No games after midnight for South Korean kids

The South Korean government is apparently close to legislating a gaming curfew for kids, making it illegal for them to play online games between the hours of midnight and 6am.

The proposed bill for the so called “Cinderella” ban could go before the South Korean parliament as early as this month and would require internet service providers to cut off access to online games for all users under the age of 16.  The government is also considering limiting the number of hours spent gaming online by young gamers.

South Korea is one of the most widely connected online countries in the world with, proportionally, one of the largest online gaming communities in the world.

There have been several recent reports of deaths associated with online gaming in South Korea:  Recently, a 15 year old boy allegedly killed his mother and then committed suicide after she told him off for playing online for too long and a 32 year old man is said to have died last February as a result of a non-stop online gaming session that lasted for five days.

While sensational stories like these grab headlines, the South Korean government’s primary concern, in the education conscious country, is that kids are pulling all nighters at the computer and are just not getting enough sleep to be able to function well in school during the following day.