Minecraft is the most popular 3D game in the world. This game has been sold more than 200 million, and this game is the most sold game in the world. People, mostly children like to play Minecraft. They can learn science, computer programming, and architecture easily by playing Minecraft. Also, many schools are using this game as an education tool. However, children who are under 18 in South Korea cannot play Minecraft after July 1st. Why Minecraft became an R-rated game only in South Korea?

▲ A picture of game, Minecraft

Only in South Korea, there is a law called "Shutdown Law". The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family made this law in 2011. They made this law because they thought teenagers do not sleep because of playing computer games, and they thought computer games make teenagers react violently. So, children who are under 18 cannot play games between 12 a.m to 6 a.m.

▲ A picture of ˝Shutdown Law˝

However, there was a conflict with game companies. To stop teenagers to play computer games between 12 a.m. to 6 a.m., game companies should turn off only Korean servers by hand power. However, it was technically impossible to turn off only the Korean server. So, many game companies just blocked Korean teenagers to make game accounts. After that, Microsoft underwrote Mojang Inc, which made Minecraft. "Originally, people only needed Mojang account to play Minecraft. However, Microsoft changed to use the Xbox Live account (Microsoft account) after July 1st. In South Korea, because of the "Shutdown Law", Microsoft blocked only Korean children to play Minecraft. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family are denying that Minecraft became an R-rated game in South Korea, not because of Shutdown Law.

There is a lot of criticism about the "Shutdown Law" and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Many people and politicians say that the government should abolish the Shutdown Law and should solve this problem, while the government says that we have to strengthen the Shutdown Law and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Shutdown Law has some technical problems with game companies, and Minecraft became an R-rated game because of this problem. The government should solve this problem and complement the law.

By Minseok Kang