Web messages draw Koreans’ wrath

The 2005 English Spectrum Incident

Part 1: English Spectrum and 'Ask The Playboy'
Part 2: The Kimchiland where it’s easy to sleep with women and make money
Part 3: English Spectrum shuts down as Anti-English Spectrum is created
Part 4: How to hunt foreign women
Part 5: Did the foreigners who denigrated Korean women throw a secret party?
Part 6: The 'Ask The Playboy' sexy costume party
Part 7: Stir over ‘lewd party’ involving foreigners and Korean women
Part 8: The 2003 post that tarred foreign English teachers as child molesters
Part 9: Netizens shocked by foreign instructor site introducing how to harass Korean children
Part 10: Movement to expel foreign teachers who denigrated Korean women
Part 11: "Middle school girls will do anything"
Part 12: Netizens propose 'Yankee counter strike force'
Part 13: Segye Ilbo interview with the women from the party, part 1
Part 14: Segye Ilbo interview with the women from the party, part 2
Part 15: Web messages draw Koreans’ wrath

On January 16, 2005, the Joongang Daily (the English language version) published this account of the English Spectrum Incident which has a few quotations from the Anti-English Spectrum site. I'd never seen this article until a few months ago, and since it's one of the few English language articles about the incident, and since most other online English language papers have seen their older articles disappear, I thought I'd post it.

Web messages draw Koreans’ wrath

A column on an English-language Web site has created a firestorm.

Englishspectrum.com, a Web site on which foreign English teachers can search for jobs and exchange information, has had a problem since last week because of a column titled “Ask the Playboy.”

In the column, a man calling himself “the playboy” related his dating experiences in Korea and gave advice to those who asked how to “get” a Korean woman.

Using raw and vulgar expressions related to such topics as “how to sleep with Korean women,” the column angered a group of Koreans who saw the articles as insulting and degrading to Korean women and to Korea as a nation.

In a message on the site’s bulletin board, someone referred to Korea as “Kimchi Land,” and said the country has nothing to offer except “easy women” and money.

Soon the messages were passing through cyberspace, offending many Koreans.

Since the major users of the Web site were native-speaking English teachers in Korea, the Korean public had not been exposed to the contents of the column to this extent in the past.

Eventually, the matter was taken up by the major domestic media, both on and offline, and the Web site was temporarily closed down.

A party involving foreigners and Koreans held in a bar in the Hongdae area also recently became a target of the public’s anger as demonstrating the “immoral” activities of foreigners in Korea.

Photos taken at the party were disseminated on the Internet, exposing the identities of some of the people who attended. The bar’s Web site was inactivated as well.

One notable aspect of the public reaction to these incidents was that Korean women who date Western men were severely criticized, especially by Korean men.

“Korean men should all beware of Korean women who’ve been abroad, or who speak English well,” was one such comment.

In the “Anti-English Spectrum Cafe,” created after the “Playboy” incident, many comments carried extremely negative views about relationships between Korean women and Western men.

“I cannot believe what I saw in the pictures from the party,” one person wrote on the cafe’s message board. “I hate the girls more than the Westerners who were with them. They give a bad name to Korean women.”

The bar’s owner, however, said, “If a Korean woman dances with a Western man, does that make her a prostitute? Ignorance of cultural differences and irrational patriotism are hurting innocent people.”

“The party didn't harm anybody. It was just another party involving alcohol and fun,” said another Internet user whose ID was repubofkorea. “In Korea, there are far worse parties where Korean men do dirtier things. Just because there were Korean women and Western men, the public is making racist judgments.”

Some English teachers said they were puzzled by the escalating issue.

“Koreans should not judge the entire group of native-speaking English teachers in Korea based on the messages written on a Web site,” said one English teacher, who did not identify himself.

“The messages on the board (in the ‘Ask the Playboy’ column) weren’t meant to be taken seriously,” he said, adding that scenes from the party that Koreans called “nasty” and “immoral” were considered acceptable in North America.

To add fuel to the fire, however, another shocking online message written on a Web site for English teachers in Korea, bearing the title “How to Molest Your Students,” was brought to the public’s attention, creating even more anger.

An English teacher who identified himself as “Jamie” expressed strong concern about the situation.

“The message was disgusting. Many other English teachers expressed their anger to the person who wrote it,” he said. “I hope the message doesn't worsen Koreans' sentiment about us. The messages of a few ‘bad’ people should not be the standard by which to judge the whole group.”

Overall it's more balanced that many of the articles out there, though that's not so surprising considering its audience. Still, some of the lines are chuckleworthy, such as "Soon the messages were passing through cyberspace, offending many Koreans." Just 'passing through' - not deliberately spread - and then "[e]ventually [...] taken up by the major domestic media, both on and offline". No need to mention which element of the "major domestic media" took it up first, I suppose, or that the Joongang Ilbo, which published the first article about the incident (subtitled "The Kimchiland where it’s easy to sleep with women and make money"), likely helped lead to a lot of those "messages [...] passing through cyberspace, offending many Koreans." (No need either to mention that the Joongang Ilbo not only began the French teacher scandal of 1984 and published the most articles about it, but was the paper which most clearly articulated to the government how to deal with foreign teachers.)

It's also nice to see the description of the "Anti-English Spectrum Cafe," and their "extremely negative views about relationships between Korean women and Western men," as that may be the only Korean source to ever describe them that way in English. This comment makes for interesting reading:

"I hate the girls more than the Westerners who were with them. They give a bad name to Korean women."

Or at least, it's interesting when compared to a sentence near the beginning of the mission statement that ran on the front page of their site from 2006 to 2009 (at least):

One day, our anger overflowed, as we felt unendurable humiliation through reading of the debasement of Korean women by the arrogant, infamous English Spectrum.

As this article put it in its final sentence, "It is quite a contrast."

Segye Ilbo interview with the women from the party, part 2

The 2005 English Spectrum Incident

Part 1: English Spectrum and 'Ask The Playboy'
Part 2: The Kimchiland where it’s easy to sleep with women and make money
Part 3: English Spectrum shuts down as Anti-English Spectrum is created
Part 4: How to hunt foreign women
Part 5: Did the foreigners who denigrated Korean women throw a secret party?
Part 6: The 'Ask The Playboy' sexy costume party
Part 7: Stir over ‘lewd party’ involving foreigners and Korean women
Part 8: The 2003 post that tarred foreign English teachers as child molesters
Part 9: Netizens shocked by foreign instructor site introducing how to harass Korean children
Part 10: Movement to expel foreign teachers who denigrated Korean women
Part 11: "Middle school girls will do anything"
Part 12: Netizens propose 'Yankee counter strike force'
Part 13: Segye Ilbo interview with the women from the party, part 1
Part 14: Segye Ilbo interview with the women from the party, part 2

Here is the second half of this Segye Ilbo interview with the women seen in the party photos and the manager of the bar which threw the party, in which they discuss their treatment by the netizens, Anti English Spectrum, and the media, as well as their plans to counter this treatment.

Reporter: How have the women who participated in the party been victimized?

Owner A: The way the women in the photos were victimized is a crime in itself. The operators of the anti [English Spectrum] cafe are ignorant of how they are killing people. It's idiotic and frustrating. They don't know anything about the truth of the party but portray the women as whores.

Manager B: The standard by which they treat the women [seems like they] don't have plans to punish the foreigners who denigrated Korean women. What is the target of the anti [English Spectrum] site? They say 'let's expel the foreigners who said thoughtless things, but in the atmosphere they create, the women in the photos are seen as being even worse.

