North and South

This past weekend I had a chance to watch ‘A State of Mind’, a documentary which follows two young girls, aged 11 and 13, and looks at their lives at home, at school and as they go through intense gymnastics training. Sound pretty ho-hum? The fact the girls live in Pyongyang, and that they’re preparing to take part in the mass games North Korea is well known for tends to give it a bit of an edge over other documentaries of the genre.

When this documentary was filmed (by a British crew during the first 8 months of 2003) it was the first time foreigners had been allowed to see the home life of North Korean families, let alone film them. The result is a fascinating look at not just North Korea, but at South Korea as well, because such an intimate look at two North Korean families highlights the similarities and differences between Koreans on both sides of the DMZ.


Anyone with some awareness of Korea knows that the division of Korea has resulted in the Southern half being very much a part of the global economy, as well as inundated with western (read: American) popular culture, while the North has been, for the most part, cut off from the rest of the outside world (until very recently, with the influx of Chinese cell-phones and South Korean cultural products).

Therefore there are a number of things I noticed in the film, in the way the North Koreans acted, that must have come from the shared culture both Korean states arose from after 1945. In the end, these aren’t huge revelations, but they were, well, neat to see on the big screen. A lot of them were facial expressions, be they of exasperation, fatigue, or happiness, that I see in my students (many of whom are the same age as the girls in the movie), which I recognized as being very Korean traits. A lot of the interaction between the girls and their friends is no different than what I see among my students (playing ‘Rock Scissors Paper’ at one point, for example, though the words were different). There are a number of moments of home life shown, and we see typical scenes we’d see in apartments in any developed country, as many reviews have mentioned, like a mother scolding a daughter for not eating enough, or for watching TV when she should be doing her homework.

Seeing this kind of interaction would only have been possible in a documentary of this type. North Korean films (I’ve only seen one, and that was Bulgasari) are known for their overacting (and so are not so far removed from typical South Korean TV melodramas), and are not going to give us a very good look at how people actually act on a daily basis.

Now, one could argue that this film is not realy representative of North Korea, and that the people being filmed had to make sure they portrayed their country in the 'correct' way. Seeing as they were chosen by the government this is probably true; it’s quite likely that because the filmmakers were not censored by the North Korean authorities in any way, the onus was on the families to make sure there was nothing to censor. And yet, in comparison to another film (which I’ll get to in a moment) the people in ‘A State Of Mind’ seem quite relaxed and open. The reason for this, I would bet, is that they filmed these families for 8 months, which is more than enough time for someone, no matter how paranoid, to get used to your presence. (Of course, it goes without saying that a family in the central district of Pyongyang is not representative of the rest of North Korea.)

What struck me in watching some of the ‘quaint’ group dancing, or the family sing-alongs accompanied by accordian, guitar, or home karaoke machine, is that many of the styles of these sorts of things seem like they’re from the 1950s. One could argue that, being closed off in so many ways, the culture hasn’t ‘progressed’ the way other modern cultures have in the last 50 years, though this is basically just another way of saying that globalization has not really had much of an effect on the country as of yet. In the arena of popular culture, of course, the main exports American-led globalization has foisted upon the South has been computer games, pop music, movies, fast food and the internet itself, I suppose (as well as comics and animation, but in South Korea these arrived via Japan). Much of this is, if we take a second to notice, based on youth culture, something that first took off in the US (and Japan) 50 years ago, with the advent of rock and roll, which coincided with the US taking on the role of global superpower and allowing its corporations to become transnational and move around the world. This same globalized consumerist youth culture only began to really take off in South Korea around the time of the 1988 olympics, after the end of the dictatorships and organizing of unions drove up wages and created the internal, consumer-based economy (as opposed to the production-oriented export economy it had utilized to achieve its startling economic growth). This consumerist culture has changed the face of Korea (the massive increase in cars and freeways being one example) and Korean culture (and hell, even Korean faces and bodies, if you want to consider the popularity of plastic surgery and the effects of eating too many burgers, donuts and fries).

The westernization of South Korean popular culture (and of indeed, much of the world’s popular culture or their societies in general) makes the behaviour of North Koreans look rather bizarre; this film goes a long way towards making them seem like people, albeit people in a very bizarre set of circumstances. The differences caused by the South's adoption of western popular culture were very clear in a clip I saw awhile back of a South Korean boy 'band' performing in Pyongyang. They danced and sang their Backstreet Boys, uh, homage, the same as they always did in the South - except the North Korean audience just sat there, stone faced, not clapping. I was reminded of this when I read about Cho Yong-pil's performance in Pyongyang last week. At first the crowd gave him a similar response, but in the end he won them over, but not without having been gone through what he told the audience was one of the more nerve wracking performances of his life. Apparently, the newer songs did little for the audience; it was the classics which caused them to break into applause. Perhaps, to break into the Northern market in the future, Southern artists (I use that term loosely) may have to delve into past styles of music - which is not an impossible task when one considers that K-pop artists [>cough<] have always been good at mixing genres, often on a single cd. As the Minjung movement reclaimed (and rejuvenated) traditional art and musical forms to use in its battle against the dictatorship, perhaps reunification (one of the goals of the Minjung movement, after all) could be another opportunity to narrow the gap between the two populations by finding common ground in older, shared culture. Who knows if it could happen, and if it did, whether it would be motivated by social justice concerns, or by profit. In considering the gulf between the two populations, I can’t help wondering if it’s precisely because of the fact that the North hasn’t run headlong into an embrace with the west (like the South has), that it has perhaps preserved some of things that make Koreans, well, Korean, in a way the South hasn’t. There. I said it. Now, I realize what constituted their shared identity before the division had been very influenced by Japan for 40 years, (and China for centuries, and Mongolia for decades). I also realize that what could be termed North Korea's 'better preservation' of this identity has come at a cost that’s far too high, and that it has engendered ‘non-Korean’ behavior (like eating tree bark, corn cobs, and, refugees say, human corpses). I’m also fully aware that the reason western culture hasn’t made any inroads into North Korea is because of an information blockade designed to keep its people isolated from the rest of the world in order to make possible the belief that they are lucky to live in the country they do (and uphold the system their rulers exploit). B.R. Myers goes into some detail here about the xenophobia that has been the result of such a blockade policy, which is on display in the film. All I am really saying is that I hope when South meets North, the culture clash that reunification will bring about may cause some reflection amongst the Southerners – that they ask, “why are we so different?”

One reason they’re so different, anyone with a healthy antagonism towards the Northern leadership will tell you, is because of 60 years of propaganda, the effect of which is made clear in the film “North Korea: A Day In The Life,” which was filmed last year. The film traces the experiences of a family over the course of (ostensibly) a single day, and cross cuts between each of their experiences. A girl is taken to a kindergarten and told ‘as flowers need the sun, you need the love of the great leader’, before being shown an exemplary story of Kim Jong-Il’s childhood. Her mother goes to work in a textile factory that suffers through blackouts, (blamed on the US - like I needed to say that) and takes part in a self criticism session. The girl’s kindergarten teacher takes part in a criticism session, as she and other teachers discuss the meaning of the parable she was trying to teach the children that day. The girl’s uncle goes to an English class, which showcases, remarkably, the most humorous and light-hearted parts of the film. At the end everyone goes home and the girl’s grandfather shows his pleasure at his young granddaughter cursing the Americans, and explains how a US bombing raid killed his father and brother and destroyed his home. While those who suffered under American bombing raids in Germany, Japan, even Vietnam, have in general forgiven those who bombed them, in North Korea this intense hatred of the US is inculcated by the state.

Throughout the film we are inundated with propaganda, much of which is so woven into the fabric of the family members’ lives that it seems to escape their notice. Propaganda posters (like these), showing the life of Kim Il Sung in such a way as to remind one of illustrations of biblical scenes in childrens books, can be found everywhere in the film. The oppressive feeling the film creates is helped by the fact that the subjects of this film are nowhere near as comfortable with the camera’s presence as they were in “A State Of Mind”. Worth mentioning as well is the fact that the North Korean government actively took part in the making of this film, though as a commenter at IMDB put it “there is a jarring dissonance between what they must think is their "best face" and what international viewers will probably see as grim, claustrophobic, and stultifying”.

