Global Voices » South Korea

VIDEO: South Korean LGBT Protest

Lee Yoo Eun — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:49:10 +0000

A South Korean LGBT rights group, Rainbow Action, staged a protest at Seoul Plaza on May 17, 2013, calling on the government to pass the anti-discrimination law. A video of the protest was posted on the Youtube.

Group to UN: Probe South Korean Election

Lee Yoo Eun — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:26:25 +0000

South Korean civil rights group Fight For Voters’ Rights (FFVR) filed a petition to the United Nations requesting them to investigate suspected election fraud. A series of investigations into South Korean spy agency's illegal involvement in the latest presidential election are still underway in the country.

South Korean President's Spokesman Sacked Over Sexual Assault Allegations

Lee Yoo Eun — Mon, 13 May 2013 05:28:26 +0000

The spokesman of the South Korean president, Yoon Chang-jung, was fired on May 10, 2013 over allegations that he sexually assaulted an embassy intern during the president’s high-profile trip to the United States.

This unprecedented diplomatic fiasco stayed at the top of internet searches on major South Korean portals for two consecutive days and spawned heated discussions, even anger, on a variety of social networking sites.

The case first broke on Missy USA, a community website for Korean women living in the US. A screen shot [ko] of one Missy USA's users crying out for help quickly spread online, and within a strikingly short period of time, lead to the firing of one of the most powerful officials in the administration.

Intense online discussions followed, mostly angry rants against the spokesman, as well as numerous parody photos that subsequently went viral. The comment section of the book review page for Yoon's book “Citizens Ruin Politics” was likewise inundated with sarcastic comments.

Photoshopped/Padody image of Yoon grabbing female buttocks. Author of the image unclear (Image spread without acknowledging of the author). The Yonhap News watermark was attached by the unknown author as a way to mock Yonhap's recent photoshop fiasco.

Yoon's comically hurried escape from the US, as well as complications caused by the fact that the victim is a US citizen raised the profile of the case to unexpected heights.

Some reports even re-enacted Yoon's runaway [ko] in detail and wrote that as soon as Yoon realized the severity of the situation, he took a cab to the airport, without packing his things, and fled to South Korea.

Since the victim is believed [ko] to be a Korean-American, legal issues may arise as to the jurisdiction in which he will be judged. According to a local news report [ko], Yoon can technically be judged in both courts; the alleged crime took place on US soil, so the case is now being investigated and prosecuted according to US law, which follows the territorial principle.

But it is technically possible that the investigation will move to South Korea which is governed by the nationality principle. Several online commentators have stressed that Yoon needs to be brought to trial in the US, in a system which is believed to be more harsh to sex offenders and less likely to be influenced by Yoon's power.

@francesco_js: 한 50년 정도만 때려도 창중이는 미쿡 귀신이 되겄네.그랬으면 좋겠다.자국민을 상대로 창녀네 종북이네 하던 미친 새끼가 그렇게 되어야 그나마 작은 희망이라도 생길거 같다.

@francesco_js: I really wish U.S court to sentence Chang-jung to long prison terms (like 50 years), so he would eventually [die in the cell] and turn into a ghost haunting the prison. Only after I see this crazy dude gets enough punishment, I would be able to have hope again. After all, he used to call his own people ‘whore’ and ‘pro-North’[North Korean sympathizers]. [*click this link for explanation on Yoon's 'whore' and 'pro-North' remarks]

A Twitter user called Roh Jeong-tae (@JeongtaeRoh) came up with a creative solution that would solve both Yoon's case and dispel public discontent on the relatively light punishments received by American soldiers who committed crimes in South Korea – by exchanging courts. His tweet was retweeted over 536 times.

@JeongtaeRoh: 성범죄 저지르고 미국으로 토낀 주한미군 범죄자와 윤창중을 교환함으로써 양국이 서로 각자의 법 체계를 존중한다는 것을 확인하고 한미동맹을 더욱 공고히 다지는 계기로 삼으면 좋겠다.

