Global Voices » Korean

South Korea: Monks Caught in Gambling, Smoking and Drinking Scandal

Lee Yoo Eun — Tue, 15 May 2012 04:14:26 +0000

In South Korea, six leaders of the nation's biggest Buddhist order were caught playing high-stakes poker, along with drinking and smoking. The case was disclosed through leaked video footage that shows high-profile monks gambling at a luxury lakeside hotel just days before a national holiday celebrating the birth of Buddha.

The stakes of the monk's gambling reportedly exceeded $US 875,000 (10 million Korean Won) and the gambling continued overnight for 13 hours straight. In South Korea, it is illegal to gamble outside designated casinos and horse racing spots and such an act by religious leaders is more than being frowned upon - it is unimaginable. South Korean online space erupted with various responses from sarcastic comments, harsh criticisms and bitter lament for the corrupted religion.

Twitter user @uxost01 tweeted [ko]:

어머니가 조계종 억대 도박 뉴스를 아시고서 충격과 비탄에 빠지셨다.

My mom was shocked and devastated by the news of Jogye monks' gambling with stakes of several tens of millions of Korean Won.

Twitter user @Arirang5886 pointed out [ko] that the money the monks staked was religions donations made by people:

조계종간부들의 도박, 음주, 흡연행위는 자정의 한계를 넘은 것입니다. 신도들은 피땀어린 시주하면서 절에 다니고, 승려는 그것으로 스릴있게 도 닦는 형국입니다. 부처는 신도의 마음에 있지 절간에 있는 것이 아니라는 것을 잘 나타내고 있는 사건입니다.

The Jogye order managerial level monks' gambling, drinking and smoking - these acts show that that they have lost the ability to control themselves. While the followers regularly pay visits to the temple to offer their hard-earned blood money, those monks use that money to enjoy a thrilling truth-seeking. It is an exemplary case that tells that the real Buddha is in each follower's heart, not in the temple.

Another Twitter user @Nabiwahighhill compared those monks [ko] to corrupted nobles:

2007 년 명지스님이 100억원 사찰재정을공개하며“수행자는 수행에전념하고,재정은 재가자에맡기자”했다.조계종 승려들이 시줏돈으로 밤샘 도박사건은 승가사회가 타락했음을보여준다.MB정권에서 종교인과 정치인 언론사주가 앙사앙레짐의 2%타락한 귀족이돼간다.

Back in 2007, Monk Myung-ji made public that the temples have about ten billion Korean Won worth of financial resources (around $US 8.75 million) and argued that they need to separate their truth-seeking and money-handling. Jogye order monks' overnight gambling shows that the Korean Buddhist community is corrupted. Religious leaders, politicians and media owners have become the corrupted nobles, the top 2 percent of the “ancien regime”.

Image of monks going down to their rooms after evening worship at Haeinsa temple which is one of the foremost Chogye Buddhist temples in South Korea (not necessarily related to the gambling case mentioned in the article) Image: joonghijung, Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0)

Jogye order has more than 10 million followers which comprises about a fifth of the entire South Korean population. The head of Jogye order made a public apology right after the gambling case made national headlines, vowing “self-repentance”. Although there were media speculations [ko] that the video leakage was carefully planned out by rival powers within the order, no reason or excuse was strong enough to calm disappointed Korean people.

Park Tae-su (@sjts200) tweeted [ko]:

조계종 자승 중은 도박사태 책임지고 사퇴하라.참회만으로 덮을려고?어림없는 소리[…]

Monk Ja-seong should take full responsibility for this gambling fiasco and resign. Do you really think you can cover up the case just by vowing self-repentance? Hell no.

Yun Hee-sung (@yunheesung) t weeted [ko]:

불교 조계종 도박파문이 조계종 내부간의 갈등 때문에 일어난 거라 억울하신가요? 그건 당신들 끼리의 다툼이고, 국민은 억대판돈을 놓고 도박하고 술. 담배를 먹고 피워도 되냐를 묻는 겁니다. 아직도 문제가 뭔지 모르세요?

Do you feel that all these (accusations) are unfair since the gambling scandal was all caused by internal power conflict? Whether you had internal power struggles or not, what concerns Korean people is whether it is justifiable for the monks to gamble tremendous amounts of money and smoke and drink. Can't you still see what is the real problem here?

South Korea used to be a highly religions country but as so many scandals broke out both in Christian and Buddhist communities [ko], frustrated, more and more Koreans are turning away from religions. Twitter user @tinypencil tweeted [ko]:

이제 불교에서도 개신교와 매를 같이 맞아주기로 한건가. 요즘 이미지 참 좋아지던 와중에 승려들의 불법도박이라니.

So Buddhism has decided to share the harsh criticisms with the Christian community? Public sentiment toward Buddhism used to be quite good. But now the monk's illegal gambling has ruined it.

and added [ko]:

조계종 승려들의 밤샘도박. 종교가 세상을.치유하는건지 세상이 종교의 뒤에 숨은 저런자들을 먹여살리는건지.

Monks from Jogye order pulled an all-nighter gambling. Is it the religion that cures the world OR the world that feeds these people who hide under the name of the religion?

South Korea: Continuing Mad Cow Controversy Over US Beef Imports

Lee Yoo Eun — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:35:10 +0000

Since last week, South Korea has seen continuing protests against importing beef from the United States after mad cow disease broke out in California. The Korean government dispatched its inspection team to the US to quell the public anger incited by the government's unkept promise to halt the beef imports immediately the disease was detected. However, the inspection team's lack of control over the investigation process and the biased member selection process further deepened South Korean's distrust of the government.

