Vortex Gaming

Kakao Games (CEO Han Sang-woo)'s 'Uma Musume: Pretty Derby', which is serviced domestically and developed by Cygames of Japan, was unexpectedly criticized in the National Assembly for sexual objectification. In response, the Korea Game Users Association expressed concern, saying, "It's a lack of understanding and a uniquely negative view of games."

On the 16th, Democratic Party Representative Lee Byeong-jin pointed out during the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, and Fisheries Committee's business report, "The Korea Racing Authority imitated game content that caused controversy by personifying racehorses as women or female minors and produced its own YouTube content." The Korea Racing Authority explained that it took down the content due to copyright issues.

The problem is that Representative Lee Byeong-jin stated about 'Uma Musume', "It is content that personifies female and male horses as women and sexualizes them with provocative and sexual images, causing controversy since its release. Among them, there are characters wearing school uniforms, which also caused controversy over the sexual objectification of minors."

Representative Lee Byeong-jin argued that the problem occurred because there were no female executives in the Korea Racing Authority. He said that due to the lack of gender sensitivity of the Korea Racing Authority, problematic aspects were not reviewed at the planning stage and led to the production of content.

He lamented, "There were no executives or employees who recognized what was wrong with personifying racehorses as schoolgirls and distributing them," adding, "I wonder if this problem would have occurred if there were female executives and someone to be mindful of."

In response, the Korea Game Users Association (Chairman Lee Cheol-woo, lawyer) expressed concern about Representative Lee Byeong-jin's criticism. Chairman Lee Cheol-woo argued that 'Uma Musume' is a game that has been legally classified as suitable for ages 12 and up, and that there has been no controversy over sexual objectification to the extent that it strictly sanctions secondary creations that sexualize characters in the game.

He continued, "This problem, which was raised with a lack of understanding of the game, runs counter to the improvement of the perception of the game culture, which has finally been recognized as culture and art through the revision of the K-game industry, which is currently driving most of K-content exports, and the Cultural Arts Promotion Act."

'Uma Musume' is a simulation game that cultivates characters that personify real Japanese racehorses and enters them in races. The game not only cultivates racehorses, but also implements strategic elements of actual horse racing such as the racecourse, track conditions, weather, and aptitude, and has gained great popularity in Japan by implementing anecdotes related to famous Japanese horses in the game. As the number of fans interested in horse racing or racehorses increased through 'Uma Musume', the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan mentioned it as an example of horse racing promotion, and the virtuous cycle effect has also received attention.

Chairman Lee Cheol-woo criticized, "Even if you look at webtoons, K-dramas, and K-POP idols, which Representative Lee Byeong-jin mentioned as positive examples of K-content, you can easily find examples of personification or exposure of swimsuits and short skirts, but the reason why there is such a negative view only for games is that there is not enough understanding of the content of the game."

He added, "It is clear that the Korea Racing Authority's content has controversy in terms of copyright and unfair competition prevention law, but it is difficult to accept that it is described as harmful content created for sexual desire, rather than pointing out such problems," and emphasized, "I earnestly request that you listen to the voices of game users, even considering the hundreds of thousands of subculture gamers in the future."

Webzine InvenLee Doo-hyun Reporter
2024-07-17