Still, while the scenes of kindergarten students sitting perfectly still for minutes at a time seem utterly alien and disturbing to someone who has taught South Korean kindergarten students before, the scenes of the uncle’s adult English class seem incredibly familiar. In fact, some of the students in the film remind me of some of my own adult students, making it clear that, whatever the differences, they are still people of a similar culture and the same language learning English, so the differences aren’t going to be vast. On the other hand, my experiences as a teacher here have made it clear that the culture shock South Korea alone is going to experience during the coming of age of a more selfish, consumerist generation raised on the internet during the backlash against past authoritarian governments is going to be startling. In the end, the generation gap in the North is likely quite small in comparison to that which will become apparent in the South as years go by. In ten years time, which gulf will be larger - that between that between the North and South, or that between the generations in the South?


Both of these films can be found by searching on emule. A State Of Mind is playing in Seoul for 2 more days (as well as across the US at the moment). It's well worth it to watch the trailer and music video on the State Of Mind website if you get the chance - the video has some of the dizzying footage of the mass games the girls perform in at the end of the film.

Pants Dropping Leads to Trail of Media Droppings

[Update - The outcome of the trial is here.]

On July 30, two Korean punk rockers dropped their pants and jumped around naked for 4 or 5 seconds on live TV, causing a scandal in the Korean media and amongst the netizens. It's a tale that involves politicians, police, a broadcast commission, netizens, a musicians' PR group, a TV producer's PR group, an overzealous mayor,and a dozen or more media outlets (a few of them foreign) producing (at times) oodles of nonsensical editorial commentary tinged with moral outrage, as well as a great deal of bile directed at the indie music scene that produced the two guys who dropped their pants. This lengthy post will follow the media trail from roiling overreaction to eerie quiet.

While the Chosun Ilbo, for example, had already published 6 articles on the 30th in it's online Korean edition, the first article to appear in English in the Korean media was on the 31st, by the Chosun Ilbo, and was titled "Punk Rockers' Privates in Affront to Korea's 'Bourgeois'":

In an unprecedented affront to Korea’s conservative mores, two members of a punk rock band lived up to their music’s history of subversion when they exposed their private parts on live TV during family viewing time on Saturday.

The Joongang Ilbo's first article, from August 1, "Rockers drop trousers, raise public ire" began in a somewhat more subdued fashion:

In an apparent first for Korean television, two rock musicians exposed themselves during a live broadcast Saturday afternoon, leading to a public uproar and an apology from the MBC network.

The Donga Ilbo's article, "Naked Bodies Shown for Five Seconds on Live TV", also from August 1, had a similarly subdued opening:

During a live music program, two performers took off their clothes and exposed their genitalia for four to five seconds on national TV, an unprecedented accident in Korean broadcasting history.

The best opening line is likely to be found over at andongkim.com, in the article "Korean wardrobe malfunction":

For the first time in Korea's 5000 year history, two rock musicians exposed themselves during a live broadcast Saturday around 4:15 p.m.

This of course is not a mainstream news article, and is presumably taking the piss; of course, I might be wrong about that. Head over there to look at all the pictures of the incident.

The incident in question took place during the MBC show “Music Camp,’’ a weekly music show broadcast live on Saturday afternoons, which, my students tell me, showcased a variety of up and coming bands (even 'reggae' bands, apparently). According to the Donga Ilbo article,

“Is this song good?” is a section that introduces an underground band every week, recommended by five music experts. A music critic, Park Joon-heum (43), who introduced RUX to the program, said, “The band members say that they performed in the way they normally did, but there is no indie bands that exposes their privates in clubs.”

Apparently, that may be wishful thinking on his part, but we'll get to that later. Right now, we need the Chosun Ilbo to describe what happened:

Punk rockers RUX were performing at about 4:15 when two members of another band named Couch including a 20-year-old man identified as Oh appeared on stage and took off their pants, one prancing all over the stage naked while the other had his trousers around his ankles. The cameras caught some four seconds of their display before panning away to the audience.

Yup, it looked something like that. Oh, if that's not enough for you, the uncensored video is here (right click and save as). The Donga Ilbo continues:

After the incident, the MBC website and other message boards were flooded with critical comments from netizens. Over 10,000 replies were posted on the message board for viewer’s opinions of Music Camp, shutting down the server temporarily. As the footage and captured photos of the scene are rapidly spreading on the Internet, website operators are busy deleting them.

During the rest of the show, the show hosts repeatedly apologized for the accident, and apologizing subtitles also appeared. The MBC network announced an official apology on its website and on News Desk, its daily news program, saying, “We offer a heartfelt apology to viewers for the indecent accident that occurred during a live show.

The Chosun Ilbo tells us that

Incensed viewers said an apology was not enough and the broadcaster should be punished. Some asked how MBC proposed to compensate teenagers, the largest age group watching the show, for the emotional shock [or "trauma"] they sustained. The two Couch members were arrested, as was the RUX lead singer for inviting them on stage, and are being investigated for violating public decency.

The Joongang Ilbo continues:

The musicians are being tested for drugs.... Police ordered them to provide urine samples, which tested negative for evidence of drug use. Police sent samples of their hair to the National Institute of Scientific Investigation for further drug testing.

The Korea Times' August 1 article, "Music Show Canceled After Indecent Exposure" brought us this news:

MBC television network decided on Sunday to shut down its live music program after members of a local underground band were arrested for indecent exposure after a telecast Saturday. “Music Camp,’’ a weekly music show broadcast live on Saturday afternoons, will be taken off the air, the network decided during an emergency meeting in Seoul.

The article goes on to quote Korea Broadcasting Commission official Kim Chang-keun as saying, “The unthinkable has happened. We are reviewing the appropriate action to be taken against the station,’’ a review planned for that day; the KBC would meet ahead of schedule. Another Korea Times article that day, "Sanctions on MBC Music Show Delayed", described the outcome of this review of MBC and the now cancelled "Music Camp":

The Korea Broadcasting Commission (KBC) said that [t]he level of disciplinary action for the incident of indecent exposure will be announced on Aug. 11. The commission also mentioned that it will soon enact stronger measures such as the levying of heavy fines to prevent such incidents which invade socially acceptable boundaries.

We can't have one of these popular gusts blow across the media and cyberspace without the government, in this case a regulatory body, getting involved, now can we? Not everyone agrees with this of course:

Monday morning, prior to the announcement by KBC, broadcasting producers from the Broadcasting Producer Association of Korea made an official statement arguing that disciplinary actions shouldn’t be used as another form of measures to censor programs.

And from the cultural side:

“Of course, there is no doubt that their wrongdoings should be criticized and punished,’’ said Kim Heoun-sic, a pop culture critic. But it would be wrong that all independent bands may suffer blame for this, and it is even more “ridiculous’’ to cancel a music program because of an unexpected incident without considering its original purpose, which is to share a diversity of culture with viewers by inviting these independent bands, Kim added. “The effort of the producers of the program to introduce underground music every week should be considered.’’

Of course, not everyone appreciates the efforts of these 'vulgar' TV producers, as an August 1 Korea Times editorial titled "Public Insult on Air: Rockers' Indecent Acts Should Be Sternly Dealt With" makes clear. I've quoted at length from it, as it's such a hoot:

Nothing can defend two male dancers’ exposure of genitals during the MBC’s live music show on Saturday afternoon. The incident, unprecedented not only in Korea but probably abroad as well, should never have happened in the first place. Now that it has, however, law enforcement authorities should harshly punish both the performers and broadcasters so that it never happens again. And this should serve as an occasion to look into broadcasting practices and popular culture in Korea overall.

That's right, nothing like this has ever happened in the world. I take the writer doesn't watch much American football. While the mention of targeting popular culture might worry the aforementioned critic, it's pretty clear who the writer is gunning for:

Right after the incident, the MBC took a series of damage-control steps, filing charges against performers, disciplining its own production staff and suspending the show. The network broadcaster then suggested the happening was a premeditated move. The dancers in question, however, said they were just overwhelmed with fun, and did not know it was a live program. Watching them pass the buck, and not take responsibility, is as egregious as their lewd behavior was a public insult on air.

The independent rock bands’ behavior is inexcusable by any standard, as it was nothing but a kind of sexual harassment of national proportions. Live or filmed, they performed in front an audience of hundreds, composed mostly of teenage girls. But who are MBC producers and directors to let these sickening scenes be aired for 12 seconds? The broadcaster cites difficulties of live music shows, but the main PD was not even aware of the performers’ faces, nor the fact that their costumes praised Japan’s militarist past.