@JeongtaeRoh: By exchanging U.S. soliders who committed crimes in South Korea with Yoon Chang-jung who ran away [from U.S police] after his sexual assault, the two countries could acknowledge mutual respect on other’s legal system, and use this as a chance to straighten the alliance between the two countries.

Yoon, an extreme right-winger, is a controversial figure even among conservatives and has constantly drawn sharp criticism for his harsh, defamatory attacks on liberals. Initial reactions to the incident seemed to confirm old fault lines with many saying it came as ”no surprise“ [ko]. One tweet read:

@sjs1205jazzboy: 창중이가 발목에 이상한거 달고 다니게 생겼네~ 어찌 뇌가 좀 이상하다 싶어 불안했는데 역시 폭탄이었어![...]

@sjs1205jazzboy: Chang-jung will now start wearing a weird device in his ankle [referring ankle bracelet for sex offenders]. I was bit worried as it seems he has a very dysfunctional brain, and as expected, he turned out to be a human bomb.

Many users pointed out that such revelation were only possible [ko] because the crime took place outside the country and spread quickly over social media. The tweet below has been retweeted over 245 times:

@WainUnions: 웃긴 얘기지만, 피해 여성이 “미국 시민권자” 여서 정말 다행이라고 생각합니다. “한국 국적자” 였으면 아마 과거가 다 까발려지고 막 옛날에도 남자들에게 꼬리치고 다녔고 그날도 같이 술을 마시면서 동의를 했니 어쩌니 하고 넘어가려 했을텐데.

@WainUnions: This may sound ridiculous, but I think it was a bit of a relief that the victim was “U.S. citizenship holder”. If the victim were Korean, they would have just covered up the case by unearthing and spreading every detail about her past [private life] online, to claim that she was one who used to flirt with guys and she may have consented while drinking with him.

On the other hand, some extreme right-wing groups have conjured up conspiracy theories in defense of Yoon, to which users like @SeokhyungLee and @AngelinoKim reacted by saying:

@SeokhyungLee: 윤창중이 음모에 걸린것같단다.미시usa는 종북단체 란다.인턴여성은 이정희의사주를 받아 창중이를 음모에 빠트렸단다.ㅎㅎ일베놈들 대단하다[...]

@SeokhyungLee: Some claim that Yoon has been trapped in a conspiracy plot and the Missy USA site is a ‘pro-North’ (North Korean sympathizer) group. And the female intern (the victim), was directed by the mastermind Lee Jung-hee (progressive, female politician) to trap him. What a theory, those Ilbe (name of the extreme right-wing site) freaks. Lol.

@AngelinoKim: 지금 윤창중 관련 칼럼에다 “젖가슴도 아닌 겨우 엉덩이다”라고 한 모 보수성향 매체 편집위원이란 사람, 직업이 ‘중학교 교사’랍니다…이건 뭐 살다살다 별…” 어느 학교 중학교 교사인가요? 알립시다!!!

@AngelinoKim: A columnist in one conservative media outlet, wrote in a column that “it was not even bosoms, but merely butts [that Yoon grabbed]”. That columnist is found out to be a ‘junior high school teacher’. What the heck is going on here? We need to find out and notify others in which school he teaches.

Other online commentators lamented the fact that sexual assaults by powerful politicians are quite frequent.

@nemomaru: 도망 창중의 역겨운 짓거리가 놀랍고 믿을 수 없어 참담하지만…이런 일이 여전히 아무 죄책감없이 흔히 일어나는 일 임이 더 참담한 일이다.

@nemomaru: The ‘runaway’ Chang-jung’s disgusting deed is just unbelievable and deplorable. But what is more lamentable is that such things still happens without the assaulter feeling any guilty about it.

South Korean President's Spokesman Fired

Lee Yoo Eun — Fri, 10 May 2013 03:38:33 +0000

South Korean President's press spokesman Yoon Chang-joong was relieved of his duty over allegation that he sexually assaulted a 21-year-old intern during President Park's visit to the United States which he accompanied. A community website for Korean women living in the U.S, Missy USA, first revealed the case and a screen capture of Missy USA's report [ko] has widely spread online.

Conservative Pundit Sues South Korea's Saturday Night Live TV Show

Lee Yoo Eun — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:33:24 +0000

There's nothing funny about the rocky legal road ahead for South Korean political satire.

