Game Rating and Administration Committee

Game Rating and Administration Committee
게임물관리위원회
게임物管理委員會
Geimmul Gwalli Wiwonhoe
Game Rating and Administration Committee logo hangug-eo.svg
Video game content rating body overview
Formed2006 (as Game Rating Board)
JurisdictionSouth Korea
HeadquartersBusan, South Korea
Websitewww.grac.or.kr
Game Rating and Administration Committee
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGeimmul Gwalli Wiwonhoe
McCune–ReischauerKeimmul kwalli wiwŏnhoe

The Game Rating and Administration Committee[a] (GRAC), formerly the Game Rating Board[b] (GRB) until December 23, 2013, is a South Korean video game content rating board. A governmental organization, the GRAC rates video games to inform customers of the nature of game contents.

Prior to the foundation of GRB, the Korea Media Rating Board rated video games like most other entertainment media. In 2006, the controversies surrounding the arcade gambling game Sea Story, which the Korea Media Rating Board found suitable for all-age, lead to allegations of misconduct. The Korean government responded by creating the GRB in 2006 and making it the only rating organization for rating video games in South Korea.[1][2][3][4]

The GRAC has been criticized as one of the elements of the Internet censorship in South Korea, and has been criticized for being the same as censorship of China.[5][6][7] By law, games sold in the country must be rated by GRAC prior to sale; additional regulations stipulate age and real name verification for certain mature-audience titles, as well as regulations on location-based games.[8]

In October 2022, the GRAC's sudden decision to raise the age rating of video games was accused of being an illegitimate policy, leading to an audit of the board suggested by Democratic Party politician Lee Sang-heon [ko].[9]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Myung Oh; James Larson (14 March 2011). Digital Development in Korea: Building an Information Society. Taylor & Francis. pp. 147–148. ISBN 978-1-136-81313-9.
  2. ^ "Sea Story scandal simmers". The Marmot's Hole. 2006-08-22. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  3. ^ "South Korean PM apologizes for video game controversy". Taipei Times. 2014-08-19. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  4. ^ "Blizzard's rush for cash?". The Korea Times. 2011-09-25. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  5. ^ "Censorship in South Korea: Game over". The Economist. 2011-04-14. Archived from the original on 2014-08-20. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  6. ^ "South Korea's Game Rating Board and The War on Online Content". The Marmot's Hole. 2010-09-07. Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  7. ^ "Korea Blocks Facebook Game Apps". Koreanoodles. 2014-09-02. Archived from the original on 2014-09-05. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  8. ^ jaripekka (25 January 2020). "South-Korea / How To Enable Digital Growth In Europe?". European Games Developer Federation.
  9. ^ 김, 주환. "민주 이상헌, '게임물관리위 전산망 비리의혹' 국민감사 청구". Naver News (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-07-12.