"Public insult on air","Sexual harrassment of national proportions", "sickening scenes"; oh what fun! I'm reminded of H.L. Mencken's definition of puritanism: "The haunting feeling that someone, somewhere, may be happy." Granted, someone made a point that if you were at home watching this with your children, you'd be angry, and sure, if I thought there were more than 10 Korean families watching punk rock on TV together, I might be inclined to agree. The point is that it's teenagers (and teenage girls at that) that this writer seems so worried about. An August 4 Canadian Press article played up the "nation in shock" angle with quotes like "It was shocking," said [a 23 year old female student] "I felt disgusted." or "It's as if they've committed sexual violence against all viewers," (a knee slapper attributed to a Joongang Ilbo editorial). I've found that many of these teenage girls they're so worried about (amongst my students) found the whole incident to be more funny than shocking. Perhaps the nation's "vulgar broadcasting culture" is to blame for this.

The Korea Times' editorial misrepresents the amount of time that they were naked onscreen for (from 4-5 seconds to 12 seconds) and exaggerates when it says that "their costumes praised Japan’s militarist past", as only one member wore the Clash shirt in question (a controversy the Marmot examined briefly here) . The editorial ends with the suggestion that "KBC should hasten to devise effective regulation."

By the end of the day, the story had made Reuters, which ran with the headline "S.Korean rockers perform naked on live TV show." The next day, August 2, saw a rather remarkable Korea Times article (at least for Korean media in English) titled "Newspapers Divided Over MBC Live Show":

The recent incident of indecent exposure on a live music program on MBC has brought different reactions from newspapers, with conservative dailies heavily criticizing the broadcaster and moderate media remaining cautious on the issue.

The Chosun Ilbo, the biggest conservative daily, made the story one of its top headlines Monday and questioned MBC’s responsibility for the incident. Yesterday, it again criticized terrestrial broadcasters on its front page and all of page 3 with the headline, "Uncontrolled Broadcasting, Nobody Responsible for It."

Another conservative daily, the Donga-A Ilbo Daily, was more adamant in lashing out at the broadcaster. With the headline "Wanting to Turn off Terrestrial Channels" on Monday, the daily insisted that the gate-keeping ability of broadcasters KBS and MBC have virtually collapsed. It devoted almost half of the day’s second page to covering the incident of exhibitionism. It also reported a related story the same day on its third page.

The conservative papers’ all-out criticism shows a stark contrast with that of progressives such as The Hankyoreh, which reported the incident on its ninth page in a single article on Monday only. Its title was "Incident Feared to Distort Image of Independent Music Culture."

Meanwhile, the JoongAng Ilbo, one of the three major conservative papers, remained cautious. It reported the incident only on the 10th page on Monday.

Other relatively neutral dailies, the Hankook Ilbo and the Kyunghyang Daily News, raised the issue of sensationalism on televised entertainment programs, but did not target the broadcasters’ gate-keeping processes.

A civic group called Citizens’ Coalition for Democratic Media on Monday issued a statement and suggested that the broadcasters overhaul the reviewing system to prevent recurrence of the undesirable incident. It also warned that a few newspapers should not exaggerate the fault of the broadcaster, calling the papers’ criticism "mere mudslinging."

It's interesting to view this event in terms of how much different media outlets are criticizing MBC, (something prevalent in the Korean language media) as opposed to the moral outrage that seems to dominate in the English language media. (The article neglects to mention anything about the Korea Time's own point of view, though it does mention the Hankook Ilbo, it's sister publication, describing it as 'neutral' (is it now?)) Also worth noting is that far more Korean language articles were published online than English ones (for example, the first Korean language article to be published by the Chosun Ilbo about the scandal has a list at the bottom of all the related articles it published online - over 30 of them, which appeared over 6 days, 20 of which on the first two days alone!)

Of course, while media outlets were displaying their moral outrage, attacking MBC and calling for more regulation, the police were investigating the men who had dangled their penises in front of the nation. According to the first Korea Times article:

The two musicians, whose full names were withheld, were arrested almost immediately after the show. Although Won Chong-hi, the lead vocalist of RUX, did not expose himself, he was also arrested for having invited the members of Couch, aged 20 and 27, on the show.

"I knew the program was a live show, but I don’t think the others did,’’ Won said in an interview with a news program on MBC. "But I am really sorry. I didn’t know the incident would create so much controversy.’’

Won added that although the bands are well known for being free and experimental during their club shows, they have never done such a thing during any of their performances.

Regarding them never having done such a thing before, an August 2 Korea Herald article, "Police to probe funk band; Was TV flashing planned?" had a slightly different take:

While admitting the scene was not fit for public broadcast, Won Jong-hee, the leader of Rux, said that the kind of performance seen during the MBC broadcast is common at clubs in Hongdae region, a hot clubbing district. "We are free to perform there. Sometimes we break a guitar or bottles of beer," Won said.

Of course, seeing as the Herald can't even get the genre of music right (a funk band?), there may be confusion over what was meant by that "kind of performance" which was said to be common - the direct quote from Won Jong-hee says nothing about nudity. Still, his perhaps off-the-cuff comment (not translated in its entirety by any paper) could have consequences for the music scene in Hongdae.

At any rate, while the previously quoted Korea Times article ended by saying "They are still being questioned about whether or not they knew it was a live broadcast when they exposed themselves", this Herald article made clear that MBC thought the 'exposure' was planned:

Kim Young-hee, director of the MBC's entertainment bureau, cited four reasons; 1) the two wore clothing which can be easily pulled down with a zipper and they did not wear underwear. 2) they exchanged eye signs before taking off their clothes 3) they wore heavy make-up 4) they did not identify themselves as a separate act, Couch, while performing on the show with Rux.

While police investigated further, the Seoul city government apparently felt left out and decided to get involved:

Seoul Mayor, Lee Myung-bak, weighed in on the issue, saying each ward should supervise obscene performances and make a blacklist of the acts who do them.

"Given that the accused said that indecent performances happen every night at clubs in the Hongdae area, the performance, which is not generally accepted, has not been regulated by the authorities," Lee said in a meeting with executive members of the Seoul metropolitan government.

This is also elaborated on in this article:

Lee, a member of the conservative GNP, ordered officials of the Seoul City government Monday to draw up a “blacklist’’ of bands whose performances are “decadent and not socially acceptable.’’ Those bands will not be invited to events organized by Seoul City or affiliated institutions, Lee said. The mayor also demanded that each district office strengthen control over possible decadent public performances.

Of course, this got a pretty quick response:

“Lee’s instruction is an irresponsible attempt to jump on the bandwagon of public opinion which is formed without concrete knowledge about the local scene and club culture,’’ said Cultural Action, a civic group, in a statement. “That kind of order violates human rights in an attempt to regulate citizens’ diverse cultural tastes by means of administrative power,’’ the statement said.

As an August 2 Chosun Ilbo article "Seoul Mayor Blasted for Authoritarian Mindset" tells us, it was more than just civic groups who were angered by the (GNP) mayor's actions:

Uri Party lawmaker Kim Hyun-mee said Tuesday Lee's order to draw up a blacklist of artists that will be excluded from Seoul City events was a concept befitting a "disciple of Yushin." "I'm not sure if deciding who can and cannot be invited to performances under Seoul City is up to the mayor, but it's really an anachronistic and absurd order,” Kim said. “So I say Mayor Lee is an antiquated and dangerous figure." "To cry for a blacklist, label 'indie' culture subversive and try to restrict it is something the ghosts of the Yushin era would do."

The indie community based in Hongdae responded quickly to this challenge (and the negative publicity from the incident itself), as the article continues:

Meanwhile, indie musicians active in the clubs around Hongik University and club managers held a press conference Tuesday to apologize for Saturday's incident but warn it should not be used as a rope to hang all of indie culture with.

As the Korea Times tells us in an article titled "Hongdae Community Distances Itself From `Music Camp' Incident",

Hongik University is an institution especially well known for its fine arts department, but the mushrooming of underground venues across the college front set off an explosion of musical energy that later evolved to become the launching pad for many talented acts.