Reporter: What of the complaint/lawsuit against the anti [English Spectrum] operator?

Owner A: The anti [English Spectrum] operators know about the party [only] in general and the managers here haven't heard a single word [from them] that hasn't made nonsensical conclusions. They also don't know if the people who posted on the forum were foreigners or Korean.

Reporter: What about the reaction of other bars in the Hongdae area?

Owner A: The reaction has been difficult. We've suffered from the truth being distorted. Those like the operator of Anti English Spectrum have maliciously made up material, like saying I have had many one night stands, to get Gangnam or Hongdae clubs which cause lewd behavior to close their doors. Expressions captured by camera in the heat of the moment while women and men dance closely together are posted and those people are seen as lewd. Even more, if the man who is dancing is a foreigner, the woman is denounced.

Victimized woman C: Go to Hongdae once. There are many places that hand out flyers. It is very common. It was just bad luck that M Bar had the first party that day. The photos had been captured, and Anti [English Spectrum] just spread them. What was a normal party has become like a party which organized prostitution between foreign men and Korean women.

Reporter: Do you want to say something about some of the internet news outlets which mentioned the full name of the bar?

Manager B: It was just a quote, but the netizens' opinions are being reported as if established fact. We'll watch the situation and we will take on and sue some internet news outlets which are really clueless. We have secured all the material as well. That site at first even exposed the photos with no mosaics, the bar's name, map, phone number and email. A lawyer we consulted said they could be arrested for defamation and human rights violations.

Reporter: So in the end is it not a misunderstanding over misleading photos?

Manager B: The photos are the first thing people hear about and recognize. If people see only the photos with no explanation or context, it will cause misunderstanding. People who don't understand party culture could see them and think it's a "crazy, mad group of young people." However no one made any effort to confirm the facts.

Reporter: Is there anything you want to say to the netizens?

Manager B: There's nothing we want to say. The things we could explain we've done our best to explain, and if we really had been in dishonorable circumstances, we would make excuses and apologize, but we've said nothing besides the truth to the people driving critical public opinion which has made something from nothing. We have posted comments on the bulletin board apologizing for arousing public criticism regardless of the facts , but netizens replied, "There must be something going on [ie. ‘I smell a rat.’]. Didn't you give Korean women away to Yankees for 5000 won?" This is the kind of public response we've gotten. However the reason for an interview in person is because we think that if we do the interview the correct facts should be revealed.

Reporter: Have you been in contract with the operators of English Spectrum since this happened?

Owner A: We haven't met them, just contacted them through the phone and email. There was a foreigner who came regularly to the bar who had an ad introducing a good site for foreigners to exchange information. We don't know who its actual operators are.

Reporter: What do the victimized women want to say?

Victimized woman C: Even if I posted an explanation saying 'I plan to marry my boyfriend' at the anti [English Spectrum] site, it would be of no use. There was just hugging in the photo that went out and I posted a defense of my boyfriend's friends too, but what came back was just criticism like "But why are you dating?" Another friend who went was also coming to the interview but didn't come. She has nowhere to go and just feels like dying. I work at a foreign company but also haven't gone to work.

Reporter: What do you think of the netizen's opinions?

Owner A: You're listening to a lot of netizens' mass hysteria. This is not opinion. Even the homepages of people who are registered as friends on M Bar's homepage are being terrorized. The only reason swearing and abuse is being left [on their homepages] is because they are social network friends.

Manager B: My personal details have also been made public. This is a clear crime. My personal details have been made public and my photo has been distributed at adult sites. However the thing to really be angry about is that people who know nothing about the nature and content of the party are distorting it and other women who have been victimized have suffered mental anguish serious enough to think about suicide. I'm furious at the fact that an ordinary party has come to be seen as an unspeakably promiscuous party.

Reporter: Is there anything else you want to say?

Owner A: I've discovered that cyber terror is a deadly poison. When our society wants to erupt over something, it still looks for weak people to criticize. The sparks from [the furor over] foreigners burned women just the same. I hope it ends soon. Those involved will suffer from nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Reporter: In conclusion, was advertising on English Spectrum the problem?

Owner A: No. If we have an opportunity to advertise on English Spectrum we will. The biggest mistake was not having the photos taken at the party deleted from English Spectrum immediately - that's the issue.

Reporter: So are you going to sue English Spectrum for what they did wrong with their bulletin board?

Manager B: They did nothing wrong. This is because of the reasoning behind their posting of the photos. The truth is that the operators of the anti [English Spectrum] site who spread the photos are more problematic. We had no idea the photos would become such an issue like this. When I took a quick look at them I thought 'Right, those are the photos,' but when they were saved they spread, and were edited.

Reporter: Please tell me more in detail about the legal action.

Manager B: After seeing how things turn out, we will request a formal apology from the anti [English Spectrum] site's operators. If there is no apology, we will formally sue them. The anti site's operator also shouldn't hide behind an ID. We don't have another word to say about the malicious spreading of our information. If we post anything at the anti site it's deleted.

Victimized woman C: It was fine for that operator to save the photos, but he says that the people who took the photos are more of a problem. That's because they aren't Korean, and the facts about the photos don't matter. Spreading them was a crime. After deleting the photos, they brag that you can see the photos elsewhere. The netizens are being taken advantage of by the anti site's operators.

Owner A: It seems like some internet media feel they have hit the jackpot since the site [AES] was established. When I've talked on the phone with these reporters they've apologized, but follow up articles have not been true and have only raised other doubts about the articles.

There's lots to chew on there, but it's interesting that 'cyber terror' got mentioned, since it would be another 4 months before the media would really jump on 'cyber terror' as a threat to society.

Segye Ilbo interview with the women from the party, part 1

The 2005 English Spectrum Incident

Part 1: English Spectrum and 'Ask The Playboy'
Part 2: The Kimchiland where it’s easy to sleep with women and make money
Part 3: English Spectrum shuts down as Anti-English Spectrum is created
Part 4: How to hunt foreign women
Part 5: Did the foreigners who denigrated Korean women throw a secret party?
Part 6: The 'Ask The Playboy' sexy costume party
Part 7: Stir over ‘lewd party’ involving foreigners and Korean women
Part 8: The 2003 post that tarred foreign English teachers as child molesters
Part 9: Netizens shocked by foreign instructor site introducing how to harass Korean children
Part 10: Movement to expel foreign teachers who denigrated Korean women
Part 11: "Middle school girls will do anything"
Part 12: Netizens propose 'Yankee counter strike force'
Part 13: Segye Ilbo interview with the women from the party, part 1

On January 16, the Segye Ilbo, which had previously published the first media report about the 'sexy costume party' photos, published a lengthy (as in, 2500 words in English) interview with the women seen in the party photos and the manager of the bar which threw the party. I'll post the first half today. Note that the identities of B and C, as described in the introduction, are reversed in the interview section.

[Interview] 'Denounced as a lewd party...'

We met with two operators of M bar, which has suffered from netizen rumors of it holding a 'lewd party' with foreign instructors, as well as three party goers. The hour-long interview took place on the 15th in downtown Seoul.

Throughout the interview they complained of injustice in cracking voices. Some of the women who attended the party also had tears in their eyes.

A, the person in charge of M Bar, dismissed the malicious rumors floating around on the Internet: "Other than a banner ad we submitted to English Spectrum, we have nothing to do with the site." "To liven up the mood, the manager danced on the bar like in the movie 'Coyote Ugly' for only a minute or two; that the entire party was like this was a misunderstanding.

