Korean Government Pushes For Banning Smoking Scenes In Popular Media

The Korean government has expressed concern over the popularity of smoking scenes among the general public and plans to crack them down on OTT platforms.

While Korean television broadcasting rules prohibit showing characters smoking without a blurring filter, Korean content being released on OTT platforms like Netflix and YouTube is not bound by such restrictions. This loophole has allowed scenes like Lim Ji Yeon smoking in The Glory or Suzy doing the same on Doona! go viral on the internet, leading to many parodies and recreations. The trend, however, has left authorities uneasy.

One of Lim Ji Yeon’s smoking scenes in “The Glory” | Netflix

According to a report by the Korea Health Promotion Institute from August 2023, out of the 14 most popular dramas across seven domestic and international streaming platforms, 12 featured tobacco products or smoking scenes. That is 87.5% of the total observed dramas. This directly undercuts South Korea’s efforts to reduce smoking, but since streaming platforms fall under the jurisdiction of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, they cannot be bound to the same restrictions that are under broadcasting laws.

Suzy’s character in “Doona!” smoking | Netflix

As a response, Seoul officials plan to call for collective efforts to increase regulation of smoking scenes at the upcoming 10^th session of the Conference to the Parties to the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). The convention is scheduled to take place from February 5 to February 10 in Panama.

| Secretariat of the WHO FCTC

The reason behind South Korea’s focus being concentrated on regulating smoking scenes in popular media is the government’s nationwide anti-smoking campaign. It goes beyond media and extends to fields of taxation and public education. So far, these efforts have shown significant results. According to the Health Ministry, the adult smoking rate in Korea, which was 35.1% in 1998, dropped to 17.7% by 2022.

Some of the anti-smoking measures taken by South Korea include the expansion of non-smoking areas around daycare centers, kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools, implementing media guidelines, and enacting laws forcing manufacturers to disclose the harmful effects of tobacco products.

At the FCTC session, the government plans to put its case forward by highlighting its success in reducing the adult smoking rate in the country.

We will share our tobacco regulation achievements with the international community. We will also carefully consider the FCTC agenda to further strengthen domestic smoking cessation policies.

— Jeong Yeon Hee, Health Ministry official

Meanwhile, the FCTC was established in 2005 as the first international treaty with the health sector, created with the goal of reducing global tobacco consumption and smoking rates. As of 2023, 183 countries are participating as parties in the convention. These parties hold a regular international conference every two years, though this year’s session comes after a five-year hiatus.