Korea Film Board Moves to Flag Trailers Unsuitable for Young Audiences

South Korea’s film-rating authority is moving to give cinemas clearer warnings about trailers that may be inappropriate for children, after a violent preview shown before a popular animated film reportedly left young viewers frightened and in tears.

The Korea Media Rating Board plans to separately identify trailers that require extra caution and share that information with theater operators. The board discussed the measure with film industry representatives, including major multiplex chains, as part of an effort to prevent similar incidents and make screenings safer for young audiences.

The response follows complaints about a trailer shown last month before a Seoul screening of “Teenieping: Legend of the Whale Heartstone,” a theatrical adaptation of SAMG Entertainment’s animated series “Catch! Teenieping.” The series, which debuted in 2020, is especially popular among young children in South Korea and has also attracted viewers overseas.

The disputed trailer included a scene depicting a person being killed. Although the preview had been approved for all ages, parents said the combination of violent imagery, a large cinema screen and intense sound overwhelmed some children. One mother said her child cried so severely that the family had to leave the auditorium for about 20 minutes, causing them to miss the beginning of the feature.

The incident has exposed a gap between Korea’s classifications for films and those for promotional previews. Feature films are divided into four categories: all ages, ages 12 and older, ages 15 and older, and adults only. Trailers, by contrast, receive only one of two classifications: all ages or adults only. That means a preview promoting an adults-only film can appear before a children’s movie if the trailer itself has been edited and cleared for all audiences.

The board’s plan to flag sensitive trailers could help cinemas make more careful scheduling decisions, but it does not change that underlying two-tier system. Critics argue that more detailed, age-specific standards would better reflect the audience for the feature being screened.

Other countries apply narrower safeguards. In the United Kingdom, trailers use the same graduated age classifications as films. Australia generally allows trailers to promote only films with the same or a lower age rating than the feature presentation.

The Korean debate now centers on whether voluntary caution by theater operators will be sufficient or whether formal classification rules should be revised. Because moviegoers choose a particular film and its expected audience is usually clear, advocates of reform say cinemas should ensure that all material shown beforehand is suitable for the people who came to watch it.