A conservative pundit who was lampooned on the program has filed a lawsuit against the country's version of the American comedy show. Saturday Night Live (SNL) Korea was attacked by conservative pundit and media critic Byun Hee-jae (@pyein2) over its latest Weekend Update segment, a fake news program sprinkled with witty commentary.

The segment's host called him “an attention seeker who, though said to have a job, we have no idea what he really does” and nominated him as the “Weirdo of the Week”.

Byun, who is notorious for baiting prominent liberals by calling them “pro-North”, which implies a North Korean sympathizer, announced via Twitter [ko] on May 6, 2013 that he will sue the show for defamation. Byun later widened his attack [ko], assailing the show for distributing what he defined “illegal news” that “manipulate public opinion” by siding with liberal agenda:

@pyein2: TVN SNL코리아 다운받아보니 심각하군요. 최일구가 국정원 댓글을 부풀려 조롱하며[...] 저런 여론조작질을 벌이고 있나요. 버릇을 고쳐놔야 돼요.

@pyein2: After I downloaded [and watched several episodes of] SNL Korea which aired on [cable channel] tvN, I found the problem much more grave than I thought. Choi Il-gu [who hosts the Weekend Update section] jeered at the NIS [spy agency electioneering] case and exaggerated it [...] and the show manipulated public opinion. This bad behavior needs to be fixed.

Promotional Poster of Saturday Night Live Korea. Copyright belongs to SNL Korea. Image hosted by Wikimedia, Qualifies as Fair Use (Non commercial, to provide commentary on the show)

Byun reaction to the segment was ridiculed online. Some net users, pointing out that this sort of attack on political satire happens quite frequently, reminded people [ko] of the nation's poor performance on the press freedom index.

According to Press Freedom Index by Freedom House, South Korea ranked 68th in 2012 and 64th in 2013 out of 127 countries:

ID jiso****: 이러니 언론 자유가 60몇 위? 아프리카 어디 개발도상국보다 순위가 낮다며? 이러니까 그런 순위가 뜨는 거야.

ID jiso****: This is exactly why South Korea’s press freedom is ranked around 60th. We rated lower than some random developing countries in the African continent. [*note: The word "African continent" was used to refer some countries that felt very remote and unfamiliar] This explains our rank.

Website K-pop Decoder site explained how SNL Korea quickly rose to prominence. Since it airs on a cable channel, which is less bound by strict guidelines imposed on network TV shows, SNL Korea can try more risque political satire and bold sexual jokes.

Businessman Yeontaek Chang (@jaykaz) accused Byun and people like him of damaging the country's development of a political sense of humor:

@jaykaz: SNL Korea는 쾌재를 부르고 있겠구나. 아무리 나쁘게 생각해보려고 해도, 왜 문제가 되는지 모르겠단 말씀. 그리고 이왕 고소를 할거면 첨 시작했을 때부터 하시지. 이런 듣보잡때문에 우리나라 시사풍자 미디어가 발전하지 못하는거다.

@jaykaz: SNL Korea would now be totally elated. Even though I tried really hard to take it badly, I still can't perceive it as “problematic”. If Byun really wanted to sue them, he should have sued them when the program launched. These sorts of “nobody” [referring to 'A person of no importance or authority' and also Byun's nickname given by his critics] have seriously stunted the growth of our nation's political satire.

Prominent and controversial culture critic Jin Joong-kwon (@unheim) tweeted [ko]:

@unheim: 공식화법 “‘SNL코리아'는 풍자가 주요 소재인 프로그램이다. 판단은 시청자의 몫.” 이를 우리에게 익숙한 일상화법으로 번역하면, “똥개야 짖어라, 기차는 간다.”

@unheim: SNL’s official response read “Satire is one of the major elements of SNL Korea. It is entirely up to viewers to decide.” If I translate this into colloquial “You, dog, bark as you want. But the train will run [on schedule] – no matter what.”

Jin later added [ko] that he can't wait to watch next week's episode since Byun has voluntarily became a great source for political sketches.