(For more information about the history of the Hongdae club scene, do read this Korea Times article from a few months ago) The previous Chosun Ilbo article continues it's description of the indie community's press conference:

“There are about 30 clubs around Hongik University and about 500 active bands, and they have diverse music, genres and styles of expression."

They said the show “Music Camp”, cancelled after the two musicians exposed themselves on the program, "newly attempted to focus attention on the cultural diversity and musical healthiness of indie music... We propose a signature campaign to the culture and art and pop music worlds to have the program restarted."

An August 3 Korea Herald article, "Hongdae musicians apologize for flashing", adds that "The musicians supported the claim that Rux and Couch did not plan the flashing incident beforehand, but that it was a spontaneous broadcasting accident." A Joongang Ilbo op-ed titled "A little obscenity can boost a career" makes it clear whether it thought the incident was an accident:

Last weekend, there was a major incident on a broadcast network when two young men performing in a rock concert exposed themselves on live television. It was obscenity, of course, but were these performers merely showing symptoms of exhibitionism, or did they have another goal in mind?
Since when is it necessary to treat audiences this recklessly in the pursuit of money and fame? It is said that there aren't even specific laws that can be applied to punish this kind of broadcasting "accident."

Well, the title said it was about obscenity, but it seems to be gunning for a certain 'broadcast network'. As the title of the (completely unsurprising) August 3 Korea Times article "Parties to Toughen Broadcasting Rule" tells us, it would appear these media exhortations for more regulation had paid off:

The ruling Uri Party plans to revise the Broadcast Act to dispense stronger punishment to broadcasting stations that disobey regulations, a party lawmaker said Wednesday.

“First we will ask broadcasting stations to intensify activities on their own for reviewing content,’’ said Rep. Kim Jae-yun, a Uri Party member and a member of the National Assembly’s Culture and Tourism Committee. “But we’re also considering revisions of the Act that will levy heavier fines on regulatory violations as in the United States,’’ Kim said.

The largest opposition Grand National Party (GNP) also came up with a similar idea. Rep. Shim Jae-chul of the GNP, also a member of the Culture and Tourism Committee, said that he will propose a revision to the Broadcast Act soon.

Scandals like these tend to provoke some sort of quick action or proposals by the government or politicians. English Spectrum Gate led to more crackdowns on foreign teachers, Dogshit Girl led to the proposal of the 'real name' system, and now some naked dancing on TV has lead to proposals to toughen broadcast laws.

While politicians devised plans to make sure this never happened again, the police had an announcement to make on August 4. In aJoongang Ilbo article titled 'Police say musicians planned TV incident' it was stated that

If the musicians are determined to have planned the incident in advance, they could be charged not just with breaking laws pertaining to public performance, but with interfering with a business, which could mean a maximum jail term of five years instead of one. MBC yesterday filed a complaint with police accusing the musicians of interfering with its business.

The Chosun Ilbo article, 'Indie Flashers Planned Exposure in Advance', tells us that

Police said Shin and Oh hatched the plan at a billiards hall near Hongik University on July 27, three days before an MBC daytime program beamed their private parts across the nation. The day before the show, Shin met the 25-year-old lead singer of the group RUX, identified as Won, at a swimming pool at Hangang Citizens Park and let him in on the scheme.

However, officers said, "Considering the gravity of the act, which as a preplanned incident not only had an ill influence on minors but also harmed a healthy performance culture, we have decided to punish [the offenders] strictly."

The force said it could not rule out copy-cat acts with a detrimental effect on minors and vowed to “expand our investigation into unhealthy and corrupt performance venues and related businesses near Hongik University.

Interesting that they cited the harm caused to a 'healthy performance culture' as a reason to punish them, when in the same breath they mention 'unhealthy and corrupt performance venues'. Perhaps one reason why they plan to investigate in the Hondae area further may be due to what the Korea Times article 'Band Members Planned Indecent Exposure' confirms:

The police also found that the two members of Couch previously dropped their pants during their own club performances in July and August.

I guess the statement Rux's lead singer made about this kind of thing happening often did refer to 'exposure'. Though Rux's singer didn't drop his pants himself, he too will be charged:

The police will formally charge the two musicians of Couch for putting on an obscene performance and for obstructing the work of a television network. Won, who did not drop his pants, will also be charged for the obstruction.

The obstruction charges, again, raise the possiblity of a maximum 5 year jail sentence. Another Joongang Ilbo article reviews the same information here, while a picture can be found here. The same day saw a Korea times article about the upcoming Seoul Fringe Festival called 'Celebrating Independent Spirit' which referred to the scandal before discussing the Hongdae-based festival:

Ever since members of punk band Couch flashed their private parts to television viewers across the country, the alternative culture community in the Hongdae area in Seoul has come under the microscope.

It goes on to say that the festival "should be the perfect opportunity to show the nation a better side of the independent art spirit." A Joongang Ilbo article on the same topic also begins by mentioning "the media bashing of indie bands", without mentioning the role it played in that bashing.

One of the most bizarre articles to invoke the scandal was an August 8 Donga Ilbo article titled 'The “Let’s-Get-Naked” Culture', which, after presenting a history of nudism, tells us:

If the right to get naked should be respected, what also needs to be respected is one’s right to choose not to see others naked in time and places he or she does not want. For “Couch,” the indie band who stirred a huge controversy by exposing their naked bodies on television, their bodies might be a means of expressing art. For others, however, their expression of art can be an attack or pollution.

Uhhhh. Ok. I don't think anyone ever suggested that pulling your pants down and dancing naked on live TV was art. Methinks the Donga Ilbo staff had a lot of time on their hands, or perhaps a writer who had always wanted to write an article about the history of nudism finally saw their chance and took it. Speaking of half-baked writing, someone should have told AFP that using the Korea Herald as a news source isn't really the best idea. In an August 4 article titled 'Dancers charged for going naked on TV' we are told that "Police said they had asked for court approval to arrest the two members of funk group RUX on charges of obscenity." Ah yes, that funk group RUX. They sound a bit like that reggae band, Coldplay.

Good news, though. As the title of a Joongang Ilbo article from Friday August 5 tells us, "Free-spirited Hongdae still clubbers' mecca":

Earlier this week, the police vowed to crack down on Hongdae clubs, following an incident of indecent exposure last Saturday by The Couch, an underground rock band from the Hongdae area, live on MBC-TV.
However, the Hongik University neighborhood, largely known for its rowdy clubs, remained vibrant and wild-spirited on Thursday night, while patrons say the area is still their haven for free expression and stress relief.
While no band members exposed themselves on Thursday night, outrageous acts were still in store. Various bands screamed into the microphone, jumping up and down in front of sweaty audiences, while one performer wound the wire from his microphone around his neck and bit down on his guitar.
"Here I can enjoy fresh performances by underground bands that I cannot see on TV," said a 31-year-old office worker who requested anonymity.
"All my stress is gone while I am screaming and jumping in the club," he added.

Moving from sweaty punk clubs to the 'psychedelic lights' of dance clubs, the article describes the scene: "In one dance club, a man and woman in their 20s danced together in moves that one clubgoer, who has been a patron of Hongdae for five years, described only as sexual." The articles ends by telling us just how decadent these clubgoers are: "many of those out on Thursday headed home at 5 a.m. the next day." The horror.

While this article was quite harmless, an August 5 Korean-language article by the Herald Business News titled "Hongdae - A one night stand area for foreigners", which was translated by the Marmot here, has the kind of xenophobic (if not racist) commentary reminiscent of English Spectrum Gate. Here are a few examples:

[Referring to 2002, after the Anti-US hate-a-thon saw many foreigners banned from Hongdae's clubs] Local residents openly complained that the Hongik area had been ruined “because of the U.S. soldiers and foreigners,” and club officials thoroughly put an end to the improper foreign club culture.

Hongdae is now an area hot with youthful passion that has degenerated from being mixed up with foreigners. As the recent act of indecent exposure by a punk band on live TV showed, the diversity and individuality of the area in front of Hongik University is nowhere to be found.