South Korea's Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries sent a nine-person inspection team that checked infected cattle and meat packing facilities in the United States right after the disease was detected. They returned only to announce on May 11, 2012, there is no real human health threat posed by American beef and concluded that the country will maintain its quarantine inspections regime on the beef without halting imports, a solution that totally contradicts the government's promise made in 2008. The Korean public responded to this result with heated discussions and criticism online.

One of South Korea's prominent political bloggers IamPeter clarified [ko] the reason for public distrust of the government's version of the story:

원래 광우병 미국 현지 조사단은 정확한 실태 파악을 위해 발병 농장 방문, 사체의 조직 검사 등 모든 의혹을 밝힐 수 있는 조사를 하기로 되어 있었습니다. 그러나 지금 광우병 미국 현지 조사단은 미국 측이 허용하는 장소만 가서 구경만 하고 있습니다. 광우병 발병 현지 목장 방문은 아예 하지도 못했고, 광우병 소의 사체 조직 검사도 미국 측에 의해 좌절됐습니다. 도축장 방문도 수출용이 아닌 내수용 도축장에만 갔다 왔습니다. 결국 광우병 미국 현지 조사단이 했던 일은 아무것도 없습니다. 그저 미국이 보여주는 지정된 코스를 충실하게 견학만 하고 있습니다.

The inspection team was supposed to carry out a thorough inspection including visiting the farm where the disease was detected and having a biopsy on the dead cow in order to dispel every suspicion. However this inspection team merely toured around some places which the US side allowed them to visit. They never even made it close to the farm where the disease broke out and the biopsy was also turned down by the US. And the visit to meatpacking facilities was limited to the domestic facilities and not the one handling beef which will be exported internationally. In summary, the inspection team did nothing. They had a field trip to some spots and stayed on a travel route all planned out by the US.

A brochure of anti US beef import protest planned on May 12 (left). Image shared by twitter user @hudanchu

Sarcastic comments ridiculing the inspection team inundated blogs and the twittersphere. Lee Hyang-ah commented [ko] below a related news article:

세금으로 미국여행 잘하고왓지뭐…자기들이 미국가서 광우병조사한다고하면 아이고 오시느라고 고생많았습니다. 앉아서 커피나 먹으면서 같이 얘기해봅시다. 이럴줄알앗나?? 뭔 뜻으로 조사단을 보냇는지 모르겟다.

They had a quite a good trip to the US with the taxpayer's money. Did they really think the US would welcome them when they came over to inspect for mad cow disease? Did they really think the US would say, “What a trip you had. Come and take a seat over here and discuss this issue over a coffee”? Really? I don't see the reason for dispatching the inspection team.

A net user @555773 tweeted [ko]:

[…]농장에도 방문도 못하고 조사한 결과가 이상이 없다며 검역 강화에만 치중하면서 중단은 하지 않고 국민의 불안감만 안기고 있는 정부를 신뢰할수 없다

They (referring to the mad cow disease inspection team) did not even visit the farm (where the disease broke out). The government is trying so hard to persuade us that US beef is safe and want to focus on continuing the quarantine regime, instead of halting the imports. And this kind of behavior makes South Korean people more anxious and harder to trust the current government even more.

Baek Chan-hong (@mindgood) tweeted [ko]:

헛물만 켜다온 광우병 조사단 “미국산 쇠고기 안전” 결론…그럴거면 이메일로 조사하지.

The dispatched team's inspection was totally useless. And they concluded that US beef is safe. Is this all we can get? Then it could have been better to inspect the case via email.

Another Twitter user @korea486 tweeted [ko]:

광우병 조사단 귀국,미국 쇠고기 이상 없다고 발표했군요! 광우병 조사단? 관광단 유람단 아니였나? 이 이인간들 미국소 먹을까요? 안 먹을까요?

The mad cow disease inspection team returned from the US and announced there is nothing wrong with US beef. Did they just call themselves an inspection team? I thought they were a tour team. What do you think- will they eat US beef in the future?

Cho Neung-hee(@mbcpdcho), a producer at MBC who is also a former chief producer of investigative journalism show “PD Notebook” tweeted [ko]:

조사단장을 맡은 주이석 질병방역본부장은 지난 2008년 4월 미국쇠고기 졸속협상시 협상단 실무담당자였다. 2008년 6월에는 PD수첩 제작진을 형사처벌해달라며 대검찰청에 수사의뢰서를 제출하고 관련 진술을 한 사람으로 조사의 객관성과 공정성이 의심된다.

The leader of the inspection team Joo E-suk, also the head of the animal quarantine office, was actually the one who handled the administrative stuff during the US beef import negotiation process back on April 2008. On June 2008, he even requested an investigation of PD Notebook reporters (who covered the danger of the mad cow disease) by the Supreme Prosecutor's Office and indeed testified against us. I highly doubt this investigation's objectivity and fairness.

Some news reports revealed that scientists and scholars who are against the US beef imports were excluded from the team.

