South Korea’s parliament on April 29 passed a measure to curb what the government sees as a rising tide of dangerous addiction among young online gamers. In specific, the law curtails access to online games for youth under the age of 16 after midnight.
Proposed last year by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Youth Protection Revision bill was a response to a series of incidences involving negligent parenting and sleep deprivation due to excessive online gaming.
Under the “nighttime shutdown,” online gamers below the age of 16 will be kicked out of gaming sessions from midnight to 6 a.m. A stricter alternative measure that proposed extending the curfew to ages under 19 was voted down. The bill will take effect six months after being passed.
Under the nighttime shutdown rule, online gamers registered as under the age of 16 will be automatically booted out of gaming sessions from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. This restriction has engendered concern from the Korean games industry due to fears it may limit growth. The concerns are understandable, if only because of the business already at stake. The online games export volume measured over $1 billion in 2008, which was 50 times more than cinematic sales and six times more than television drama exports, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency.
[Source: Bernama.com]
While I was teaching English in China for a year, I toured for several weeks surrounding Asian countries, including near South Korea.
They all have these Internet cafes that are lined with hundreds of computers with young kids playing World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and other online games for hours on end. It’s often their only outlet away from 10+ hours of school each day.
Even though I am a hardcore gamer at heart, seeing the addiction this article speaks of up close, I can understand the interest in restricting online gaming use in these countries.