Gamers under 16 years old are not allowed to play at night in South Korea. This has been banned by law. Now the responsible ministries have acknowledged that this rule is unnecessary and are abolishing it – after 10 years.
What is this law? The “Youth Protection Revision Act”, also known as the “Shutdown Law” or “Cinderella Law”, was a law in South Korea. It blocked access to online games for youths under 16 years old between 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM.
The law was passed in May 2011 and came into effect in November of the same year. A similar law was also enacted in China in 2019, which prohibited young gamers from playing at night or for too long.
The reason for the law was apparently the fear that excessive gaming could lead to addiction or even suicide.
Why has it been changed now? The law led to the problem that it was difficult for game manufacturers to properly regulate who plays when. This led to absurd consequences such as Minecraft, loved by children, receiving a rating of 19+.
Moreover, only online games were affected; mobile and regular console games could still apparently be played. Nevertheless, some console services, like the PlayStation Network, restricted their services in Korea (via Kotaku.com).
How effective the law actually was in combating possible gaming addiction in children remains open.
There was also criticism from parents who wanted to decide for themselves how to raise their children and what freedoms to allow them. They could ask for exceptions for their children, but this rule was only invoked in 1% to 28% of cases depending on the game (via KoreaHerald.com).
Young gamers in Korea are allowed to play at night again – Hopefully
How is it now? The law is set to be abolished, although the decision needs to be reviewed again at the end of the year before it is enforced. Parents or guardians will then be allowed to decide for themselves when their children can play.
The Korean game industry society now also wants to advocate for educating parents about the possibilities for youth protection in games.
By the way, a law was supposed to be changed in Korea earlier, which would have prevented one of the world’s most famous gamers from playing:
Politicians want to change the law so that Faker can continue playing LoL