The government argues the most recent case in California is a very rare atypical case and the case is unlikely to have caused by animal feed. However, another tweet [ko] by Cho made references to some US officials from the Clinton and Obama administrations who said they cannot verify for the moment whether there is any possible connection between the disease and the animal feed and they can't confirm the origin of this atypical case. Cho added [ko]:

[…] 학자들의이 반론으로 미국정부도 그 원인을 모른다고 후퇴했는데.. 유독 한국 농식품부는 사료가 원인이 아니라고 ‘추정'된다며.. 그러니 안전하다며.. 국민을 설득하려는지 참으로 안타깝군요. 사전예방의 법칙! 어디갔어?

Due to scholars arguments, even the US government have stepped back and acknowledged that they don't know clear reasons for the disease outbreak. But South Korea's Food/Agriculture Department alone ‘assumes' that the animal feed is not the cause of the problem, so it is safe. It is so pathetic to see them trying hard to persuade Korean people. Where did the rule of “Prevention” (in health policy) go in this country ?

IamPeter added [ko] after his analysis:

“정형 광우병은 없어졌다”고 했는데, 세계동물보건기구(OIE)의 2011년 광우병 통계에는 총 광우병 29건 중 정형 26건, 비정형 3건으로 나와 있습니다. […] 광우병에 대한 과학적인 결론은 100% 진실이 없습니다. 아직 정확하게 규명되지 않은 일들이 많기 때문입니다. 그렇기에 더욱 위험합니다. 과학적으로 규명되지 않았기에 위험하지 않다는 주장은 ‘바다의 깊이를 현재 모른다'라고 말해놓고, ‘그러니 빠져도 괜찮다'라는 말과 다를 바가 없습니다.

The government said that the ‘typical' disease case has disappeared. But according to OIE's [note: OIE refers to International Office of Epizootics which still known by its French acronym Office International des Epizooties] statistics on mad cow disease in 2011, among the total 29 mad cow disease cases, 26 cases of were ‘typical' and three were ‘atypical' cases […] There is no 100 percent verified scientific truth in the mad cow disease controversy yet, since there are lots of parts that need to be proven. That is what makes this situation more dangerous. (The current South Korean government's) logic is, ‘It is not dangerous since the risk of the disease has not yet been scientifically proven'. To me it seems like saying, “We don't know the depth of the ocean yet, so it is okay to fall into it”.

South Korea: Broadcasters' Strike Marks 100th Day of Protest

Lee Yoo Eun — Wed, 09 May 2012 20:10:47 +0000

South Korea's major broadcasting station, MBC marked 100th day of protest on May 9, 2012. Its union workers uploaded another Youtube video [ko] blaming its president of embezzlement and filtering news criticizing the current government and its anchors tweeted photos of their protest/fundraising event today.

South Korea: Fearing Mad Cow Disease, New Protests Against US Beef

Lee Yoo Eun — Sun, 06 May 2012 20:13:27 +0000

Thousands of South Koreans held candlelight protests this week to demonstrate against continued beef imports from the United States after the detection of mad cow disease in California in April. Four years earlier in 2008, when several tens of thousands gathered for the candlelight vigils to protest a planned import, the government eventually made promises to halt imports immediately whenever the disease breaks out.

The unkept promise now reignites public anger and has revived the four-year old tradition of candlelight vigils.

Twitter Photo by user @notable1980

Twitter user @notable1980 tweeted [ko] with a photo of protest above:

[촛불시즌2][2012년5월2일7시청계광장][…]”작은 실천이 세상을 바꿉니다.”

[Season Two of Candle Light (Vigil)] [7 pm, May 2, 2012, the City Hall Choenggye Square] […] “Small actions change the world”

Twitter Photo by @opentree20

Another user @opentree20 tweeted [ko] the photo above and said:

2009년 광우병 촛불이 처음 밝혀진지 딱 4년만입니다. 4년 전 그날처럼 국민들이 같은 마음으로 한 자리에 모여 촛불을 높이 들고 있네요. 미국산 소 수입 즉각 중단하십시오!

It has been exactly four years since the candles were lit up in 2009 to protest against the mad cow disease (-tainted meat). With the same mindset of those days back in 2009, Korean people now sit together to hoist up their candles. Please immediately halt importing US beef!

Twitter photo by @hyojinlovelove.

Kim Hyo-jin (@hyojinlovelove) tweeted from a scene of protest that continued late into the night.

이 시간 청계광장. 미국산 광우병 소고기 수입 반대 집회. 어김없이 촛불을 들다. 시간이 지날수록 더 많은 사람들이 모이고 있어요.

Now at Cheonggye Square- a protest against mad cow disease infected US beef imports. We lifted up our candles. More people have gathered as time goes by.

Twitter photo by @sisyphus79

A tweet by user @sisyphus79 read [ko]:

촛불 4주년 광우병 쇠고기 반대 촛불집회 현장입니다. 4년 전 그때의 공기가 이곳에서 느껴집니다. http://twitpic.com/9gcd4i

This is the scene of candle light vigil against the mad cow disease tainted beef — just like what we had four years ago. I can feel the same air in this place.

Twitter Photo by @gree

Twitter user @gree tweeted [ko] the photo above and said:

다시 모이고, 다시 밝힌 촛불들이 외칩니다. “거짓말 정부 못 믿겠다. 광우병 쇠고기 수입 중단하라!”

The candle lights have once again came together and have been rekindled to shout out, “We can't trust this liar government any more. Stop importing the mad cow disease-tainted beef”.

Protesters waved candles and flags, sang songs and held banners that said “Protect the sovereignty of the people” and “Stop US beef imports” as can be seen in the pictures above. About 4,000 police officers were dispatched to the protest scene and some demonstraters have been arrested [ko].