Ah, so this makes sense. Those crazy guys who dropped their pants - they did it under the influence of foreign culture! Blame the foreigners! And I like that non sequitor of a last sentence. A quick question - isn't a lot of the diversity of Hongdae precisely because it's a place where different cultures collide? Many of Korea's best bands have cut their teeth performing in the Hongdae area, and have been influenced by foreign music (punk, indie rock, electronic, post rock), and if not for these bands, the state of Korean music would be woeful indeed. Of course, most of the more interesting bands out there can only be found by doing some searching - the independent scene, as far as the number of fans is concerned, is very small. Most people you talk to will tell you they like pop or ballads (arrgh), not rock or electronic music, and every time I hear that I think, 'ah, so you're one of the reasons few good bands ever come to Korea to perform' (whereas everybody makes their way to Japan at some point, as Japan has had a thriving underground scene for a long time - one of the advantages of not having had decades of authoritarian governments and curfews, I guess). Ok, ok, the rant is over. (If you want a first hand account of how the 'improper foreign club culture' (as far as electronic music clubs are concerned) got its kickstart, Bug 5 has an interview with the founder of Sickboy Productions (a small tidbit of which can be found here.)

The final chapter of this tale (at least in the English language media (and until the trial of the 3 musicians who have been arrested)) is found in a Korea Times article from August 12 titled "Broadcasting Commission Punishes Controversial Programs":

The commission ruled Thursday that the producers of MBC’s live music show, ``Music Camp,’’ and KBS’s sitcom, ``Old Miss Diary,’’ should be disciplined by their respective networks, which were also ordered to make official apologies to viewers. In addition, the offending episodes have been banned from rebroadcast and retransmission.

``By telecasting live the indecent exposure of musicians, the program failed to carry out its responsibilities operating under a major TV network, provided a negative influence on societal values, and violated rules regarding sexual expression,’’ said an official from KBC in regard to ``Music Camp.’’

As ``Music Camp’’ has been cancelled, its official apology will be shown before the airing of its replacement program, ``MBC Special.’’ The networks are also required to report to the commission on the punishments they will hand down to the employees at fault within a week.

And so we come to the end of a tale (for now). I'm sure when the three punk kids come to trial we'll hear more, but for now I hope we won't be hearing any more about the mayor's plan to have the city monitor shows in Hongdae. Of course, these incidents, while featuring a lot of heated commentary that gets tossed off due to the centrifugal force of the scandal, do tend to have one or two longer term consequences - I just hope that this time the strengthening of broadcast rules is where it ends.

Update

The Joongang Ilbo has a rather good article titled Society’s ambivalence about nudity emerges in reactions to art which makes mention of the Couch scandal. And this Chosun Ilbo article talks about nudity in clubs in Seoul (not in Hongdae, though).

Sonagi

The word 'Sonagi' is sometimes translated as 'shower' (perhaps that's why the brand name on my shower head is 'sonaki'?) but a better translation would be 'cloudburst'. The weather in Seoul this August has featured a good many of these sudden downpours; sometimes there have been 4 or 5 in a single day, making it necessary to carry an umbrella with you at all times.

What prompted this post, however, was not the rain, or my showerhead, but that fact that, after complaining here that I couldn't find it, I finally found a translation of Hwang Sun-won's short story Sonagi online.

Sonagi has been a staple in Korean middle school textbooks for a long time, so most people in Korea would know it. Kim Jong-hoi writes that

"It is such a profound presentation of a subtle emotional connection between a boy and a girl, an exchange so tender and frail that one does not dare call it love."

Cha Tae-hyun's character in the movie My Sassy Girl (엽기적인그녀) makes a comment about Sonagi saying that since everyone has read it, it has influenced the Korean affinity for melodrama (this is followed by a scene in which the story is parodied in a pretty twisted (and hilarious) manner). It should be said, though, that Sonagi is not melodramatic; excessive melodrama is so common in Korean film and TV that I can think of few Korean films that have love and death that aren't overly melodramatic. The only one I can name off the top of my head would be Hur Jin-ho's Christmas in August (8월의크리스마스

At any rate, the story can be found here (scroll down to the very bottom; the aforementioned essay by Kim Jong-hoi about Hwang Sun-won's writing may be worth a read as well). If you look through other issues of the magazine, there are also other stories translated.

Gaming to Death II

What's scary about this is that it's not at all surprising. It's certainly not the first time someone has died after played computer games at a PC room nonstop for days. The earlier death came after 86 hours, while the latest guy died after only 50 hours of play. The fact that he "reportedly slept on a makeshift bed in the Internet cafe's administrative office" is rather disturbing, though it's not at all surprising that the PC room staff would encourage someone to spend money at their establishment. Business is business, right? I'd like to say that I doubt we'll see many editorials calling for tighter PC room regulations, though if it's a slow news day, anything's possible...

Update:
The BBC have an article which goes into a little more depth here.

Dog 'Poop' Girl Redux

The 2005 'Dog Poop Girl' incident

Part 1: Internet Witchhunts and Conflict Resolution
Part 2: Riding the wave of 'cyber terror' articles
Part 3: 'Real Names' in Korean Cyberspace
Part 4: Portals and the Cyber Terror blame game
Part 5: Dog 'Poop' Girl Redux

I was meaning to update the story of the 개똥녀 (aka 'Dog dung girl', aka 'Dog shit girl', aka 'Dog poop girl', aka 'Dog Excrement girl') after finding a few new (and some old) posts on it which shed a little more light on the event. However, now that she has made the Washington Post, an entirely new twist has been added to the story.

The reason that the story of the 개똥녀 made her way to the US was because of blogger Don Park, whose June 8 post, titled 'Korean Netizens Attack Dog-Shit-Girl' (and based on Korean language sources) included some troubling information that was not included in the English language Joongang Ilbo article posted a day earlier.

When nearby elders told her to clean up the mess, she basically told them to fuck off. A nearby enraged netizen then took pictures of her and posted it, without any masking, on a popular website which started a nationwide witchhunt.

For the "enraged netizen's" account of what happened, do read the article over at migukin, which has useful translations. Suffice to say, from this netizen's account, the girl in question was given towels and tissues but refused to clean up the mess, despite the urging of many around her, which prompted this woman to take the pictures.

The subway way train got to Ahyun Station and when the doors open, she got off. At that time, she said something rude to the ajumma.

As Don Park continues:

Within days, her identity and her past were revealed. Request for information about her parents and relatives started popping up and people started to recognize her by the dog and the bag she was carrying as well as her watch, clearly visible in the original picture. All mentions of privacy invasion were shouted down with accusations of being related to the girl. The common excuse for their behavior was that the girl doesn't deserve privacy.

Contrast this with the Joongang Ilbo article, which said only that netizens

began visiting the Web site of the university they assumed the woman attended, and bombarding it with postings. The site's server went down because of the surge in traffic. Then people began calling the university...

Though a week later the Hankyoreh spoke of 'unspeakable verbal abuse unleashed on...the so-called "dog shit woman"', and the Korea Times wrote that 'some Web surfers revealed her name, age and school after seeing the picture at many Web sites', and just a few days ago the Herald wrote that 'thousands visited her personal Web page to criticize her', none of these sound as serious as the situation Don Park described on his blog (for example, they never mentioned the calls for names of family members). These articles (especially the Joongang one) seem to have left some important details out, as is common for Korean newspapers when translating articles into English (though it's becoming less common as time goes on). The omission of these unpleasant details certainly coloured my initial reaction to the event.

Mugukin posts a translation of the apology that appeared on this photo, apparently posted by the girl herself:

I know I was wrong, but you guys are so harsh. I’m regret it, but I was so embarrassed so I just wanted to leave there. I was very irritable because many people looked at me and pushed me to clean the poop. Anyhow, I’m sorry. But, if you keep putting me down on the Internet I will sue all the people and at the worst I will will commit suicide. So please don’t do that anymore.

Park also included links to parodies and photos, as well as a few quotes and paraphrases, such as:

Her life deserves to be ruined and she won't kill herself because she is a thick-skinned bitch.

"Thanks to technology, we are able to build a better society in which citizens are the police, prosecutors, and judges."

This reminds me of a statement in the aforementioned recent Herald article regarding the results of a poll on cyber witchhunts:

'Twenty-four percent said it violated privacy, while 26.2 percent believed that witch hunts are necessary. Apparently, '979 cases of cyber witch hunts were reported last year. There were only 33 reported cases in 2001. Defamation of character complaints increased from 245 in 2001 to 1,306 this year'.