Image by Flickr user Free Press Pics (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Meanwhile, Korean Twitter user @sungjinyang linked to a Quora post explaining why the original SNL rarely gets sued for defamation – Cliff Gilley answered, “Because what SNL does is considered ‘parody'” it is afforded “one of the highest levels of protection” and SNL sketches will not be considered defamation since they are not ”a claim expressly stated or claimed to be factual”.

However, this simple reasoning is not being applied in South Korea. Several months earlier on January 31, 2013, the Korea Communications Standards Commission reprimanded [ko] the nation's wildly popular sketch comedy show Gag Concert for not using honorific terms and employing insolent tone when addressing the country's current president, thus violating the decency of broadcasting. One of the online reactions read as below:

@sigolnonbu: [...] 개그의 본령이 풍자라는 사실을 망각한 채 개그맨의 말투 등을 꼬투리 삼아 징계를 내린 것. 황당하고 한심스럽다. http://j.mp/YhK7mo

@sigolnonbu: Forgetting that the essence of comedy is a satire, they reprimanded comedians over such a petty thing– their tone. This is so ridiculous and pathetic. (link to relevant article)

SNL Korea staff said [ko] that after they experienced Byun's threat, they now feel even more thankful to all the presidential candidates who have featured in their sketches for not taking their jokes too seriously.

South Korean Women Protest Electioneering

Lee Yoo Eun — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:01:36 +0000

South Korea’s intelligence agency went under fire for hiring bloggers and using its agents to manipulate public opinion before the presidential election. Korean female net users from the ‘Women’s Generation’ [ko] community site took to the streets (photos) of Seoul to protest against the agency’s electioneering and vowed to continue demonstrating till June.

Spies, Bloggers and Raids in South Korea

Lee Yoo Eun — Wed, 01 May 2013 23:25:09 +0000

South Korean state prosecutors raided the National Intelligence Service headquarter amid allegations that the agency hired bloggers and used its agents to manipulate public opinion before the presidential election. The Daum Agora site posted [ko] a snippet of data on the agency's electioneering which was collected by the Lawyers for a Democratic Society.

South Korea Pulls Out of Joint Industrial Complex in North Korea

Lee Yoo Eun — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:48:07 +0000

A nearly decade-old, jointly run industrial complex in North Korea, a place often referred as “last bastion of hope” [ko] for Korean reunification, is on the verge of a shutdown.

The South Korean government has ordered the withdrawal of South Korean workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, almost emptying the park by April 29, 2013 and leaving only seven workers behind to negotiate unpaid wages for North Korean workers.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex of North Korea is a special collaborative venture with South Korea which began operating in 2004. North Korea offers South Korean companies with cheap labor and inexpensive land, and South Korean companies, in return, provides basic infrastructure, raw materiel and the capital to run the site and most importantly, employ North Korean workers and pay them with the precious foreign currency.

Model Industrial Complex (factories) in Kaesong Industrial Area, North Korea, Image by User Mimura, Uploaded in Wikipedia (CC 3.0)

Until this most recent flare-up of tensions between the Koreas, business has thrived in the complex despite moments of cross-border conflict. As of early 2013, 53,000 North Korean employees in the complex collected around $90 million a year in wages, an important source of income for the impoverished North.

But the shutdown is a terrible financial blow for the South, as well. The South Korean government estimates [ko] the loss caused by the end of operations will be around one trillion Korean won (about 902 million United States dollars), while the companies involved claim [ko] it could surpass ten trillion won (about 9.02 billion US dollars).

South Korean hawks have flooded the Web welcoming the news of the country's withdrawal from the industrial complex, while others lamented the loss of the cooperative effort between North and South.

Some net users pointed out the shutdown means more than financial consequences:

@tenelux: 개성공단 피해액이 최대 10조원이 될 수도 있다고[...] 게다가 그 자리에 장사정포 다시 들어서면 안보리스크도 올라갈테고.

@tenelux: The loss of companies in the Kaesong Complex can amount to 10 trillion Korean won [...] Worse, what if that space is replaced with long-range missiles? It will only increase the national security risk.

