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News broke out about new regulations set by the Korea Media Rating Board (Hereafter, KMRB) that has the potential to shake up the K-Pop world.
Basically, in the past if a music video was too explicit or racy and did not get any airtime on a broadcast channel, the music video could still be put up on YouTube and be used for marketing and promotional purposes.
However, beginning on August 18 all of that is about to change.
In the past, if a music video was posted online without receiving any kind of money, it was excluded from being reviewed by the KMRB. However, from August 18 the music video must receive an “OK” from the KMRB in order to be posted online.
The clip will now require to be labeled with “For the general public,” “For people over 12 and 15 years old,” “Not Suitable for Teenagers,” and “Restricted Viewing.” (Videos that were already reviewed by a broadcasting company will not be under this new regulation.)
Currently, there are no specific guidelines as to what websites will be covered by this new regulation. (Will it include teasers, YouTube clips, Google Video, and etc.)
It looks as though entertainment agencies will have a headache with regards to marketing and promotions. Although it might not be as problematic for non-Korean websites but the problem with most Korean websites is the fact that to watch material that is meant for adults aged 19 and over, you are required to type in your registration number. (In South Korea, everyone has a registration number and this is required to sign up for websites and also access certain material.)
What do you think, is this new regulation too restrictive, or do you think that it won’t be too big of a problem?