Of course, the story of Dogshit Girl (abbrieviated to DSG on Park's blog) has been referred to constantly in the Korean media since the incident occurred, especially in the deluge of 'cyber terror' articles and editorials mostly supportive of a measure to ban aliases on some internet sites in Korea. But she has also become well known in the US blogosphere as well, due to Park's initial post on June 8 (some of the comments upon which are well worth reading).

On June 29, the popular site Fark linked to Park's DSG story, where the link to his story has been clicked on 41857 times (Park noticed this the next day). While most of the commentary is not worth your time, the parodies US bloggers have posted there are worth a look (if only to see the gulf between photoshop skills in Korea and in the US). Soon, a number of American bloggers began to comment on the significance of the DSG incident in a world where so many people have access to digital cameras and blogs, and the use of these to enforce norms.

From there, these bloggers obviously caught the attention of the Washington Post, which published an article on July 6 titled 'Subway Fracas Escalates Into Test Of the Internet's Power to Shame'. What's interesting is that, though he presents at least one new fact (maybe) about the original incident (that she had quit her university), the article is mostly an article examining the opinions of American bloggers who posted articles after Park's original DSG post became well known. It's well worth a read, but doesn't focus on the Korean context in which the incident occurred, but instead wonders about its significance for internet culture in general.

While the story of DSG certainly hasn't died in the Korean press, it has been given a new lease on life due to the fact that the Korean media has now covered the Washington Post article. The Chosun Ilbo gave us ’Trial by Internet’ Casts Spotlight on Korean Cyber Mobs on July 6, while the next day, the Donga Ilbo posted “Dog Excrement Girl” Story Debated in U.S. One of the final ironies is that Don Park found the Washington Post article by reading about it in a Yonhap News article. So in this amplification loop, 개똥녀 travelled around the world from the Korean media, to Don Park's blog, to American bloggers covering Don Park's blog (and each other), to the Washington Post covering all of these bloggers, and back to the Korean media, now covering the Washington Post's take on what they reported a month earlier, filtered through blogs...

What fun.

A comment...somewhere... pointed to the story of Laura K Krishna, from late March this year, as an event similar to DSG (start at the last post...)

[Edit]
At the top of this post, I was listing all the variations on the 개똥녀's English names, mainly because I thought it was funny to see how it was translated considering how taboo 'Poo' is in English (while such taboos don't exist in Korea, really). I believe the Hankyoreh was the only paper to use the word 'shit'. At any rate, I didn't realize I'd unwittingly guaranteed that whatever name you punch in, this page would pop up on Google...

Portals and the Cyber Terror blame game

The 2005 'Dog Poop Girl' incident

Part 1: Internet Witchhunts and Conflict Resolution
Part 2: Riding the wave of 'cyber terror' articles
Part 3: 'Real Names' in Korean Cyberspace
Part 4: Portals and the Cyber Terror blame game
Part 5: Dog 'Poop' Girl Redux

Part 4: Portals and the Cyber Terror blame game

The Joongang Ilbo has an interesting story titled 'Web harassment victims plan to sue portal sites.' One of the people is a woman whose 15 year old daughter was harrassed to the point that she ran away and has been missing since March. The other man had asked several portals to remove messages in which personal information about him had been posted, but none responded.

"By remaining silent about such postings, the portals have increased their traffic and made more money from ads," said Byeong Hui-jae, who represents a group of cyber terror victims.

Kim Seong-ho of Kinternet, an assocation of Internet companies, said the sites should not be held accountable. "Holding the portals responsible for the problems may discourage Internet business," he said.

Oh, well, if it's going to discourage business, the harrassment will have to continue. What an ass. The point about increasing traffic (and hurting business) is certainly worth considering. The Kinternet spokesman's comment seems to acknowledge that the greater the controversy, the more traffic they get and more revenue they receive. During 'English-Spectrum Gate,' the Marmot reported "a huge spike in traffic after the Joongang piece (which broke the story) went up on major Korean portal sites," and that "the Yahoo! Korea piece [was] the sixth-most-looked-at story of the day, garnering 925 comments" in mere hours. A portion of netizen attentions focussed upon the girls in the photos (which had been posted uncensored on these sites) and soon they were facing an incredible amount of harrassment, which, it would seem, was good for the portals' business. Perhaps the portals could take a cue from the newly moderated English Spectrum.

At any rate, the article does give the indication that there might be alternatives to a 'Real Name' system, as does an article at the Joongang Ilbo titled 'Portal sites face probe on cyber violence'. I doubt it's a coincidence that the government announced it would investigate some 15 different portals the day after the people described above held their press conference. The article says that the government plans to 'ask the companies operating those sites to make it easier for Internet users to delete specific postings on Web boards that defame individuals online. Well, this could lead to problems as well ('hey, where did that entire thread go?'). An article at the Chosun Ilbo giving tips on how to protect yourself from 'phishing' and other internet scams does not take note of the fact that the frequent use of Resident Numbers in Korean cyberspace is what makes Koreans much more vulnerable to this kind of hacking (which the article says is on the rise), and that a 'real name' system could possibly make things worse in this respect.

On a related note, the Donga Ilbo reports that:

[a]n organization of hackers was caught by the police for hacking into Korean portal sites to procure the personal information of 50,000 internet users and then stealing cyber cash from them.

Apparently a Mr Lee used a group of Chinese hackers and Korean e-money changers to pull this off.

Lee took advantage of the fact that most Korean netizens use the same ID and password when using portal and game sites and logged on using those to steal e-money. They later cashed the stolen e-money worth 150 million won through Jo and his group of e-money changers. The Chinese hackers, Korean money changers, and Lee divided up the cash in a 4:4:3 ratio.

Not a bad haul for the mastermind. I'm not entirely sure, but I think the e-cash was from game sites. For more on e-theft from game users, have a look here (and for game-related off-line violence, see here).

[Update]

On July 11, a Joongang Ilbo article, "Defending Real Names," presented the viewpoint of Information Minister Chin Dae-je and his ministry's plans to crack down on cyber terrorism, telling readers that "measures like forcing Internet users to use their real names online [...] will safeguard freedom of expression." On July 19, in an op-ed titled "Bringing Order to the Internet" (anyone else find it difficult not to picture Darth Vader when reading that title?), sociology professor Bae Young opines that a real name system "will do a great deal to prevent reckless behavior online."

The opponents of the proposed system argue that the use of real names is not required in any other country in the world. They also say that since many organizations and companies with an online presence require the use of real names now, such a system virtually exists already. But Koreans use community sites and bulletin boards more actively than any other people in the world do. Information spreads through them at remarkable speed. We are in a unique situation that cannot be objectively compared to that of other countries.

And there you have it. On a related note, a July 22 article revealed that 20,000 internet users' private data had been exposed on the internet in the first half of 2005.

'Real Names' in Korean Cyberspace

The 2005 'Dog Poop Girl' incident

Part 1: Internet Witchhunts and Conflict Resolution
Part 2: Riding the wave of 'cyber terror' articles
Part 3: 'Real Names' in Korean Cyberspace
Part 4: Portals and the Cyber Terror blame game
Part 5: Dog 'Poop' Girl Redux

Part 3: 'Real Names' in Korean Cyberspace

After blogging about being inundated with 'Cyber Terror' articles and editorials, an editorial appeared on June 30 in the Joongang Ilbo titled 'Rein in online anonymity'.

Saying that people have to take responsibility for their actions even in cyberspace, Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan has announced that the government will introduce a system requiring Internet users to use their real names. "It will be possible to search for information or play games anonymously, but it is a problem when people criticize or in ‘flame' others while in hiding," he said. He also said that it is not right to exercise freedom of expression without taking responsibility for it.

the threat to privacy can be prevented by developing a system that can verify a user's identity by means other than the residential registration number. At any rate, it is in the basic spirit of the Constitution that the rights of victims deserve protection as much as people's freedom of expression does.

The Internet must no longer be used as a deadly weapon. History tells us that the laissez-faire approach never has good results.

Well, maybe it hasn't had such good results in South Korea, where it's never been allowed to exist, in many ways. Another 5 year economic plan anyone?

The next day, on July 1 the Joongang Ilbo gave us this update: 'Ban on Web aliases set for October'.

