According to a report by KBS, South Koreaās National Broadcasting Corporation, the National Assembly of Korea officially announced that it will abolish measures that prohibit nighttime online gaming for young peopleĀ starting on January 1, 2022. This ban was implemented in November 2011, and 10 years have passed. The South Korean National Assembly passed the amendments to the Youth Protection Act including the above-mentioned content in the plenary meeting held on November 11.
Furthermore, the Assembly improves theĀ convenience of the system for parents and children to independently regulate game time in the future. However, the Game Cultural Foundation will coordinate this regulation. Some of the measures include offering jobs that will restrict game time.
The popularity of online gaming hit a new height at theĀ beginning of this century. Because of concerns that teenagersā indulging in online games will become a social problem, the South Korean government stipulates that teenagers under the age of 16 are prohibited from playing online games from 0 am to 6 am. However, in recent years, mobile games have been widely popularized. Teenagers can access various entertainment methods such as videos and animations. Therefore, there has been a lot of controversy regarding the online game ban.
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The South Korean government began to actively promote the abolition of related bans in August 2021.Ā In addition, the Ministry of Women and Family of South Korea stated that in order to prevent young people from indulging in online games, it will strengthen school education and provide relevant information to guardians.
South Korea’s 5G is strong – favours online gaming
South Korea is the first to launch 5G commercial services. Its three major operators,Ā SK Telecom, KT, and LG U+ are doing very well. These companies officially commenced 5G commercial servicesĀ on April 3, 2019.Ā Driven by the substantial increase in 5G users, the performance of South Korean telecom operators has also improved significantly.Ā KT’s financial report shows that driven by the substantial increase in 5G users, their net profit in the third quarter increased significantly year-on-year.
Apart from KT, other carriers in South Korea are doing well financially. The faster network speed that 5G offers is favourable for online gaming. Of course, users will get real-time responses without buffering.
This new decision from the South Korean government is a welcome development. It gives citizens more freedom and removes the ideas of a stiff government. However, parents will have more work to do with their wards as online gaming can be addictive.
