No Age Restrictions, Criticism Over Unfiltered Exposure of Adolescents
In TV dramas and variety shows, as well as various OTT (online video services) and YouTube, content featuring celebrities drinking and conversing in so-called ‘sulbang’ (drinking room) formats is becoming popular. This has raised concerns about excessively promoting and glamorizing drinking culture.
According to the 'Monitoring Status of Drinking Scenes on TV Broadcasts in the Last 5 Years' submitted by the Korea Health Promotion Institute to Nam In-soon, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea on the 20th, drinking scenes appeared in 488 out of 556 top-rated dramas and variety programs over the past five years, accounting for 88%.
Article 28 of the 'Broadcasting Review Regulations' states that broadcasts must be careful in their portrayal so as not to glamorize or encourage drinking. Furthermore, Article 45 prohibits depicting children and adolescents drinking and requires careful expression to prevent the perception of improper drinking culture as a normal situation.
YouTube and OTT platforms are regulatory blind spots accessible to everyone. Popular drinking content featuring celebrities is overflowing and is exposed to adolescents and children without filtering, yet there are no regulatory measures in place.
Representative sulbang YouTube channels include Lee Young-ji’s ‘Charin Geon Jwippuldo Eopjiman’ (I Have Nothing Prepared), Shin Dong-yup’s ‘Jjanhan Hyung’ (Touching Brother), Jo Hyun-ah’s ‘Mokyoil Bam’ (Thursday Night), Sung Si-kyung’s ‘Meogeultende’ (I’m Going to Eat), and Kian84’s ‘Sulterview’. ‘Charin Geon Jwippuldo Eopjiman’ has 3.87 million subscribers, and ‘Jjanhan Hyung’ has 1.57 million, showing great popularity.
According to data on the 'Monitoring Status of Drinking Scenes on YouTube in the Last 4 Years,' all of the top 100 videos retrieved last year by searching keywords such as ‘sulbang’ and ‘drinking broadcast’ depicted ‘problematic drinking scenes,’ and none of these videos had age restrictions set.
In response, the government issued two guidelines last year targeting YouTube drinking broadcasts: “Minimize minors’ access to content” and “Use warning messages to inform about the harmfulness in scenes glamorizing drinking.” However, these government regulations are non-binding recommendations, and unlike broadcasting, the government has no means to regulate YouTube.
Assembly member Nam In-soon pointed out, “Last year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Promotion Institute revised the media drinking scene guidelines to add age restrictions and warning labels, but there is no enforceability for OTT and YouTube, leaving a legal blind spot.”
She emphasized, “Since various studies have proven that adolescents are greatly influenced by media content, additional regulations are necessary so that media can contribute to fostering a culture of moderate drinking in our society.”
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