total shutdown did not violate children's basic rights.
A director of a parents' group for better public education said that boosting the gaming industry and protecting children are two different issues. "If Korea needs to develop globally popular games like Pokemon Go, it should invest more in content development rather than allowing more children to use online games at night," he said.
Kwon Jang-hee, director of the Institute of Playmedia Education Center, also said, "The measure initially was to protect children's sleeping time. The government's move is inappropriate because the lack of sleep hasn't been solved. Also, it's wrong for the government to claim the new measure is to make game culture healthier. For that to happen, children should sleep when they're supposed to sleep."
The government's recent decision to lift the nighttime online game curfew for children younger than 16 is rekindling debate on the measure.
While the government says abolishing the regulation, called the "shutdown system," will invigorate the game industry, parents and youth welfare groups say the four-year-old rule was beginning to bear fruit by stopping online game addiction among children.
The shutdown system requires Internet gaming companies to cut access to their servers for children younger than 16 from midnight until 6 a.m. It was adopted in 2012 to prevent addiction and ensure that children got enough sleep, in the aftermath of a murder case by a game-addicted child.
But now the government, led by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism that governs the game industry, plans to abolish the shutdown for all ages. Instead it will allow access to online games with parental permission.
The gaming industry welcomed the move.
With the change, gaming companies will no longer bear the responsibility to cut off connections for their young customers after midnight.
They opposed the total shutdown since its implementation, saying the measure would suppress Korea's burgeoning gaming industry. They have also raised questions over the efficacy of the regulation because of loopholes, as the shutdown was not applied to mobile games.
Young professional gamers, who argued the measure would undercut Korea's standing in the world's internet gaming field, also welcomed the new move.
"As we see from the sweeping popularity of Pokemon Go, gaming is an important content industry," a culture ministry official said. "It is a culture, not a drug."
However, critics argue the lift is supporting game companies to make money at the expense of children's health.
They say the total shutdown is effective: according to a study by the Korea Creative Content Agency, 2.5 percent of elementary, middle and high school were addicted to online games in 2011 before the shutdown was implemented, but that dropped to 0.82 percent in 2012.
Even within the government, some oppose abolishing the system. "The change will endanger children," an official from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said on condition of anonymity. "We now encourage children and parents to talk more about what games to play and how long to play. This is a better process."
The Constitutional Court also ruled in 2014 that the total shutdown did not violate children's basic rights.
A director of a parents' group for better public education said that boosting the gaming industry and protecting children are two different issues. "If Korea needs to develop globally popular games like Pokemon Go, it should invest more in content development rather than allowing more children to use online games at night," he said.
Kwon Jang-hee, director of the Institute of Playmedia Education Center, also said, "The measure initially was to protect children's sleeping time. The government's move is inappropriate because the lack of sleep hasn't been solved. Also, it's wrong for the government to claim the new measure is to make game culture healthier. For that to happen, children should sleep when they're supposed to sleep."
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