Twitter Photo by @ytnmania

YTN Labor Union, for employees of a South Korean national cable news channel, (@ytnmania) tweeted a photo of police (above) blocking the protesters:

4년만에 다시 모인 청계광장 광우병 규탄 촛불집회에 앵그리 YTN 조합원들도 참석! 경찰 청계광장을 미리 점거해서 자리가 비좁네요!

It has been four years, and the protesters have come again to stage a candlelight vigil against the tainted (US beef) at Cheonggye Square. We, the ANGRY YTN members have attended, even though this place is so crowded as the police already occupied the Square.

Back in 2008 mass protests broke out and continued for over a month. Since the government lifted its ban on imports, South Korea is now the fourth-largest importer of US beef in the world.

@wjsfree posted a video explaining why people are so concerned about the import in a Storify story.

A mass protest which started on May 2, 2012 continued for another day and is likely to continue throughout the next week. Several thousands gathered on the first day of protest and about a thousand [ko] continued rallying throughout the next day.

South Korea’s influential one-man media, Media Mongu uploaded a photo of a young girl who participated in the protest with her mother and grandmother. They are holding banners that read “Halt Imports (two on the right)” and “Protect Our Sovereignty (on the left)”.

Twitter Photo by Media Mongu

@jhohmylaw tweeted [ko] about his reasons for protesting on the second day:

(내가 오늘도 청계광장을 가는 이유) 1.촛불시위는 이제 시작일 뿐이다 2. 어제는 국민의 힘을 제대로 보여 주지 못했다. 3. MB정부, 쇠고기 수입중단 안하고 있다 4.자식의 안전을 걱정해야 하는 아버지다 5. 그곳에 가면 기분이 좋다.

(Why I go to the Cheongye Square again today) 1. It is only the beginning of candle light vigils. 2. Yesterday's protest was not strong enough to show the people's power. 3. The MB government [President Lee Myung-bak's initials] has not halted the import yet. 4. I am a father of children who worries about my kids' health. 5. I just feel good being there.

Even the nation’s far right-wing newspapers which side with the government on almost every issue released a statistic [ko] showing 72.5 percent of Korean people want to halt the US beef imports. Meanwhile, a more progressive newspaper, Pressian, retrieved an image [ko] of a government advertisement from an old newspaper. The ad, paid for by the government's health department, said, “There is nothing more important than the public health. Count on us to protect you” and “If mad cow disease-contaminated beef were ever detected in the United States, we will immediately stop imports”.

The government's second promise was to run a thorough inspection on all imported beef and the origin of the disease breakout, which many Twitter users such as @yoji0802, thinks casts doubts [ko] on the accuracy of the results even before the inspection starts.

South Korea: Youtube Video Accusing Samsung of Labor Workers Death

Lee Yoo Eun — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:46:39 +0000

While Apple factory workers' suicides are widely known, not enough data on Samsung's labor workers is available online. A Youtube user posted a video entitled “Samsung's Truth” with English subtitles explaining how labor workers suffered under the biggest corporations in South Korea.

Perspectives on North Korea's Unsuccessful Rocket Launch

Lee Yoo Eun — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:45:37 +0000

North Korea launched a rocket on April 12, 2012, despite international warnings of censure and further isolation. But to its embarrassment, the rocket disintegrated right after the launch and its remnants fell into the sea. This incident stirred up numerous debates in South Korean Internet space.

An instant reaction on the news of rocket launch was tut-tutting over the astronomical amount of money wasted on its unsuccessful launch, which could have been used to feed millions of starving North Koreans. A comment by Kim Sun-jun read [ko]:

1년치 옥수수를 다 태워 버렸네.

They burnt away [the cost of] a year's amount of corn (which could have fed North Koreans) [note: corn is originally a supplementary crop but has become one of the major crops in North Korea after the country suffered from a serious shortage of rice for decades]

North Korean soldiers look south while on duty in the Joint Security Area, Korean Demilitarized Zone. Image is in the public domain, via Wikipedia.

Yoon Jae-won (@yjw23_kseri), a North Korean analyst at the Kim Kwang Su Economic Research Institute, wrote six tweets which have been retweeted numerous times by other users. After condeming [ko] North Korea's rocket launch as a ‘reprehensible act' which could ruin current six-party talks, which are slowly progressing, Yoon then questions [ko] public belief in the effectiveness of international sanction:

그런데 북한을 어떻게 다룰 것인가 하는 것은 현실적인 측면을 고려할 필요가 있습니다. 유엔안보리를 통해 북한을 비난하는 것은 자연스러운 반응이지만, 북한에 강경대응으로만 일관했을 때 더 큰 문제를 불러일으킬 수 있기 때문입니다.

But we need to get realistic in handling North Korea. It is only natural to blame the North through the UN Security Council, but this kind of hawkish approach and single-handedly using such an approach may backfire and bring bigger problems in the future.

Yoon further explains [ko]:

제재로 일관하는 것은 국제사회에서 북한을 더욱 고립시킴으로써 오히려 김정은 체제의 내부결속을 다지는 결과를 초래하게 될 것입니다. 이런 상황일수록 이명박정부가 상황을 관리하고 북한을 고립시키지 않음으로써 개혁개방으로 유도하는 것이 중요합니다.

