The Shutdown System for Online Games

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The shutdown law is a law made to limit teenagers’ game usage after 12 o’clock. Effective to people under the age of 16, this law prevents a teenager from playing an online game after midnight by literally shutting the game down. The shutdown law was made by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, and it has been effective for ten years. However, I believe this law is absurd and should be abolished immediately.

The shutdown law is against the Constitution of Korea. The Constitution states that every person, even students, have the right to do whatever they want. This includes playing games, too. Every teenager has the freedom to play online games whenever they want, and stopping them from doing this is not what the country has to do. There was actually a Constitution Complaint by someone on this law. Instead of taking such drastic measures on online gaming, it is the government’s duty to help teenagers cut down on gaming in a peaceful way, such as campaigns or slogans.

Also, the shutdown law is not as effective as anticipated. The original purpose was to prevent teenagers from playing games at late hours. However, teenagers these days are all finding ways to play games after midnight, unaffected by the law. For example, since the law is only effective for Korean gaming accounts, some teenagers are making American accounts to avoid being constrained by the law. There are many ways to avoid the law, so simply shutting down Korean accounts below the age of 16 can no longer be effective.

Therefore, the shutdown law is an absurd and uneffective law. Not only does it collide with the Constitution of Korea, but it is also meaningless. The government should get rid of the shutdown law, and find ways to help teenagers cut down on online games on their own.