B, who suffered torment when photos of her dancing with her foreign boyfriend became known, said, "We hung out there not realizing there was a party." "A photo of my boyfriend and I has been spread as if I just met some foreigner and he tempted me to have sex."

Manager C, who suffered psychological torment due to a photo of her dancing on the bar being spread, said, "I will request a formal apology from the anti [English Spectrum] operator who maliciously spread the photo." "I will also sue some internet media which thoughtlessly kept reporting using my real name after seeing how the incident progressed."

Next is a summary of the interview.

Reporter: What is E site?

Owner A: It's a job finding site for foreign English instructors living in Korea. The site is not limited only to instructors, and foreigners exchange information there.

Reporter: I heard that [you] operate the site.

Owner A: I met with the team which manages the banner ads there. Not only Hongdae clubs, but also Itaewon and Gangnam clubs have requested banner ads to promote themselves. That I operate the site is nonsense. There is absolutely no relationship. If I operated the site I would have to answer in regard to the scandal over some thoughtless foreigners, but our bar is separate. I only paid a certain amount of money so they would promote the bar with a banner ad.

Reporter: So you didn't know anything about the Ask the Playboy forum at English Spectrum?

Manager B: There were three forums that I know of. Among those there was one problematic forum. A post was put up at the bulletin board. Foreigners (and Koreans - i don't know) who saw the party banner came to the party and took photos, and those photos were posted at the forum.

Reporter: What people came to the party?

Victimized woman C: I honestly didn't know there was a party there. Originally I'd only gone to the bar once or twice. It was a place with 70s and 80s music and bottled beer that I went to with my friends and foreign boyfriend. I didn't know it was a sexy costume party. I didn't know about the show either because it was so short and improvised. There were many people who didn't see it. At its climax when photos were taken, I guess someone decided 'That girl is having fun.' A photo of me with my boyfriend seemed to show a foreigner hitting on me and trying for sex.

Reporter: Were some people who wore the problematic t-shirts not admitted?

Manager B: There were t-shirts at the second party. In particular, the picture of the girl[s] wearing the wet t-shirt is not a picture from our bar. At the second party, English Spectrum, which hosted our banner ad, distributed t-shirts for free to some customers to create publicity.

Reporter: What was the first party?

Owner A: That party's concept was a sexy costume party. Most people wore ordinary clothes like at a normal party. The weather was really cold so most people wore layers of heavy clothes and were feeling constrained. It really wasn't any fun. Half of the 80 people who came were Korean, and most couples were Korean men and women together and foreign men and women together.

Reporter: Why are you mentioning percentages?

Manager B: If you only look at the photos, they give the mistaken impression that it was a party for foreign men and Korean women. It's said that we provided the venue and hosted a party for the members of English Spectrum. The photos were taken by a foreigner. For foreign men, focusing on foreign men-Korean women couples was most interesting.

Owner A: At first the atmosphere at the party was dull, so to liven up the mood, a staff member choreographed a scene like in the movie 'Coyote Ugly' and got up on the bar, poured water over body and danced. Two buttons were undone and water was poured on her. However, because the person taking the photo was down below, her panties were exposed. It was for a short time, not even a minute or two. The atmosphere of the entire party has been misunderstood due to a scene captured on the first day that took place within a couple minutes.

Reporter: There was also a photo of a foreigner with his genitalia exposed.

Owner A: The photo of the foreign customer wearing see-through underwear was taken in a corner and I didn't really know. Immediately [after] it was discovered he was told "This isn't a nude party" to stop him, but he said, "I'm a performance artist." That it was discovered late is our mistake as management.

Reporter: Are there sometimes cases like this where it's difficult to maintain control?

Owner A: There is no problem with control. There aren't many people with such control. Any business like a bar may have trouble keeping control if there are many people and a fight breaks out. This is not about the concept of control, but only about being a little late in discovering it. You don't realize that a camera is faster than control. All of the people who were at the party that day are encouraging us. There are also people who even ask us again and again if the 'M Club' reported in newspaper articles is this place. After the first party, there was a lot of worry when planning the second. It really wasn't fun as a party and it was absolutely nothing like a sexy and crazy night with lots of dancing. The second party was even less fun. Is it any different from a regular party?

This interview begins to give a clearer description of the party than the soundbites captured by earlier articles. The owner describes a "staff member" who "choreographed a scene like in the movie 'Coyote Ugly' and got up on the bar, poured water over body and danced." Considering that Manager B [C in the introduction] is described as someone who "who suffered psychological torment due to a photo of her dancing on the bar being spread," I assume that she is that staff member (who is easy enough to discern among the NSFW party photos). The owner, by saying that "There were t-shirts at the second party," also makes clearer which photos were taken at which party (and that there were photos from both parties posted at English Spectrum and later spread by netizens, including members of Anti English Spectrum):



Readers also get a better idea of the relationship between the bar and English Spectrum (hence the banner ads above and the parties hosted there). In the second half of the interview the women discuss their treatment by the netizens, Anti English Spectrum, and the media, as well as their plans to counter this treatment.

Netizens propose 'Yankee counter strike force'

The 2005 English Spectrum Incident

Part 1: English Spectrum and 'Ask The Playboy'
Part 2: The Kimchiland where it’s easy to sleep with women and make money
Part 3: English Spectrum shuts down as Anti-English Spectrum is created
Part 4: How to hunt foreign women
Part 5: Did the foreigners who denigrated Korean women throw a secret party?
Part 6: The 'Ask The Playboy' sexy costume party
Part 7: Stir over ‘lewd party’ involving foreigners and Korean women
Part 8: The 2003 post that tarred foreign English teachers as child molesters
Part 9: Netizens shocked by foreign instructor site introducing how to harass Korean children
Part 10: Movement to expel foreign teachers who denigrated Korean women
Part 11: "Middle school girls will do anything"
Part 12: Netizens propose 'Yankee counter strike force'

On the evening of January 15, NoCut News published its second article of the day about the English Spectrum incident, this time about the "Yankee counter strike force" mentioned in this article.

'Yankee counter strike force', angry netizens seem to counter with violence


There is worry that there is a movement towards 'physical punishment' in regard to the great social criticism recently aroused by postings on an internet site by some foreign language instructors denigrating and describing how to molest Korean women and students.

This movement has posts on several anti foreigner sites which take the form of "recruitment of do-or-die squads" and read "Someplace where lots of foreigners gather we plan to teach insolent foreigners a lesson - join us."

Netizen reaction to comments by foreign instructors denigrating Koreans: "Let's deal with this physically."

An announcement at one site determined that the qualification to take part was to be "a Korean national with a healthy/wholesome worldview" and encouraged punishing U.S. soldiers who gather in the Hongdae area on weekends.

This recruiting announcement listed as strike targets 'US soldiers who posted comments denigrating Korean women and their sympathizers,' 'foreigners who threw the promiscuous party and the business owner who provided the venue,' and 'hagwon owners who hire unqualified foreign instructors or employees with criminal records or who are under-educated."

As well, additional posted provisions allowed immediate action such as "Immediately punish U.S. soldiers discovered in the Sinchon area who act disrespectfully toward Koreans."

This movement is in fact causing great turmoil among some netizens. At internet bulletin boards, there is a surge of questions such as, "I want to participate, but how should I do so?" "How should we react ([what is] the meaning of the internet term 'punish')?"

As online voices are loud urging that some foreigners be given a wake-up call through force, netizen anger at 'disregard [for our] nation' may overflow offline. However, there are also not a few voices worried that this movement may lead to violence.

