Korean Internet Users Kill Celebrities

The beautiful Korean model Daul Kim was found dead in her apartment in Paris. The probable cause of death is suicide. Hearing that yet another Korean celebrity committed suicide is not shocking anymore. A hi-jacking would be more surprising in Korea than a celebrity-suicide. Suicide has become a matter-of-fact reality for Koreans. This is, of course, a tragic reality in a country that is so safe and affluent that Korean young-adults are more likely to die of suicide than anything else.

A popular blogger concerned with social issues in Korea, the Metropolitician, wonders whether Korean Netizens (Internet-citizens; i.e. people that spend a lot of time online, writing things on forums, blogs, etc.) may be the cause for Daul Kim’s suicide. The Korean Internet community is known for their ferocious and scything remarks on forums, in which they criticize celebrities. In an Oriental country where saving face is a cultural principle, one would almost never insult someone in public to their face. However, on the Internet where your anonymity is guaranteed, Korean netizens seem to release the full fury of their pent up insults and criticizing. This, combined with Korean’s love of gossip, makes their Internet smear attacks that much more volatile.

If the netizen attacks on Daul Kim were indeed caused by inconsiderate netizens, it would not be the first time that a Korean celebrity takes his or her own life because of the extreme negative public opinion they have to endure. Remember also that in Korean society not bringing shame on your community is one of the greatest driving forces. It is considered more respectable to take one’s own life than to shame your family. So if a smear campaign is started against you, in which your family and community is shamed by the things said about you, one option to save yourself and your loved-ones from further embarrassment is to commit suicide. Also keep in mind that Korea is a communal culture, where individualism is frowned upon, and community acceptance highly valued. To be ostracized is a terrible experience for a Korean, much more so than in a individualist society.

This brings us to the (negative) power of the Internet in Korea and what to do about it. The solution, many believe, is to take away the Korean netizens’ anonymity. If they cannot hide behind their online masks, maybe they would be more considered of their words. This has already been implemented for many of the big Internet forums in Korea. The great Korean portal sites Daum and Naver require one to register with your National ID number. Also, I’ve tried leaving comments on YouTube, but I cannot because from within Korea one needs to register with your National ID number – I do have such a number (my “Alien” ID number), but I refuse to give up such information, hence I cannot post any comments on YouTube while in Korea. Someone saying really offensive things – or maybe even politically inappropriate things, like speaking favourably about Communism (illegal in South Korea)– can be identified by appropriate authorities because of their National ID number. Basically a Korean version of the proposed American “Cyber Bullying Prevention Act,” which I believe to be a Bill that has little to do with “bullying” and more to do with governmental control over the Internet and inhibiting Free Speech. Well at least in the USA’s case.

Obviously I am completely against this idea of muzzling the Internet. The Internet’s greatness lies in it being a medium for Freedom of Speech. But what to do in a country where people seemingly do not have the tact or self-control to show common decency, and where such abuse of their freedoms seemingly causes deaths within a communal culture?