Using the international sanction as the one and only [diplomatic strategy] will further isolate North Korea from the international community. And it will also solidify Kim Jong-un's [the country's current leader] grip of power by making people gather under his name. Lee Myung-bak's [current president of South Korea] administration should be able to take control over this situation and try not to isolate them further in order to lead North Korea into revolution and the open market.

Daum Agora forum user stkt refuses to use the word ‘ failure‘ [ko] in describing North Korea's rocket launch, since there is no failure in sceintific experiments, especially in the space development program:

로켓발사는 애당초 실패라는 개념이 일반적인 실험과 다르다.일반적인 무기실험과 달리 로케트는 발사를 해봐야 실험 데이타를 얻는다. 로켓발사 실험에 있어서는 실패와 성공의 기준은 무엇이 잘못되었는지를 확인할 수 있는 실험 데이타와 노하우를 얻었는지의 여부인 것이지 기체의 발사결과 자체가 아닌 것이다.

The common usage of the term ‘failure' in ordinary experimental situations does not really apply to rocket launches. Unlike regular weapons experiments, the only way to get data is by actually launching a rocket (in the case of rocket experiments). What matters here is whether they have succeeded in pulling out meaningful data during the experiment and whether they have learnt a lesson, NOT whether the rocket itself has launched alright.

Daum Agora user Ceasurs21 introduces [ko] an interesting perspective:

북한의 로켓 발사가 실패했다는 소식이 반가우면서도 한편으로는 로켓 발사와 관련된 북한사람 중에 얼마나 많은 사람들의 목이 달아날까도 생각해 봤습니다.핵심 기술을 가진 과학자야 빳다 맞고 목숨은 건지겠지만 누군가는 책임지고 수용소에 끌려가거나 죽는 사람이 생길지도 모른다는 생각하니 씁쓸하네요. […]우리나라 사람중에서도 고초를 겪는 사람이 있습니다.다름아닌 주식투자자입니다. 며칠전 북한의 로켓 발사가 임박했다는 소식이 전해지자 방위산업 관련주들이 테마주에 편입되면서 급등했습니다.

Although I welcomed the news of North Korea's unsuccessful rocket launch, at the same time, I was concerned about the perilous lives of North Koreans who are involved in its rocket launch programs. In the case of scientists who have the core knowledge on the program [this] would save their lives after being beaten [by the government], but I felt really sorry for [ordinary] scientists who will be dragged into a prison camp for their failure.[…] And there are South Koreans who will suffer from this launch failure: stock investors. When news on North Korea's impending rocket launch broke out in the past few days, there was a sharp spike in the value of bundled stock packages that include stocks in the security and defense industries.

Daum Agora user 이건좀아니다, after explaining about North Korean's brinksmanship strategy, complains [ko] that since its threat patterns have not changed for decades, it is the South Korean government's turn to come up with effective strategies to handle such a dire situation.

South Korea: Illegal Surveillance of Citizens and Entertainers

Lee Yoo Eun — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:35:51 +0000

South Korea's presidential house has come under fire over its illegal monitoring of civilians. The case, which started as allegations raised by the opposition sides, has now escalated and has even been referred to as the Korean Watergate scandal [ko]. Entertainers who often hosted anti-government protests have revealed that they have been followed and monitored by government intelligence agence officials.

While the investigation is underway, the nation's online space has erupted with people's angry responses. This is one of the biggest political scandals under the current President Lee Myung-bak's administration.

The nation's Democratic party and the KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) labor union has released parts of government documents comprising about 2,600 pages, which show the current regime monitored activities of their citizens, including journalists, activists, rival party members and even comedians, who openly expressed their political stances.

Kim Jae-dong, participating in the broadcaster's strike against unfair journalism, Screen capture image of a Youtube video uploaded by user mbcunion2012

Kim Jae-dong is a well-known comedian and talk show host who publicly expresses his liberal political stance and is often unfairly accused as being a ‘pro-North Korean leftist' by conservative sides. Kim said in an interview with the nation's investigative news magazine SisaIN [ko] that he had two encounters with a man who introduced himself as working for the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the FBI equivalent agency in South Korea.

The anonymous agent tried to persuade him to drop his planned hosting of a funeral event (not an official funeral ceremony) for the deceased former president. However, Kim went on to host the event and his talk show, which was about to be launched, was subsequently cancelled, fueling various suspects online.

This gave evidence to the theory that the government indeed monitored a wide array of civilians and it has ignited public anger online. Baek Chan-hong (@mindgood) tweeted [ko]:

MB정권하에서 연예인들까지 사찰대상이었다는 보도를 보면 50년대 미국 메카시 선풍이 생각날 정도. 지난 4년간 정권의 눈밖에 나면 누구나 감시대상이 되는 상황에서 국민들은 말그대로 철장없는 감옥에서 살았던 것.

When I read news reports that even entertainers were being monitored under the current administration, it reminds me of the dominance of McCarthyism in the United States back in 1950s. Anyone who is on bad terms with the government became an target of monitoring. This means for the past four years, South Korean people have been living behind invisible bars.

Other than Kim, one of the nation's most famous rock singers, Yoon Do-hyun, and Kim Mi-hwa, a comedy godmother figure and radio show host, are also believed to have made to the government's monitoring list [ko] after being labeled as ‘leftist entertainers'.

Twitter user @cinemAgora tweeted [ko]:

[…]연예인까지 사찰 대상. 이 정부의 레드 콤플렉스가 이 정도일 줄은 몰랐다.