The fact that the netizens (including those at Anti English Spectrum) wanted to form a 'Yankee counter strike force' which would target "US soldiers who posted comments denigrating Korean women," "the Yankee bastard who posted the instructions on how to carry out sexual violence against female Korean students and [...] the Yankee bastards who threw the shocking party," and which would urge members to "Immediately punish U.S. soldiers discovered in the Sinchon area who act disrespectfully toward Koreans" would suggest that the netizens had equated foreign English teachers with "Yankee" soldiers (or at least with "Yankees," as the photo someone posted at DC Inside to accompany this article would suggest). These online plans to form a 'strike force' targeting Americans would lead to a warning by the U.S. Embassy a week later, of the sort usually reserved for anti-USFK protests.

Members being urged to "Immediately punish U.S. soldiers discovered in the Sinchon area" was likely a reference to the May 15, 2004 incident where, as related at ROK Drop,

4 GI’s and a KATUSA went and partied in the Shinchon area of Seoul. Apparently one of the soldiers stood on the back of a taxi to take a picture. Some concerned citizens exchanged some heated words with the soldiers about standing on the taxi to take a picture. I believe it is safe to assume that the Korean students who were the "concerned citizens" were probably equally drunk at the time considering it was 2AM in Shinchon.

Anyway a fight broke out which according to the court transcripts the "concerned citizens" started, but after the fight broke out more Koreans jumped in on a chance to pound on the soldiers. One of the soldiers who had just arrived at the scene because he was meeting his friends, pulled out a pocket knife in an effort to defend himself and his friends from the "concerned citizens" who were throwing bricks at him and even assaulting him with a broken beer bottle. As the soldier was assaulted by the mob the soldier held the knife to the throat of one of the attackers that was choking him for up to two minutes and during the struggle cut him. [...] The soldiers were eventually subdued by the mob and arrested by the police department[.]

The Marmot translated some of the anti-USFK articles surrounding the incident published at Ohmynews as well as a statement by the "Pan-national Committee for the Two Middle School Girls, Shin Hyo-sun and Shim Mi-seon, Who Were Murdered by a U.S. Armored Vehicle," which noted that "Korean society is defenseless* against the wayward acts and violence committed by U.S. soldiers in Korea because the unequal U.S.-R.O.K. SOFA agreement cannot be amended."

As a Stars and Stripes article linked to in the ROK Drop post notes, such 'civic groups' influenced the legal outcome of this case:

At first, Korean investigators concluded the assault had not involved an intent to kill, so authorities charged the soldier with battery, [Seoul attorney Jin Hyo-guen] said.

But anti-American activist groups weighed in, pressing police and prosecutors to charge the soldier with attempted murder, Jin said, and the prosecutor changed his mind.

He was eventually sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Part of what gave the anti-American groups leverage were these photos:




I'm sure you can guess which photo got the most media attention (obviously not the one of the citizens holding the soldier down). One was left assuming the soldier in the bottom photo was responsible, but it was actually the soldier in the top two photos. Mind you, I don't think the soldier at bottom ripped his own clothes off. As it was put at ROK Drop, "Kim Jong-il’s ministry of propaganda couldn’t have done a better job than this." Speaking of which, here's the KCNA's take on the incident:

S. Korean Stabbed by GIs

[]GIs in south Korea stabbed a civilian in his twenties surnamed Pak seriously wounding him near Yonsei University in Seoul on May 15, according to south Korean radio KBS. Five GIs who got drunk pounced upon Pak and one of them stabbed him on the neck with a knife when he tried to stop them kicking about in an unruly misconduct against a south Korean on a street that morning. The criminal was nabbed by civilians while fleeing.

Such outrage of GIs dyed to the marrow in murderous disposition lashed the south Korean people into fury.

As pointed out in that Marmot's Hole link, Ohmynews seemed to be trying its best to "lash[] the south Korean people into fury." Worth noting is that the photos above were, as the Metropolitician relates, taken by a citizen passing by after the fact and uploaded to Ohmynews.


The photo snapper, Bae Sang-beom, was interviewed in this Ohmynews article, where he gave his opinion of USFK, along with a few other issues:

More problematic than Sinchon is Hongdae. The area crowded with clubs between Hongik University's front gate and Far East Broadcasting is like a foreigner district. In particular, when U.S. soldiers from Pyeongtaek and Uijeongbu descend upon the area on Fridays and Saturdays things like fights among foreigners take place at a serious level. According to a police official, it's at the level that the Hongdae police box alone cannot maintain order and crimes by U.S. soldiers are increasing. [...]

Going to elementary, middle and high school in the Hongdae area, I saw many inappropriate scenes between foreigners and Korean women in clubs. I am planning a documentary which will deal with this problem. My dream is to be a broadcast cameraman.

Those are some rather prescient comments. Eight months to the day after the stabbing incident, NoCut News published the article at the top of this post about the 'Yankee counter strike force' to be formed by those angered by photos of "inappropriate scenes between foreigners and Korean women in [a] club" in Hongdae. And just over two years later, on January 29, 2007, YTN would channel Bae's comment about how "Hongdae police... alone cannot maintain order" and references to "crimes by U.S. soldiers" by broadcasting a report titled "Hongdae, Foreigner 'Lawless Zone'" (apparently contibuted to by Anti English Spectrum). A week later, YTN would broadcast another report titled "U.S. Forces Banned from Hongdae," where a police official reported that Hongdae had returned to "a state of very serene public order" since the ban.

Anti English Spectrum's list of accomplishments includes both of the reports, and says of the latter,

After our cafe's broadcast went out on the atrocious behavior of foreigners at Hongdae clubs, Commander Bell’s U.S. forces in Korea were completely prohibited from entering Hongdae clubs.

If one was to wonder why a "citizens' movement" bent on protecting children from illegal foreign teachers and allowing for "upright English education" was so concerned with banning G.I.s from Hongdae, hopefully it's pretty clear that to the netizens who founded Anti English Spectrum, foreign English teacher = Yankee = U.S. soldier = rapist /threat to children / druggie / bringers of AIDS.

There is a lot - and I do mean a lot - more that could be said about this connection, but I'll return to this topic another day.

*I've briefly looked at the use of the term 'defenseless' before.

"Middle school girls will do anything"

The 2005 English Spectrum Incident

Part 1: English Spectrum and 'Ask The Playboy'
Part 2: The Kimchiland where it’s easy to sleep with women and make money
Part 3: English Spectrum shuts down as Anti-English Spectrum is created
Part 4: How to hunt foreign women
Part 5: Did the foreigners who denigrated Korean women throw a secret party?
Part 6: The 'Ask The Playboy' sexy costume party
Part 7: Stir over ‘lewd party’ involving foreigners and Korean women
Part 8: The 2003 post that tarred foreign English teachers as child molesters
Part 9: Netizens shocked by foreign instructor site introducing how to harass Korean children
Part 10: Movement to expel foreign teachers who denigrated Korean women
Part 11: "Middle school girls will do anything"

On the morning of January 15, 2005, NoCut News published the first of two articles that day about the English Spectrum incident:

"Middle school girls will do anything": stir over foreign instructor comments spreads


As a posting by a native speaking foreign language instructor demeaning Korean students and discussing [how to] sexually harrass them spreads rapidly through the internet, netizens and citizens are seething with anger.

"Now I know a student who's only 15. We got to the point that she would do anything I said for 100,000 won."

This example of malicious sexual exploitation did not occur in a faraway country.

