Censors adopt flexible stance toward alcohol-related lyrics

S.M. The Ballad's song cleared of ‘harmful to youth’ label

By Kim Rahn

Censors monitoring K-pop songs have decided to adopt a more flexible approach toward slapping “harmful to youth” ratings on alcohol-related lyrics, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Monday.

A censorship body under the ministry has withdrawn its “harmful to youth” rating on S.M. The Ballad’s “Another Day” following a court order to do so. It posted notice of the nullification on its online official gazette Friday.

Long criticized by the public for its “unfair and vague” censorship standards, the ministry backtracked from its rigid stance on its censorship of songs with alcohol- or smoking-related lyrics.

“We removed the ‘harmful to youth’ label from the song following a court ruling in August,” a ministry official said.

In January, the Youth Protection Committee under the ministry banned the song for those under 19, saying some of its lyrics, such as “so that I will not miss you after drinking” and “I dream after falling asleep by getting drunk,” lead adolescents to drink alcohol.

The group’s agency, SM Entertainment, protested and filed a suit in March. The Seoul Administrative Court ruled in favor of the agency, saying it can’t be said that songs containing words about alcohol encourage youngsters to drink, unlike references to narcotics and other hazardous materials.

After the ruling, boy band Beast’s agency Cube Entertainment also filed and won a suit against the ministry. The group’s song “On a Rainy Day” was also previously banned due to lyrics including “I should stop drinking ‘cause I’m drunk.”

New standards

Following criticism that the censorship standards lack objectivity and depend on screening committee members’ personal views, the ministry has come up with detailed and clarified standards.

“About expressions regarding drinking and smoking, we’ll limit the ‘harmful to youth’ rating to phrases directly encouraging the use of alcohol or cigarettes,” the official said.

Songs depicting violent or sexual acts after drinking in detail, or those justifying or glorifying such acts will be banned for youngsters. Other criteria also include lyrics about adolescents’ purchase of alcohol or cigarettes.

“To establish the detailed rules, we’ve collected opinions from Korean language scholars, teachers, parents, music critics, entertainment agency officials and singers’ groups, as well as the general public through the ministry’s website,” the official said.