On TV, smoking banned but alcohol allowed

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TV shows feature Korean society's double standards on health risks

By Kang Aa-young

A scene from tvN's "Life Bar"

It seems that Korean society is using double standards on health risks when it comes to alcohol and tobacco.

Though smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages are some of the major causes of millions of preventable deaths, tobacco TV ads are banned but drinking is loosely controlled as some bar-themed TV shows are airing and encouraging people to drink.

"Smoking on TV is banned, yet drinking is not subject to such regulation. Why are policies toward health risks inconsistent? It's time to stop it," a petitioner wrote in the online petition for the presidential office. "It's time to introduce the same regulation for alcohol."

Bar-themed shows are in vogue, despite regulators' repeated warnings on them for "promoting drinking culture."

"Life Bar," tvN's Thursday night talk show, features celebrity guests and three show hosts honestly sharing their life stories over drinks.

Its live drinking scenes are exposed to broad audiences.

Its average viewership rating hovers around 1 percent, with its peak at around 3 percent.

The Korea Communications Standards Comission (KCSC) issued its latest warning to the program, Monday, for airing a drinking scene.

The scene in question aired back in September.

In the episode, the main hosts and guests consumed various alcoholic beverages including cocktails and soju, discussing their drinking rituals for a long time.

"The episode features drinking scenes over conversations. Such scenes can send a positive signal for drinking alcohol to viewers and thus can influence alcoholic consumption," an KCSC official said.

It is not the first time the program has received such a content warning.

Previously, the program got a warning in March for a similar reason.

Questions were raised as to why the bar-themed TV show was acceptable whereas tobacco ads are banned.

Tobacco companies raised a double standard allegation, claiming the government is taking a strong anti-smoking stance, but allows brewers to do marketing activities without proper regulation.

Not only are cigarette commercials banned from TV, but packs carry one of 10 different graphic images of laryngeal cancer, oral cancer, heart disease and other potential health problems associated with tobacco use. In contrast, alcohol is sold with only a written warning attached.

"Life Bar," tvN's Thursday night talk show, features celebrity guests and three show hosts honestly sharing their life stories over drinks .Courtesy of CJ ENM

According to CBS No Cut News, the KCSC has issued 29 warnings to programs just this year for featuring alcoholic beverages, and most of them were TV shows just like "Life Bar."

Industry insiders say Korean culture in general is "generous" regarding alcoholism compared to smoking and thus guidance for depicting alcohol lags far behind what people actually feel.

Culture critic Jung Duk-hyun said there certainly exists a double standard on health risks as seen in the government ban on tobacco ads and its allegedly lenient stance on alcohol.

He said there has been a shift in the regulations for TV shows regarding alcohol consumption following tvN's popular reality show "Grandpas Over Flowers."

In the past, TV shows were not allowed to feature hosts drinking alcohol. "If they did, it was considered almost an accident," he said. "But that stringent regulation has been eased since Grandpas Over Flowers."

"Life Bar" has come after the TV show. Viewers' reactions to drinking scenes are mixed.

Some say it's okay if the program doesn't go too far, while some are concerned about such scenes.

"There are guidelines set in place. But people's perception is not changing over night. I think there should be more realistic and specific guidelines on this issue," Jung said.

The KCSC's regulations stipulate that broadcasting "alcohol consumption" is fine but TV programs should not "romanticize or encourage" it.

Public awareness is an important factor in making guidelines more specific. Since there is a widespread perception that alcohol is needed for socializing, the portrayal of excessive drinking is rarely judged "inappropriate" for broadcast, Jung added.

Though "Life Bar" is renowned for receiving warnings, many other broadcasters are following a similar format featuring alcoholic drinking.

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