Controversy over postings at foreign instructor site spreads

This is from a posting at a site for native speaking instructors who teach foreign languages in Korea.

The postings include a shocking story saying "I had sex with a middle school girl 20 times."

This article has spread rapidly through the Internet, causing a strong backlash from netizens.

A netizen who read the post said, "We can't send children to hagwons where native speaking instructors teach now." Another netizen argued that "The person who posted it should be found and strongly punished."

The anger of citizens met on the street is no different. Kim Dae-ok (48), who lives in Bangbae-dong in Seoul, said, "How do I feel about foreign instructors.... well, I'm shocked. They seem like they have no regard for us or for the country - not only for women but the whole country."

"It's disregard not only for the person but for the country." "Well-intentioned instructors should not suffer."

However some netizens are saying, "Well-intentioned and blameless instructors should not suffer.

In addition, with many posts appearing criticizing the twisted foreign language learning craze, the controversy over English language postings denigrating Korean students is not easily subsiding.

CBS reporter Kim Jeong-hun

With a title like "Middle school girls will do anything," it's not hard to imagine why the controversy was "not easily subsiding," and one wonders if statements like "netizens and citizens are seething with anger" are meant to be descriptive or prescriptive. As for the assertion that"[t]his example of malicious sexual exploitation did not occur in a faraway country," there's no proof that it took place in a country closer at hand, either. In quoting a citizen saying that "They seem like they have no regard for us or for the country," English teachers were linked to how Koreans had perceived Americans for at least two decades. That will be the topic of the next post.

Andrei Lankov to give R.A.S. lecture on North Korea and China tonight

Tonight's Royal Asiatic Society lecture will feature North Korean specialist Andrei Lankov presenting "What does China want in North Korea, and what can be done about this?" I imagine this will be a must-see for anyone interested in North Korea.

More details can be found here. The lecture will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Residents' Lounge on the 2nd floor of the Somerset Palace in Seoul, which is north of Jogyesa Temple (a map is here), and is 5,000 won for non-members and free for members.

Unverified foreign hagwon instructors, useless visa regs, and apparent EPIK cutbacks

Last week Expat Hell criticized the E-2 visa regulations. Go read it now, if you haven't already.

On April 6, Newsis reported on the slow rate of progress in implementing the changes brought by the revision of the hagwon law last year, such as reducing the range of additional tuition fees, dealing with 'hakparazzi,' (people who rat out hagwons which break the rules) registering changes to tuition and verifiying foreign instructors. Guess which one of those things it highlighted?

Only 1 out of 10 foreign instructors in Seoul hagwons are verified

[...]According to SMOE on the 6th currently only 9.26% of foreign instructors working in Seoul area hagwons have been verified.

The amendment specifies that when hagwons hire foreign instructors they should confirm they are not illegal sojourners via additional verification such as criminal record checks, health checks, degree confirmation, passport, visa, and alien registration cards.

However, in the case of the Seongbuk office of education (Gangbuk and Seongbuk-gu), out of 152 foreign instructors, only 8 or 5.26% have gone ahead which is the lowest rate.

In the case of Gangnam office of education (Gangnam, Seocho-gu), which has largest number of foreign instructors registered, out of 2,172 teachers, 115 or 5.29% have been recorded, and out of 204 instructors under the Nambu office of education, only 16 or 7.84% have been verified.

On the other hand, the Seongdong office of education (Seongdong, Gwangjin-gu), has had 101 out of 132 instructors or a relatively high rate of 76.51% recorded. Dongjak office of education (Dongjak, Gwanak-gu), has had 72 of 170 people validated, or 42.35%, almost half.

A SMOE official explained that "There was a grace period until January, though even now verification by area offices of education is continuing." "However, in the case of some foreigners, they have faced delays in their home countries issuing the necessary documents for verification because it is somewhat time-consuming."

Changes to hagwon registration and listing of fees have also been carried out by few hagwons. Of 15,409 hagwons, only 2,176 have registered (14.12%); out of 11,779 study rooms (교습소), only 606 (5.14%) have registered, and out of 14,836 people providing private lessons, only 297 (2%) have registered.

I guess there's no need for SMOE (or Newsis - I can't be sure where the fault lies) to mention the fact that most foreign English instructors are already verified by the exact same documents needed for the E-2 visa, and that the only group of teachers who need to be verified are non E-2 visa holders. As mentioned in this post, KBS reported that

there are 15,400 native speaking instructors at hagwons in Korea. Among these, 10% or 1,500 people are overseas Korean F-4 visa holders who do not need to submit criminal record checks which include a drug test certificate.

So the honest way to put it would be that at least 90% of hagwon instructors are 'verified' already - it's just that an idiotic duplication of effort required by the MoE is "somewhat time-consuming."

The Kookmin Ilbo also reported on this, and had a similar headline. I tried to see if SMOE had made a public announcement about this on its site, but found nothing (except this anti-foreign teacher rant posted to the bulletin board. Yes, I'll translate it later.)


At Waygook.org, someone posted a link to this EPIK newsletter and seemed confused that EPIK "hiring is going up...at least it did this past March and looks to be heading so in Fall 2012 too." How someone could make such a claim from this blurb, I'm not really sure.


It says that in spring 2012 it placed 776 NSETs in (apparently) 13 metropolitan and provincial offices of education. Direct recruitment rose from 23% to 31% from the previous year. I take this to mean that EPIK hired 31% of the foreign teachers needed by those 13 offices of education this year, as compared to 23% last year, so the numbers should go up compared to last year. For the fall intake (which has always been higher than the spring intake, at least for SMOE), 600 teachers (ie. 176 less) will be hired for 15 offices of education (ie. for more offices of education) and EPIK aims to meet 50% of their needs, so the numbers should go way up compared to last year. But compared to last year, the numbers are dropping. According to this newsletter, "we hosted our Spring 2011 Orientation for 1,000 incoming guest English teachers" (compared to 776 for this spring, an almost 1/4 drop), and according to this newsletter, EPIK hired 970 teachers for fall 2011 (compared to 600 projected for this year - a more than 1/3 drop).

So, that means, compared to last year, there were almost a 1/4 less teachers for this year's spring intake of EPIK teachers, and there will be 1/3 less for the fall intake, and that will be for 2 more offices of education and EPIK is aiming to meet 50% of the 15 offices of education's needs.

While I'm sure the more than 400 teachers being cut by SMOE (who EPIK has been recruiting for since 2010) has played a part, it's impossible to know (from its newsletters) just what other cuts are being to NSETs. But this doesn't seem like reassuring news for native speaking teachers working in Korean public schools.

Or for English native speakers, at any rate. What I will say is that doing a search for 'native speaker' on Naver now, instead of turning up mostly English speaking native speaker news, turns up Chinese native speaker news. I'll let the reader decide if what this March 28 Newsis article has to report is of consequence: The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology plans to hire 200 Chinese native speaking teachers for CPIK (Chinese Program in Korea) this year (and has already hired 140 so far) and place them in schools under the jurisdiction of 12 city and provincial offices of education.

Seeing as they are on E-2 visas, I wonder how strictly the drug and HIV tests will be enforced for them. I'd be very curious to know, in fact.

