Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) said on the 23rd it published the "2020–2024 game user research guide," which organizes, in terms accessible to the public, the results of its five-year game user panel study and clinical medicine cohort study carried out from 2020 to 2024.
The guide was planned as discussion continues over registering a disease code for gaming disorder, to explain the relationship between gaming and health on a scientific basis and to correct negative perceptions surrounding games. It explains in plain terms, through the research results, that gaming does not directly lead to disease and that sufficient scientific evidence to support a disease code has not been confirmed, and it also presents practical directions for healthy usage habits.
The guide focuses on communicating professional research findings in a way the public can easily understand. It is organized around visual materials so readers can grasp the key points at a glance, and it arranges technical terms and research data concisely and accurately. So that teenagers and guardians can read it together, it includes a basic understanding of game users, myths and facts surrounding games, and a shift in perceptions toward game users.
In particular, the panel research data accumulated over five years show that the impact of gaming on mental health varies depending on individual characteristics such as age, gender, and hours of use. This suggests the limits of viewing games uniformly as addiction or disease, and underscores the need to understand game users more in a balanced way at home, in schools, and across society.
Yu Hyeon-seok, acting president of Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), said, "We sought to create an opportunity to recognize games as a culture that should be understood from a balanced perspective based on scientific research findings," and added, "We hope this guide helps teenagers and guardians build a proper usage culture together and contributes to a shift in social perceptions surrounding games."