Even entertainers were being monitored. I never expected this government had such a huge Red Complex [refers to a fear of Communism and a tendency accompanying irrational fear to over-censor anything related to Communism or Communist states. On related notes, any content related to North Korea is closely being censored in South Korean society].

The nation's influential but also controversial culture critic, Chin Jung-kwon (@unheim) urged people to vote [ko] to punish the government and ruling party. A general election is on coming up next week and the presidential election is in December this year.

“국정원 직원 두 번 찾아왔다.” 결국 김제동씨가 증언을 했군요. 충격, 또 충격. 총리실과 국정원이 연예인을 사찰하고
협박하고… 대체 뭣들 하는 짓인지. 응징의 방법은 단 하나, 투표입니다.

So finally Mr. Kim Jae-dong testified that NIS official visited him twice - a shocking revelation, a shock beyond shock… The prime minister's office and NIS have monitored and threatened those entertainers. What the hell they think they are doing? The only way to punish them is through voting, people.

Mr. Chin analyzed [ko] the shift of power caused by the new media environment:

과거의 독재정권들은 ‘지식인'을 사찰했지요. 근데 왜 이 정권은 애먼 ‘연예인'을 사찰하느냐? 그건 미디어 환경의 변화지요. 사회의 주요한 소통수단은 텍스트에서 이미지로 넘어갔죠. 지식인은 텍스트 문화의 영웅, 연예인은 이미지 문화의 영웅입니다.

Authoritarian regimes in the past used to monitor ‘intellectuals'. You might ask ‘why this government monitors irrelevant entertainers?' It is because the media environment has changed. The main medium has shifted from text to image. While the intellectual is the hero figure in text-based culture, entertainers are the heros in image-based culture.

Those entertainers who have been monitored by the government were also active Twitter users. Whenever their tweets made headlines, discussions followed on whether the government or broadcasting companies should set stricter guidelines on Twitter usage by influential people. Twitter user @tsbre commented [ko]:

사찰이후 정권이 맘에 들지않는 연예인은 1.우선 편파심의로 징계하고 2.제작진을 경쟁력 저하라는 막연한 잣대로 압박하며 3.그래도 안되면 방송사별 소셜테이너 금지조항을 만들어 억지로 프로그램 하차시켰죠

When the government found specific entertainers unfavorable after monitoring them, [the usual pattern is] first, they reprimand them with their unfair censorship system. Second, they pressure their team [program crew] with vague evaluation standards, such as blaming them for ‘losing competitiveness'. Third, if those measures still wont work, they set up a broadcasting regulation which limits entertainers' social media activities and then, kick them out of their programs [by applying those new rules].

The presidential house argues [ko] that most monitoring cases recorded in the disclosed government documents date back to the former administration. But some journalists disagree [ko] by saying that while the past government focused on checking up on their officials, the current one targets ordinary people.

Twitter user @yaaacool [ko] has expressed his discontent in watching the government and ruling party shirk the blame and added this civilian monitoring gives him the chills since anyone could be the next victim.

Freedom House last year downgraded South Korea's status from ‘Free' to ‘Partly Free' to reflect an increase in official censorship and the government’s attempt to influence media outlets’ news and censor contents online.

Greenpeace Blocked from Entering South Korea for Their Nuclear Stance

Lee Yoo Eun — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 19:22:22 +0000

South Korean immigration authorities blocked three Greenpeace staffers from entering the country. Kumi Naidoo, international executive director of Greenpeace tweeted about the incident and his several tweets are rapidly translated in Korean.

South Korea: Politician Ridiculed for Twitter Account “Explosion” Accusation

Lee Yoo Eun — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:04:09 +0000

In South Korea, tentions and conflicts have intensified as the major election draws near. One politician's ridiculous comment that his Twitter account was “exploded” by the opposition to stymie his campaign has come under fire.

As Twitter confirmed on March 29, 2012, that “account explosion” - which is the exact word the politician used - is technically impossible, the politician's remark and the governing conservative party's rhetoric have drawn numerous jokes and sneers online.

Twitter “explosion”?

The phrase “Twitter account explosion” is a strange term that even many South Koreans feel unfamiliar with. Its English equivalent and a proper universal term would be “account suspension”, but the language was adopted by the ruling Saenuri partyand its member Kim Jong-hoon to define Kim's Twitter malfunction.

Twitter Blue Bird, Image created by Csaba Nagy 2009, Credit to http://www.detrans.com.ve site, Copyrights Free for Non-commercial Purposes

They claimed such an “explosion” was caused by organized terror attacks [ko] and Kim even re-tweeted some highly offensive messages calling progressive sides “pro-North Korea red commies [Communists]” [ko]. Amid growing controversy over whether a mass attack could halt and shut down one's Twitter account or not, the official Korean Twitter account (@twitter_kr) settled this matter [ko] once for all:

정상적으로 활동중인 계정에 대해 다른 사용자들이 집단 차단을 한다고 해당 계정이 정지되지는 않습니다. 먼저 공격적인 팔로잉을 하는 과정에서 많은 사용자들이 차단하거나, 자신을 팔로우하지 않는 사용자들에게 반복 글을 보내는 경우가 대표 정지 원인입니다.

When the account is doing regular activities, it will not be suspended by mass blocks from other Twitter users. The main cause of suspension is when a user does ‘aggressive following' which results in getting blocks from many other users or when one tweets repetitive messages to other users who do not follow him.