Movement to expel foreign teachers who denigrated Korean women

The 2005 English Spectrum Incident

Part 1: English Spectrum and 'Ask The Playboy'
Part 2: The Kimchiland where it’s easy to sleep with women and make money
Part 3: English Spectrum shuts down as Anti-English Spectrum is created
Part 4: How to hunt foreign women
Part 5: Did the foreigners who denigrated Korean women throw a secret party?
Part 6: The 'Ask The Playboy' sexy costume party
Part 7: Stir over ‘lewd party’ involving foreigners and Korean women
Part 8: The 2003 post that tarred foreign English teachers as child molesters
Part 9: Netizens shocked by foreign instructor site introducing how to harass Korean children
Part 10: Movement to expel foreign teachers who denigrated Korean women

On the evening of January 14, Dalian published the following article by reporter Gu Min-hoe, who would write all of Dalian's articles about this incident (thanks to the Marmot for allowing use of his translations):

Movement to expel foreign teachers who denigrated Korean women

The Anti English Spectrum Cafe, which is leading the 'movement to expel unfit foreign
instructors' due to foreign English instructors' demeaning of Korean women

'Korean women caught at lewd party' blows up, moves toward lawsuits and movement to kick out teachers

Club where the party was at argues "There was only an ad, we didn't provide the venue."

The aftershocks of the 'Korean women - foreigner lewd party' are heating up the internet and showing signs of expanding offline into a show of force and even legal action.

The backlash towards the Ask The Playboy forum of the foreigner job site English Spectrum, which caused controversy over its denigration of Korean women and which hosted a lewd party at a club in the Hongdae area, continues to spread. Netizens saying "foreign English instructors who denigrate Korean women should be punished" have established an anti site and will hold a demonstration and make them take legal responsibility by bringing accusations to the police.

Netizens have also started a petition campaign at the portal site Daum which reads, "Let's expel low quality foreign instructors," and is aiming for 10,000 signatures.

Netizens flooded the signature site with criticism of unqualified foreign English instructors, writing things like, "There have been issues with the qualifications of foreign instructors for a long time," and "It's time for society to be concerned about substandard 'foreign' instructors."

At the site, a netizen with the ID 'gintto' argued that, "Immigration screening should be strengthened and when unqualified instructors are caught, they should be fined and face criminal charges, and those responsible at the hagwon which hired them should also all face charges." As well, 'Bada-e bbajin dal' wrote, "Oppose the unconditional hiring of instructors in which their characters are not even looked at," while 'Delivery' wrote, "Foreign instructors who do not know the culture of another country are unqualified and such people should not be teaching."

Netizens: "Those like the thoughtless club who provided the venue for the foreigner party should be charged."

In the aftermath of this incident, English Spectrum, the largest site for foreigners looking for jobs in Korea, temporarily closed, but before it did, netizens had already secured material from the site necessary for taking legal action, such as photos and writing denigrating Korean women.

Anti English Spectrum cafe manager 'Bba'allyuchi,' who is leading the 'anti' movement by establishing the cafe and making the photos of the lewd party public, explained why he opened the cafe: "It's always just sad that some thoughtless women sympathize with foreigners who they don't realize have approached them with this (sexually demeaning) way of thinking about Korean women." "[This cafe] is a place where people who are worried about this and who want to make an issue of foreigners who demean Korean women as if they are all cheap whores."

'Bba'allyuchi' revealed in a post at the site on the 13th that, "I have already filed a complaint with the police and I am gathering materials to submit detailed evidence." Members who received this news of course provided the materials they possessed, and offered an enthusiastic response in regard to appearing together at the police station if needed.

On the 14th, Anti English Spectrum announced through a notice once again that, "We have submitted a complaint as well as a petition and report of the incident to Ilsan Police Station, but it was returned for now because there was no specific [person being] target[ed]." He suggested they would pursue a legal response once again after fulfilling the requirements by augmenting the materials.

A wide range of professionals such as lawyers, office workers and university students who are cafe members are preparing various legal countermeasures in regard to foreigners who posted the problematic comments and M Club, which is known to have been the location of the party.

As well, they are seeking a signature and street cleanup campaign to expel unqualified foreign instructors by holding an offline rally such as a 'picket protest.' Also, they are setting a course to turn this problem into a social issue and set straight twisted club culture and correct foreigners’ biases about Korean women.

Additional report on post by a foreign instructor introducing how to molest female students less than 10 years old.

After some media outlets reported on post by a foreign instructor introducing how to molest female students less than 10 years old, netizens [at AES] were enraged, saying "We can't tolerate this any further," even putting up an 'announcement for recruitment of a vanguard (do or die unit)' and urging, "Netizens, let's take direct action."

The announcement said, "Anyone who is a Korean national with a healthy / wholesome worldview can participate." "Let's gather in the Hongdae area at 6pm on the 15th."

The announcement also said that the netizens' "strike targets" are "the Yankee bastard who posted the instructions on how to carry out sexual violence against female Korean students and his sympathizers, the Yankee bastards who threw the shocking party, the owner of the bar who provided the venue knowing the facts about the party, and the recruiting company owners who hire under-qualified foreigners knowing they have criminal records or are under-educated."

The announcement said in a detailed guideline, "Providing detailed strike methods beforehand could be seen as a conspiracy to commit a crime." "That day at training time I will make them available. It will absolutely not go beyond the level where it would become against the law."

M Club owner explains, "We're not connected to 'Ask the Playboy and I never provided the venue."

Meanwhile, E, the owner of M Club, who has been having a rough time as the club became known for providing the venue of the 'Ask the Playboy' party, said in a conversation that day with Dailian that "Most of the photos of the women spread through the internet were spread via English Spectrum," and, "It was completely unrelated to the club's homepage."

E also revealed that regarding the anti [English Spectrum] cafe's legal moves, E would also "prove our innocence, and we are legally reviewing a response to the injustice of the anti side."

As for providing the venue for the party that had become an issue, E said, "After we opened in November of last year, we planned a party and put a banner ad at English Spectrum." "Foreigners saw the ad and just came and hung out."

As well, E explained, "At two planned parties, English Spectrum gave away our and their t-shirts to customers who wore them and hung out together."

Because of the high awareness about English Spectrum, clubs in the Hongdae area often put banner ads there." "I didn't expect that because we distributed t-shirts for publicity that two months later it would turned into such a problem," she said at a loss.

Regarding the party's atmosphere, she said, "Based on a few photos, netizens are portraying the entire party's atmosphere as lewd." "The party was not as decadent as it is known on the internet, and that level is common in clubs in the Hongdae area," she explained.

We'll be hearing a lot more about the party from the women involved - there are several lengthy interviews with them to come.

I also enjoyed hearing from "Anti English Spectrum cafe manager" 'Bba'allyuchi,' who "opened the cafe," his reasons for starting Anti English Spectrum:

"It's always just sad that some thoughtless women sympathize with foreigners who they don't realize have approached them with this (sexually demeaning) way of thinking about Korean women." "[This cafe] is a place where people who are worried about this and who want to make an issue of foreigners who demean Korean women as if they are all cheap whores."

Not much about protecting children from foreigners, but then, as third manager Lee Eun-ung told the Donga Ilbo in February 2010,

The opportunity to form this group came in January 2005 due to a posting on a native-speaking teacher employment information website. During this incident, postings like “Picking up Korean women is easy… I had sex with a middle school girl” enraged Koreans. However, among the people who first joined our group, some concentrated only on attacking and degrading women who date foreigners. Because of this, a needless conflict structured as 'Korean men vs. Korean Women' was created. After this, through efforts at self-purification, it was settled on that our group would have the educational purpose of protecting our children from unqualified native-speaking teachers. [Emphasis added]

By "after this," however, he actually meant "just 6 months ago" (third result). (At the time of the English Spectrum incident, the Party Pooper posted about it and included a (now disappeared) photo of AES founder 'Bba'allyuchi.')