The Ministry of Information and Communication said that it would establish measures to ban the use of aliases on certain Web sites by October.
The government wants to require Korean Internet users to identify themselves when posting messages on online bulletin boards to prevent "cyber witch hunts."

I can't say I'm all that surprised. There's a bit more information here.

The Korea times posted an article July 3 with the misleading title "8 Out of 10 Internet Users Prefer Real Names". This is misleading mainly because the title refers to the results of one poll (by the Ministry of Information and Communication and Yahoo.co.kr) out of three polls that are reported to have been conducted so far. The results of the other 2 polls found that 65% of Naver users and only 57% of Dreamwiz users supported the ban on aliases. Of course, as with any poll, these results should be taken with a grain of salt. The Joongang Ilbo reported the same day, in an article titled ‘Real name system' wins online support', that the Yahoo poll 'had been ongoing since June 15". Finally, a July 5 article at the Korea Times titled 'Real-Name System Sought for Internet Users' tells us this about the polls:

According to a survey of 7,909 Internet users by Naver (www.naver.com), the nation’s largest Web portal, 65 percent of those polled supported using real names on the Web, while 32 percent opposed it. The survey was conducted between June 13 and July 3.

Another survey of 1,631 people by Yahoo Korea (www.yahoo.co.kr), which was conducted over the same period, showed an even higher percentage. Eighty percent backed the new anti-defamation scheme, dwarfing the 18 percent that objected to it.

It seems to me that the poll to pick as being the most representative would be the Naver poll, and not the Yahoo poll (with its much smaller sample) and it's figure of 80% which is routinely quoted. The article also tells us this:

Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, the party’s floor leader, said, "We will positively consider introducing the "real-name system’’ as the government is also studying a new regulation and a great number of Internet users have expressed their support for it in recent surveys.’’

Chung said cyber crimes have steadily increased and the number of such crimes this year is estimated at as much as 10 times that in 2001.

The next day, July 6, saw a number of articles and editorials weigh in on the 'Real Name' system. The Korea Herald, in an editorial titled 'Real name on the Web,' had this to say:

Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan and Information-Communication Minister Chin Dae-je are championing the adoption of the Internet real-name system under which Web site visitors will be required to reveal their real names with resident identification numbers instead of freely chosen nicknames and identity codes. Minister Chin observes that time has come to adopt the real-name system now that the number of victims from cyber terrorism is rapidly increasing. However, some privacy-advocating civic groups oppose the government move, alleging that requiring the writer's real name is tantamount to censorship.

It is hard to understand that the National Human Rights Commission sided with the advocacy groups, claiming that the freedom of Internet-based communication is rooted in anonymity. The commission, which has raised liberal voices within the administration since its inception three years ago on various social issues, argued that any attempt to deny this anonymity amounts to prior censorship.

...[A]uthorities attribute nine suicide cases this year alone to character attacks via Internet.

...[A]n overwhelming majority of "netizens" favor introduction of the real-name system. The survey results seem to strengthen the conviction of ministry officials to start the regulation from the target date, Oct. 1 this year. Technical preparations are needed to ensure no loopholes but there is no justification for much delay.

Hmmm. It's hard to see exactly where the Herald stands. "Privacy-advocating civic groups" - and a Human Rights Commission which raises "liberal voices" (imagine that! I had no idea!). Speaking of seeing where a paper stands, the same day the Hankyoreh surprised no one with this editorial, titled ''Real Names' Not Solution to Internet Problems':

The government and ruling party are talking about implementing a "real name system" for the internet. The government was the first to announce it would consider it, and now the ruling Uri Party has decided to consider it. The idea was talked about in 2003 but things got nowhere because it was so controversial. Now it is back on the drawing board as the "linguistic violence" of the internet has been receiving more attention as a result of the so-called "dog poop girl" episode.

The discussion about "real names" is full of misconceptions and illusions. The most exemplary is the misconception that there is not already a "real name system" in effect. Most of the large portal sites that lead the way in public opinion on the internet already require "real names" at time of registration. At a considerable number of news or government sites you cannot write messages on forums and bulletin boards without confirmation of your identity. Election laws require that people identify themselves on election-related sites [...]

Internet violence is clearly cause for concern. The solution, however, is not total confirmation of identity. The solution is to be found in voluntary self-regulatory effort by sensible users and in internet education.

And rounding out the July 6 articles was this editorial by the Korea Times titled 'Real Name Use on the Web: Cowardly Act Under Pseudonym Should Be Prevented':

The move is timely and right because "cyber violence’’ has gone out of control.It is encouraging that eight out of 10 Internet users support the government’s plan, which the opposition Grand National Party decided to endorse, in principle, on Tuesday.

Of course, there are forces that do not want the new formula because of privacy concerns. In some cases there may be problems with individual information when surfers use their real names and register their citizenship number (social security number) when they make postings on the Web.

But few could deny that abuses of anonymous postings have gotten out of hand, requiring immediate legal measures to check them to help enhance a healthy online culture in the world’s top Internet country.

What is clear-cut is that slandering others under a false name is a cowardly act that must be stopped at any cost to make this society worth living in.

I do have to wonder, if a similar poll had been taken regarding using a real name system before the deluge of articles following the 'Dog Dung Girl', would people have been so receptive to the idea? Just how much is media coverage of 'cyber terror' driving public opinion right now? The Korea Herald tells us that 'an overwhelming majority of netizens' support the measure, while the Korea Times tells us 'eight out of 10 Internet users support the government’s plan', which is interesting when you consider that these two claims are referring to the 80% of those polled (1,631 people) over at Yahoo Korea. It seems they're willfully ignoring the lower figure of 65% support from a much larger poll at Naver in order to create the illusion of 'an overwhelming majority' supporting the measure.

As to why the ban on web aliases is set for October, a Korea Times article titled Korea to Sharpen Teeth on Cyber Crime', dated May 18th (almost two weeks before the 'Dog Dung Girl'), states that the MIC was considering 'introducing regulations that enable the police to investigate online slander cases without victim complaint', and would decide on whether to include this in a new bill by the end of October. It seems possible this ban on web aliases may be added to this proposed bill, or should I saw 'a proposed bill' - the article's final paragraph is a little confusing. It's ironic that the MIC wants to (presumably) increase the use of resident numbers to identify people online when Information-Communication Minister Chin Dae-je said back in February that identity theft was becoming such a problem that they wanted to replace the resident numbers with a new registration system online.

I'll finish off with this strange article about Genghis Khan that appeared last October titled 'Dominance by ‘nomadic' thinking?'

Many scholars claim that the age of nomads will return in the 21st century. In the era of the Internet, the spacially oriented thinking of settlers will be outdone by the nomadic thinking of pursuing an open society. Samsung Economic Research Institute proposed "Digital Khan" as a keyword for the rebound of the Korean economy.

Boasting one of the world's most extensive digital infrastructures and dynamics, Koreans can dominate cyberspace as Genghis Khan did with physical space. Genetically, 80 percent of Koreans have nomadic genes. The characteristic has contributed to Korea's strength in cyberspace, and we can become the Genghis Khan of the digital world, the institute claimed. In order to achieve the goal, we should create an open society that looks outward instead of inward and pursues the future instead of the past.

Ignoring the obvious 'smoking crack' cracks (like how a group of people with 80% nomadic genes created the almost-impervious-to-change agriculture-based Chosun dynasty, for example), I do have to wonder if creating a 'real name system' is part of this goal of creating an 'open society', especially considering how difficult it can be for foreigners to take part in Korean cyberspace.

Online English language newspapers in Korea

I have to say, I've been growing more and more impressed with the Joongang Ilbo's online English edition. Here's a quick reason why.

Today a story broke about Korean fishermen and underage prostitutes in the small Pacific island nation of Kiribati. A look at the titles alone gives you an idea of the differences:

The Chosun Ilbo: Group Wants Child Sex Tourists Punished at Home
The Korea Herald: Child sex abuse in Kiribati criticized
The Joongang Ilbo:Koreans held responsible for islands' sex industry

Do have a look at all 3 of them. As soon as I read the Joongang Ilbo story, it was obvious who was giving out the most details. The 'Special' section is also well worth reading; there are a number of in depth articles there.