Susie Lee‏ (@susielee) who works in Twitter main office added [ko]:

트위터 계정폭파란게 존재한다면 안티에 시달리는 연예인들 계정은 항상 폭파될것입니다. 누군가를 집중 스팸신고한다고 계정이 정지되진않습니다. 먼저 규정을 위반해 정지된후 피해자임을 주장하는 분들께 속지마시길 바랍니다.

If there is ever such a thing called ‘Twitter account explosion', the accounts of celebrities with numerous anti-fans would always explode, which means just repetitively reporting someone's account as spam cannot suspend the account. Don't be fooled by someone pretending to be a victim but who in fact got suspended for violating our regulations.

Influential tech blogger, Barry Lee, posted an analysis on this fiasco [ko] referencing the official Twitter help center's warnings on aggressive following:

If some accounts are aggressively or indiscriminately following hundreds of accounts just to garner attention […] when an account repeatedly follows and un-follows large numbers of users, this may be done to get lots of people to notice them, to circumvent a Twitter limit, or to change their follower-to-following ratio.[…] These behaviors negatively impact the Twitter experience for other users, are common spam tactics, and may lead to account suspension.

Lee added that the Saenuri party has adopted a new evaluation system on candidate's social networking abilities, which measures their networking by the number of Twitter followers.

For South Korean net users who have seen enough of these repetitive accusations, which blame anything unsolved and dubious on North Korea or pro-North Korean elements, it just provided another thing to ridicule and lampoon on Twitter and blogsphere.

A comment by 푸른하늘 은하수님(BlueSkyMilkyWay) posted right below a related news article summarized the fiasco [ko] in just a single sentence:

결국 트위터로 멘션 마구 뿌리다가 차단당했다는 거네..?

So… he was blocked by users after rampantly mentioning peoples' names in his tweets?

Twitter user @mettayoon tweeted [ko]:

김종훈의 트위터 계정이 종북좌파들에 의한 계정 폭파라고 분개했던 새누리당, 알고보니 무리하게 맞팔 늘리려다 계정폭파. 자폭도 참 다양하게 해요. 심심하지가 않다니까.

The Saenuri party was enraged after claiming that Kim's Twitter account explosion was done by pro-North Korean leftists. But it is proven to be an account suspension caused by aggressive attempts to increase its number of followers. What a refreshing [career] suicide action! Will they ever give us time to get bored?

Influential Twitterer, Baek Chan-hong (@mindgood) tweeted [ko]:

김종훈의 종북세력에 의한 계정폭파 주장은 트윗 본사가 규정위반에 의한 계정정지라고 밝힘에 따라 김종훈측은 맛팔용 마구잡이 팔로잉을 시도하다 스팸처리된 셈. 결과적으로 무지한 자들이 색깔론으로 판을 흔들려다 국제적 망신을 당한 것.

Kim Jong-hoon asserted that some pro-North Korean sides have ‘exploded' his account. But according to Twitter main office, it was an account suspension due to violation of user guidelines. What actually happened is that after he aggressively followed people to increase his follower numbers, his account was treated as spam. It is an international embarrassment for those ignorant people who unsuccessfully tried to bring the ideology/political angles into play [this refers to the fact that the party jumped to the conclusion that it was done by pro-Communists].

There is a Korean site ‘TWT119‘, which claims to save older tweets prior to account suspension and provide a backup service. TWT119 submitted an open letter to Twitter office asking to investigate further this case. However, blogger Berry Lee revealed [ko] what this site does is to merely translate users' complaints from Korean to English language. He added that users don't need this separate service since the official Twitter would have their own servers storing tweets.

South Korea: Youtube Video on Saving Jeju Village from Naval Base Construction

Lee Yoo Eun — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:28:11 +0000

A video with English subtitle explaining why protesters are against constructing a naval based in the Jeju island was posted on the Youtube site. The opposition accused the construction of destroying a rare ecosystem and disrupting local livelihood, while the other side argues it is necessary for national defense.

South Korea: Photos of Politicians Staring at Revealing Photos of Ladies in National Assembly building

Lee Yoo Eun — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:53:04 +0000

Photos of politicians staring at revealing photos of ladies have been widely viewed in South Korea, prompting net users to express their frustration and annoyance towards lawmakers doing meaningless web searches and taking a nap in the National Assembly building mostly during their work hours.

South Korea: Three Major TV Stations Protest for Fair Journalism

Lee Yoo Eun — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:23:05 +0000

In South Korea, following one of biggest television network’s desperate attempt to overthrow its president over unfair news coverage and corruption allegations, the nation’s two other major TV stations have joined forces in standing up against their management, who have been siding with the government and censoring news content critical of the regime.

Since January 2012, MBC has been on an indefinite strike. Some shows have been on hiatus for over two months now and several journalists were fired by the company president before fellow colleagues resigned en masse as a sign of protest.

Now KBS, the nation’s biggest public broadcaster, and YTN, the country's top cable 24-hours news channel, have come together to rally against their own editorial censorship and support MBC's strike.

Videos of protest

This video below is entitled ‘Celebration for (Future) Resignations of Those Media Parachutes' and starts with an image of the three presidents of each company dropping down from the sky and floating around in parachutes.The ‘Parachute’ (or ‘parachute personnel’) in the South Korean corporate world, refers to a person who got the job by a decision made by someone ‘higher', usually through political influence or that of top-level executives, regardless of one’s ability. The video later explains how management has distorted the news in favor of the government (Read more about the strike on another Global Voices article in here).