The above article notes that the AES members "are setting a course to turn this problem into a social issue and set straight twisted club culture and correct foreigners’ biases about Korean women." The Marmot noted at the time that "The funny part about that is that if you actually read what they have to say about Korean women in their forum, well, let’s just say much of it is less than flattering or empowering. Definitely not the kind of stuff that will correct any biases or stereotypes."

While most of the early AES posts have been removed (most likely to protect themselves from lawsuits), the above article does provide a clue to what they were like via this screen shot of AES (taken on January 14, showing that AES's banner had taken on its third permutation):

The caption tells us that this is a screen shot of "The Anti English Spectrum Cafe, which is leading the 'movement to expel unfit foreign instructors' due to foreign English instructors' demeaning of Korean women." It's just that, well, the title of post # 366 (at the top) is "Now's the chance to humiliate those crazy bitches."

Netizens shocked by foreign instructor site introducing how to harass Korean children

The 2005 English Spectrum Incident

Part 1: English Spectrum and 'Ask The Playboy'
Part 2: The Kimchiland where it’s easy to sleep with women and make money
Part 3: English Spectrum shuts down as Anti-English Spectrum is created
Part 4: How to hunt foreign women
Part 5: Did the foreigners who denigrated Korean women throw a secret party?
Part 6: The 'Ask The Playboy' sexy costume party
Part 7: Stir over ‘lewd party’ involving foreigners and Korean women
Part 8: The 2003 post that tarred foreign English teachers as child molesters
Part 9: Netizens shocked by foreign instructor site introducing how to harass Korean children

At 9AM on January 14, twenty four hours after it was posted at Anti-English Spectrum, My Daily reported on the netizen reaction to the "How to Mollest [sic] Your Students" post originally posted at Korean ESL a year and a half earlier:

Netizens shocked by foreign instructor site introducing how to harass Korean children


Another shock has been received following the recent controversy over the denigration of Korean women. A description of how to molest children and students in class has been made public and spread from the foreign instructor forum of another site which promotes friendship between foreign language instructors and the exchange of information about overseas studying.

The post spread from the site is divided into sections explaining in detail, step by step, how to choose the child, approach them, and how to get alone with them.

The posting is quite shocking, giving concrete instructions in how to approach students. "Children aged 4-7 are easier to approach than those aged 8-12. Pay attention to the children who cheer at your fat wallet. Choose lonely children. Be kind to them and sometimes give them money or candy and tell them it's 'secret.'"

Giving the impression of encouraging a crime, he says, "When you invite them to dinner, put alcohol in the food." "Korean children will not want to be rude, and they will eat the food."

Shockingly, he also wrote of his experiences. "Now I know a student who's only 15. We got to the point that she would do anything I said for 100,000 won. Needless to say, for eight months after that she came over twice a month. I had sex with a virgin korean middle school girl over 20 times. You won't find anyone else who has done that."

Netizens who saw this are saying, "It's scary - I won't send [my kids] to a hagwon." "It's such a serious problem, and measures are needed."

Whether this was written by a foreigner or not has not been determined, but it's being asserted that unconditionally foul language and slander is not an answer to the recent, continuous, red-faced stir over foreign instructors, and that there is a need to take measures to make certain these sites stir up no further trouble.

As to what kind of measures could be taken, My Daily published the following article two hours later:

Korea Internet Safety Commission monitor enters regarding comments by foreigners denigrating Korean women

On the 14th the Korea Internet Safety Commission looked into the postings by a native speaking instructor site which has brought on social criticism by publishing writing that denigrates Korean women and describes how to seduce children.

On that day, Korea Internet Safety Commission team leader Han Myeong-ho revealed that "We haven't received any reports regarding this scandal/incident." "[We are] doing real time monitoring of the spread of problematic writing through self monitoring. After deliberating and reviewing the intent of and situation surrounding the writing that has been spread, we will select the steps to be taken.

Meanwhile, the police cyber crimes unit announced that "We have received no requests to investigate this incident, and are not discussing specific ways in which to respond to it."

With the netizen backlash against the English Spectrum site which caused controversy by posting suggestive photos and comments demeaning women, it is currently temporarily shut down.

At about the same time, the Kukmin Ilbo published an article titled "Korea is a country where you can easily sleep with the women" which summarized 'Lucky Guy's post and mentioned his lack of fear of legal punishment and his advising readers to touch the bums and chests of young girls. The last two paragraphs:

The dozens of netizens who read 'Lucky Guy's post seethed. "I swore. My little niece learns English from a foreign instructor but is stopping. Foreign instructor bastards: If you think of Korean women as sexual playthings, we too will treat you like sons of bitches."

With some foreign English instructors here treating Korean women as sexual playthings and related news becoming known, attention is being paid to see if the demands of netizens calling for the introduction of a qualification system for foreign instructors will be realized.

The Hankook Ilbo published an article about the problematic post later in the afternoon:

This time, stir over 'How to molest students'

The denigration of Korean women even extends to children
Specific techniques which divides students by age introduced
Netizens shocked and enraged by "sneaky crime scenario"

A message explaining how to molest students by a native speaking instructor posted at an internet site where foreign native speaking language instructors gather has enraged netizens. [...] [T]he furor isn't expected to die down easily.[...]

On the 14th alone, netizens who saw this post responded with hundreds of posts protesting it. Netizens angrily denounced the writer, saying, "Not even low animals would do this," and "Your daughter should also learn from an instructor like you." The site's administrator also said, "It's a clever crime scenario you really don't want to believe." "To raise awareness among educators and parents who send their children to hagwons, it wasn't deleted and a translation into Korean was put up."

Recently, foreign English instructors posted comments denigrating Korean women such as "Korean women smell" and "Women who learn English treat you (sexually) like a king" at a site often visited by instructors, and due to netizens who opposed it, the site closed down and an anti site was formed.

If we remember the comments to the original post, there was this response:

2003/07/11 (No. 10277)
Webmaster web - Thank you for your useful information!

This'll be a really useful information for parents to protect their children from child abusive crime by someone like you.

I bet shortly I'll translate your message into Korean and list up on the 'Webmaster's Selection' for parents, employers and children.

Good luck(?) to you....

-Webmaster

In the above Hankook Ilbo article we're told this about the webmaster:

The site's administrator also said, "It's a clever crime scenario you really don't want to believe." "To raise awareness among educators and parents who send their children to hagwons, it wasn't deleted and a translation into Korean was put up."

I'll take it the webmaster wasn't a member of the hagwon owners' association. It still boggles the mind that, rather than delete an offensive post, he chose to translate it instead.

Lastly, it's amusing to see the article state that "the furor isn't expected to die down easily." Obviously, not with the Hankook Ilbo publishing articles with subtitles like "The denigration of Korean women even extends to children" it wasn't.

The 2003 post that tarred foreign English teachers as child molesters

The 2005 English Spectrum Incident

Part 1: English Spectrum and 'Ask The Playboy'
Part 2: The Kimchiland where it’s easy to sleep with women and make money
Part 3: English Spectrum shuts down as Anti-English Spectrum is created
Part 4: How to hunt foreign women
Part 5: Did the foreigners who denigrated Korean women throw a secret party?
Part 6: The 'Ask The Playboy' sexy costume party
Part 7: Stir over ‘lewd party’ involving foreigners and Korean women
Part 8: The 2003 post that tarred foreign English teachers as child molesters

Perhaps the post should be titled "The 2003 post that was used to tar foreign English teachers as child molesters by Anti English Spectrum and the Korean media." But that's kind of long, right? At any rate, this series began with a look at the site English Spectrum before the incident began, and this post will look at one other key piece of the puzzle.