Riding the wave of 'cyber terror' articles

The 2005 'Dog Poop Girl' incident

Part 1: Internet Witchhunts and Conflict Resolution
Part 2: Riding the wave of 'cyber terror' articles
Part 3: 'Real Names' in Korean Cyberspace
Part 4: Portals and the Cyber Terror blame game
Part 5: Dog 'Poop' Girl Redux

Part 2: Riding the wave of 'cyber terror' articles

Waves of 'posting frenzy' occur regularly in Korean cyberspace; for example, during the U.S. hate-a-thon in 2002, the 'texting frenzy' that got Roh Moo-hyun elected, during his impeachment and Kim Sun-il's murder, and other 'big' events. These also occur in response to 'smaller' events, however, like the Miryang rape case, English Spectrum-Gate, the celebrity X-file, Takeshima Day, and, of course, the 'Dog Dung Girl', who I wrote about here (consider that Part 1 of this post).

For some reason, the dog dung girl was the straw that broke the camel's back, and the Korean media reported the event and began to comment on 'Internet Witchhunts', in the words of the first article in English in the Joongang Ilbo on June 7. Some of the larger 'waves' described above had been guided in part by the media; suddenly, after the dog dung girl, we've been thoroughly saturated with 'Cyber Terror' articles in the Korean media (I'm looking at the English language articles, of course).

First to follow the dog dung girl was the sad story of Twist Kim, (who I've mentioned here) which the Donga Ilbo reported on June 16. In it, Kim said,

“The first problem is that there are such unscrupulous people who do terrible things that hurt others’ lives so much. But another problem is that the government and legal authorities do nothing about cyber terrorism, citing ambiguity of the law. I ask the authorities to take active action to protect those who suffer because of cyber terrorism.”

Now, the nice thing about the Donga Ilbo (perhaps the sole redeeming feature on its English site) is that you can just click to read the same article in Korean. In case you were wondering, the Korean word is indeed "Cyber Terror" (사이버 테러). This was the first article to use the word (in English), and thus a week of Cyber Terror articles followed. That same day, the Chosun Ilbo posted an editorial mentioning 'Twist Kim' titled "We Need Redress Against Online Terror":

Most cyber terror victims have no alternative but to put up with the abuse. In extreme cases, victims lose their jobs and social life and attempt suicide. Cyber violence has long crossed the danger level, to the point where some are calling for the use of only real names online, a measure that could threaten many of the Internet’s benefits.

Judicial authorities must ensure that the victims of cyber terror have some sort of redress, instead of resorting to the excuse that the law is ambiguous. The fundamental solution depends on the good sense of Internet users. Schools, homes and society at large must teach and practice online ethics.

A Joongang Ilbo article titled "'Cyber terror’ prompts call for end to online anonymity" offered a solution:

Similar cases of defamation or harrassment ― including cases in which harrassment has spilled over into the “offline” world, as victims of smear attacks find their telephone numbers or workplace addresses distributed online ― have led the Ministry of Information and Communication to argue that “netizens” should have to use their real names.

“With the sharp growth in recent cyber terror attacks, a need for using real names on the Internet is growing,” Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je said yesterday.

An op-ed article in the Donga Ilbo the next day, entitled 'Twist kim's tears' (after writing a full article on him the day before) took aim at cyber terror:

Normal people are apt to turn into "techno rioters," sure of their anonymity within a group and in cyberspace. Verbal attacks become increasingly abusive, and the Internet becomes an ugly battlefield. Whether a person is guilty or not, once online attacks start, the hostility amplifies and people attack indiscriminately. This psychology is shown most distinctly in cyber space.

The legal sector should not sit idly, hiding behind ambiguous legislations. Netizens should change their ways of thinking; they should take voluntary action, such as Internet moral conduct movements, to prevent further damage.

That day, the Hankyoreh also posted an editorial called 'Netizens Need 'Ethical Guidelines''

At this point it would seem necessary to declare an all-out war on this new form of violence in the digital age. There are increasing calls for analysis of the types of cyber violence and measures that would assist people seeking help, and for better organization of the related legislation that is currently too vague. However, over-dependency on legal rules could harm internet debate and discussion, which is an important part of Korea's mature civil society. That is why it is more important that civil society engage in self-regulation to effectively fight cyber violence, instead of having that effort led by the government.

Two days later on June 19, the Korea Times posted an opinion column by a Korean high school teacher entitled 'Kangaroo Court on the Net'

The importance of netiquette and the seriousness of the side effects of Internet violence in Korea cannot be exaggerated. We should be proud of Korea’s dominance in information technology but freedom of the press on the Internet must be regulated to improve Korea's IT culture.

The next day saw a broad-ranging article on many aspects of Korean internet culture (and how foreigners often don't fit into it) titled 'Foreigners Excluded From Korean Sites':

"The cyber terror and Twist Kim cases showcase how the Internet can ruin a person’s life. Before boasting we are the Internet powerhouse, we should turn our attention to its dark side first," Korea University professor Kwon Jung-hye said.

Perhaps a pattern is starting to become obvious. All of these articles or editorials have called upon netizens to learn some manners, and all but one have called for legislative action by the government. The sole exception was, of course, the Hankyoreh's editorial; I'm certain many readers who might normally disagree with the Hankyoreh's stances will find themselves in agreement with its opinion that hemming in cyberspace with too much legislation is a bad idea. Looking over these editorials, however, makes it clear that this seems to be a minority view in the Korean press.

Two days later, on June 22, the Joongang Ilbo posted an article titled 'Courts get tougher on online slander':

With Internet-based harassment becoming more common, courts have been handing down sterner sentences for online threats and defamations of character. In Seoul Southern District Court yesterday, a 23-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yun, was sentenced to eight months in jail for slandering and threatening his ex-girlfriend.

"Normally, offline libel cases result in light punishments, such as suspended sentences or fines," said one court official. "But cyber defamation tends to cause serious damage to a victim's reputation. Since such cases have dramatically increased recently, punishments have gotten heavier."

A help center for victims of online harassment said it received 2,285 calls for help in 2004, compared to 278 in 2001. About 70 to 80 percent of the calls were about online defamation.

That seems like a lot of calls for help, doesn't it? I wonder how Korea's online harrassment compares with other countries'. At any rate, now that we know the courts are stepping up efforts to combat this menace, that should be about it for this wave of Cyber Terror stories, right?

I'm afraid not. From today's Joongang Ilbo, we find an article titled 'Government seeks to bar Web aliases'

Government officials said yesterday that they have started looking at ways to keep Internet users from hiding behind aliases when posting inflammatory messages on Web sites.

The Ministry of Information and Communication said it will meet with officials and related experts today to figure out how to force Internet users to reveal their true identities when posting on bulletin boards, such as by entering their national identification number.

So the government has decided to turn its attention to the darker side of Korean internet culture (I love that word 'force'). Of course, if the idea of more government regulation and the banning of aliases seems far fetched, it's best to remember what the government did in order to stop Koreans from watching the Kim Sun-il video last summer.

The article ends with the opinion of a law professor:

"The Internet has been used as a place where the minority can express their opinions against the majority," he said. "If people have to write under their real names, they would neither offer sound social criticism nor uncover unfair treatment in society."

In an article titled Power of Netizens posted at the Donga Ilbo yesturday, polls looking at how netizens have influenced the actions of the government and other public figures (done without considering other possible influences on government decisions, and without thinking about what kind of demographic these netizens represent), this statement was made:

“Perhaps not always, but the increasing influence of netizens implies the emergence of new opinion leaders,” said Jang Deok-jin, a social science professor at Seoul National University, and noted, “Nobody will be able to make decisions easily without the consent of these cybercitizens in the future.”

But if these cybercitizens have to identify themselves at every turn, will they be so vocal? Its hard to know what will come of this, but considering the fact that many sites already require people to register using their citizen numbers, and the actions the Korean government took last summer, I don't have high hopes. I don't think it's a bad thing at all that this discussion of internet harrassment has been brought into the open - it's obviously become a widespread social problem. I don't think more regulation is the answer, however, and the ban on aliases will likely make Korean cyberspace even less accessible for foreigners, which goes against all the blathering on about globalization and embracing the future. I imagine Korea's netizens, along with civic groups, will have some opinions to express on all of this over the next few days. How much those opinions will have been influenced by all this 'cyber terror' coverage, only time will tell.

Hat tip to Marmot guest bloggers Robert and Shelton.