HBO debuts gaming-addiction documentary tonight — watch the trailer

In September 2009, a South Korean couple left their baby at home to play games overnight at an Internet cafe. The child died, and now HBO is using that event to explore gaming addiction.

Love Child is a documentary that looks into the story of how the South Korean couple, Kim Jae-beom and Kim Yun-jeong, let their real-world baby die while they raised a virtual child online. Director Valerie Veatch uses that story, as well as the pair’s legal defense, to look at online gaming and addiction. While the movie revolves around this single case, it makes an argument about the negative societal effects of online-gaming addiction. Veatch’s documentary will also include interviews with experts who will talk about the perils of an over-connected society.