The 12th post (ever) at Anti English Spectrum (which can still be read today here (first result)), was posted at about 9am on January 13, 2005, and is titled "Some English instructor bastard's guide to hitting on Korean children - found by chance." It lists two links (now dead):

English: http://www.koreanesl.com/forumdsp.asp?ser=10259
Translation: http://www.koreanesl.com/forumdsp.asp?ser=10287

Here is the English version of the post (click photo to read - or open in it a new tab if Firefox automatically opens it in a photo viewer):

2003/07/11 (No. 10259)



To be clear, that was originally posted on July 11, 2003. The translation was widely passed around Korean cyberspace, and hundreds of Koreans left angry messages at the site. What was never translated were the messages left in response to the original by (presumably) other foreign teachers in July 2003. I dug through the hundreds of messages back in 2007 and saved those original responses:

_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10260)
Soon - how to get caught

Think you're so clever. Try to cover tracks with IP's. Post the innards of your sick brain so child protection can see just how twisted you are. Someone identifies you. You're watched. There's a knock at the door. You're busted! Not so smart anymore.
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10261)
Lucky Guy - I think not!

I'm at a PC Bang in Itaewon. So many whities here. Could be anyone. Go fuck yourself self-righteous prick.
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10263)
they'll get you - just keep goin'

I can't wait to be a fly on the wall when they bust you. You'll be cryin' like a baby. Can only get it off with little girls and boys huh? What a man.
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10265)
Lucky Guy - Um OK buddy

More of a man then you'll ever be. At least I have the balls to be honest you sick fucking pedophile pretending to be all bent-nosed when you actually want to sink your dick into a tight litle pussy.
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10272)
the big house - you're going to

Sexual misconduct with minors for starters, followed by at least 4 other charges for sexual assault. Don't bother with your details, they have them already.
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10276)
Lucky Guy - What Do you Think?

Prove I did any of this stuff.

How do you know it's all just one big lie?
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10273)
Citizen - school

Moderator! Please post some information!
Could you at least post the geographical location this predator is posting from? Pedophiles are a threat to the business, if ethical considerations are not deemed important by you. thank you
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10277)
Webmaster web - Thank you for your useful information!

This'll be a really useful information for parents to protect their children from child abusive crime by someone like you.

I bet shortly I'll translate your message into Korean and list up on the 'Webmaster's Selection' for parents, employers and children.

Good luck(?) to you....

-Webmaster
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10287)
Lucky Guy - 삭제 하였습니다...(내용무)

[The Webmaster above kept his word - what followed was, indeed, a translation into Korean - the same one linked to by Anti English Spectrum a year and a half almost to the day later. It had since been deleted.]

_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10304)
Pissed Off Guy - idiots [Note: This is 'Lucky Guy']

Well this is a bit lengthy and perhaps a bit of a test to see how censored this board is. If this gets censored, I'll know for sure how serious this website is about censorship.

Let's read the first fucking two sentences before we all start looking for a boogy man that doesnt even exist!

I didnt even write this piece of shit. I copy/pasted it you lynch mob morons!
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10299)
Tom Sawyer - You were sucessful in your quest for attention!! Try taking Ridilin...

Whomever this is,

I congratulate you...I am very impressed with your attempts at causing people to be disgusted with your posting. I however don't care either way...I know Korea and I understand Koreans. My guess is that you are full of shit...If it was real then you would have been caught for sure...One word from a child to a mother and ohhh yes they do tell everything and you would not have had the time to write this posting. You would be somebody's Biaaatch in prison..But if you get off on this then hey what can we do...Good luck I pity you though...Having to look over my shoulder every time I see a police officer must be a stressful thing..
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10305)
Lucky Guy - haha
having to look over my shoulder?

I committed no crime so bugger off buddy!
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10300)
Bruce - Webmaster -- What are you thinking?

I know that you want to keep this form unmoderated, but sometimes you need to make an exception. How you could leave a thread like this up is beyond me, let alone appear on the index page of your site.

If I were an employer, I would never advertise here again after seeing some of the junk that appears on this page. Thank goodness, I am getting out of this country in 2 weeks. I won't ever have to be associated with these kind of lowlifes again.

Dave's might be moderated, but at least it keeps out most of the medically deranged.
_________________________________________

2003/07/11 (No. 10308)
Lucky Guy - thanks bruce

Bruce says it all. And that is the whole point of my post. Censorship needs to be applied in certain circumstances. Let's read the very first sentence of the post again shall we?

Sheesh. Another poster was right. If anyone did something as disgustingly described here they'd be behind iron bars in no short time.

Go find the real pervs and stop wasting your time running around tracing IP's. I would have used a anonymous proxy had the intent of it was really to provide some sick guide.

Common sense folks.
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2003/07/12 (No. 10316)
Vicky - STUDENTS

You sound like a really clever guy. I wish I could meet a guy like you, you sound so amusing, kind, generous and honest.
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2003/07/12 (No. 10335)
gang ah jee - word

Hahahhahahahahahha wow

you must be doing your phd in psychology or something. pretty amazing, seems like you know the exact buttons to push - how did you gain such amazing insight into the human condition? nice one, however you figured it out. You definitely managed to show that people find paedophilia disgusting, against all people's expectations. Can i be part of your next study?!!!

keep backpedalling pervert...
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2003/07/13 (No. 10375)
Lucky Guy - I'm not backpeddling

Back peddling?

like i said read first line you moron.

There is no back peddling when something was already writen.
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2003/08/07 (No. 10766)
a 15-year-old Korean - bastard
Wish I was your student - would pretend to fall for you and then cut your balls off at the moment you think you got it
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2005/01/13 (No. 16182)
heavy dick - one sick mufuckers...
E-mail Address mufuckerusa#fuckus.com

shut ur fucking mouth and go to hell..

or... i'll get you and whoop your ass...

you aint gonna be able to stay here.... nigg...

i hate all of ya.. so disgusting...

you fucking bastards
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2005/01/13 (No. 16199)
fuck this site - Your site is going down

This is so fucking sick Your site and you 'lucky guy' your going down cuz I'm disclosing all this shit on other portals

fuck you white trash

凸^0^凸
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One question that could be asked is whether 'lucky guy' did or did not write that post, and whether he was actually just testing the no censorship policy of the Korean ESL site. While westerners can do dumb things here (like, say, mail yourself a kilo of hash) because they think the rules don't apply to them (or for many other reasons), I think I'd tend to agree with this 2005 assessment of the post:

[I]t was initially surprising to me that so many Koreans would believe that this was a real how-to from a child molester. Disgusting as it was, it reads like something someone would write in order to be purposefully inflammatory...those engaging in real discussions of illegal activities tend to be a lot more subtle in their language.

At any rate, regarding the final posting from January 13, 2005 ("Your site is going down"), seeing this - 凸^0^凸 - we would have no reason to doubt that this was a netizen who meant business. To be sure, he followed through on his threat, and by 9am that day the post was copied at Anti English Spectrum, after sitting translated but unnoticed for a year and a half at Korean ESL. The next day [January 14, 2005], the negative things associated with foreign English teachers would expand from 'comments denigrating Korean women' [January 11] and 'photos of a secret sex party with Korean women' [January 13] to 'child molesters.'