Several video clips uploaded by mbcunion2012 explain the purpose of the strike in effective and creative ways. This one below takes the form of a song promotion video, borrowing the same melody from the song ‘Itaewon Freedom' and switching it with different lyrics, with a new title ‘MBC Freedom'.

The scene features the inside the MBC building and MBC broadcasters actually perform, sing and dance, which is highly rare for Korean journalism, where newscasters are expected to be serious and maintain an authoritative image. You can get a glimpse of the sheer scale of the protest after 2 minutes 15 seconds, when numerous MBC workers sing together in protest.

Some of the lyrics read:

0 min 20 sec: 요즘 MBC는 안봐 나꼼수면 충분 시청자 왜 눈돌렸나, 정권 비판 뉴스 실종, 누가 MBC 망쳤나. 1 min 비판 실종 MBC, 막장 인사 MBC, 징계 남발 MBC, MB 방송 MBC. 1 min 45 sec 정권엔 충성, 진실 눈감아, 어이가 없어, 더 이상 못 참아.

0 min 20 sec: People dont watch MBC any more nowadays. Watching Naggomsu is enough. Why have audiences turned away from us? Criticism of the government has vanished in the news. Who ruined our MBC? [Naggomsu is the nation's top podcast lampooning the country's president and the ruling party]
1 min : Criticism is lost in MBC! Abysmal staffing in MBC! Punishments [due to personal grudges] are abundant in MBC! MB broadcasts MBC! [MB is the country's President Lee Myung-bak’s initial]
1 min 45 sec : [The leadership] is loyal to regime. The Eyes of Truth were shut down. It is beyond ridiculous. We can't take it any more.

MBC workers took the same song and routine to Seoul railway station, South Korea's major travel gateway, to perform a flash mob. You can take a look at the various responses from passerbys in the video clip below, from befuddled senior citizens to excited young people and people in their 40 and 50s who are genuinely interested in the message.

Even MBC's prime-time news anchor, Choi Il-gu resigned last month, showing support for his fellow workers. In the YouTube video below, Mr. Choi tearfully shout out to his colleagues “This should be the busiest time of the day for news production teams. Why are you guys [having to] doing this [referring to the protest] here?” (0 min 12 sec).

Then Choi ruefully lamented that the freedom of speech in South Korea “has shrunk back to where it was in 1987 or even worse than the past”. The late 1980s was when an authoritarian military regime ruled the nation, brutally clamping down protesters and silencing the media.

Supporting MBC’s move, the KBS Union has joined and posted this creative video of KBS workers doing ‘Sambo Ilbae' (三步一拜), a Korean traditional way of expressing deep regret, apology and strong determination by “bowing down with knees and elbows on the ground on every three steps one takes”.

The video clip shows KBS’s past coverage that overtly humanized and praised the current president and unfairly attacked his political opponents and then switches to scenes of KBS workers doing the ‘Sambo Ilbae’ as an apology for their skewed news coverage.

This video clip entitled ‘Reset KBS' displays KBS workers from various local bureaus calling for restoration of fairness in journalism, stressing that the first crucial step is to change the leadership that fears powerful people instead of the citizen.

Workers from cable news channel YTN also joined the strike by posting a video entitled ‘Angry YTN', which is a video interview with Benjamin Ismail, head of the Asia-Pacific Desk at Reporters Without Borders in Paris. In the interview given in French with Korean subtitles, Ismail calls for international support for the strike.

Union workers of Yonhap News Agency, the nation's biggest news agency, also uploaded a YouTube video [ko] apologizing for their biased coverage. But the scale of Yonhap's protest remains pretty small for now.

Here are several more MBC Union video clips about the strike. The one right below is a parody of MBC's documentary on the extinction of emperor penguins, comparing the penguins' crisis with MBC workers' harsh situation, whereby they have to fight in cold weather for their survival.

This video below is a promotion video of a beautiful song called ‘Blue Whale', sung by MBC's most prominent producers, journalists and anchors together. The lyrics are about encouraging people who fight an uphill battle and the singing was guided by one of South Korea's most popular rock musicians, Yoon Do-hyun.

South Korea: Twitter Photos of One-Person Relay Protest against Jeju Naval Base Construction

Lee Yoo Eun — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:56:37 +0000

South Korean Tweeters have joined rallies against the Jeju naval base construction that has been blamed for disrupting residents' livelihood and destroying a rare ecosystem. Each Twitter user has volunteered to take turns to one-person protest against the construction and to tweet the photos, such as user @okeeffe00, @sirdy10 and @yds5921 did in the link.

South Korea: Cartoonists Protest against Censorship of Online Cartoon Contents

Lee Yoo Eun — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:51:08 +0000

Cartoonists rallied against the Korea Communications Standards Commission's recent decision to more tightly censor the online cartoon contents and label innocuous cartoons as x-rated. NoCut_Toon.com blog [ko] posted related photos such as well-known cartoonist Gang Pull one-person protesting in front of the Commission building.

South Korea: Major Network TV Journalists and Producers Joined Forces in Protest For Fair Journalism

Lee Yoo Eun — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 15:51:10 +0000

Following MBC workers' indefinite strike against the company president and his censorship of news contents, journalists, producers and union workers of other major TV networks have joined the protest calling for fair journalism. One well-known journalist appeared on this video clip [ko] that encourages people to attend a rally planned on Friday.