@histopian: 개성공단은 북한군을 15km 후퇴시켰고, 남한 체제를 부러워하고 학습하는 5만 여 명의 북한 노동자를 만들었습니다. 경제적 손익과 별도로, 군사적 손익도 따져 봐야 할 겁니다. http://www.nocutnews.co.kr/Show.asp?IDX=2479596 …

@histopian: By building Kaesong Complex, the North’s army [in the region] moved 15 kilometers to the north [from their previous frontline]. The complex, furthermore, has made 50,000 North Korean workers think highly of South Korea’s [free-market economic] system and be willing to learn about it. Apart from pure economic profits aside, the military benefits should not be ignored. [link to related news article]

This particular tweet [ko] highlighting the significance of the Kaesong Complex has been retweeted more than 280 times:

@jiksseol: 개성공단은 상품만 찍어내 온 게 아니다. 이는 평화의 공장이자 숨쉬는 기념탑이고, 남북 사이 가장 현실적인 완충지대였다[...]

@jiksseol: Kaesong Industrial Complex is more than a place where they churn out products. It is where peace was made and it was a living monument of peace, and one of the most realistic buffer zones between two Koreas.

Intense verbal conflicts erupted online between hawkish conservatives and progressives who support the “Sunshine Policy” that made Kaesong possible in the first place. Under this policy, South Korea gave various economic aids to the North, so that “sunshine” would create a wedge between the North Korean regime and its people and eventually lead to reform from the inside. Conservatives lashed out at the North for politicizing the venture for years and even pointed the finger at the former South Korean president who initiated the venture. Since the Complex's opening in 2004, operations have intermittently halted as the North uses it to express its displeasure with the South by refusing South Koreans entry to the Complex:

@cosmicgag: 그리고 개성공단은 평화유지를 위한 남북 채널이라고 사기치는데 그래서 북괴가 대포 쏘고 마사일 쏠때 개성공단 통해서 알려줬나? 개그는 개그맨이 하는거지.. 진보팔이, 종북들은 정신 좀 차려야죠.

@cosmicgag: Some people falsely claim that Kaesong has been a [good] communication channel between the two Koreas that maintained peace. But think what the North did so far: did they warn us about their shelling and missile launch via Kaesong Complex? [No.] Don't kid yourself. It is not funny at all. You progressive scammers and pro-North people need to wake up.

@gvoice01: 개성공단은 평화의고리가 아니라 인질이고 볼모였지. 문제의 시작이 북이거늘[...]

@gvoice01: Kaesong Industrial Complex has been never been “the bridge to peace”, but rather the hostage [held by the North]. Every problem has originated from North Korea.

The mainstream media's use of the word “hostage” in its characterization of any South Korean worker in the Kaesong Complex has fueled accusations of biased, sensational reporting. Actually, the workers who actually stayed at the Complex said [ko] their stay was not unusual, with plenty of water and food no physical threats from North Korean side whatsoever. Some net users chimed in:

@sh4corea: 보수언론, 개성공단 기사 모두 엉터리. ‘돈벌이수단 폐쇄못해’ ‘인질우려’? 북한, 직원 한명 붙잡지 않았다. 정부의 인질구출작전? 정부와 언론이 합작으로 ‘007영화’ 시나리오 썼다. 개성공단, 스파이영화·소설 소재 아니다[...]

@sh4corea: Conservative media’s coverage on the Kaesong Complex is all sham. They claim that the North “held [South Korean] workers hostage” since they “cannot let go of the cash cow”, but actually the North did not ask, not even one worker, to stay. [Some media outlet's headline read] “The government pulled off the hostage-rescue operation”. It is a far-fetched 007 story co-written by the media and the government. Kaesong is not a subject of spy novel or movie.

As South Korean companies in the Kaesong Complex are facing near bankruptcy by the current crisis, some of them are planning to file a lawsuit against the government for their astronomical financial loss. Discussions formed around how to understand the case — whether to treat it as an ordinary civil loss in need of government help, or a damage inflicted by the government itself:

@murutukus: 개성공단 업체들이 정부 상대로 소송을 걸게 되면 그 판결은 과연 어떻게 되는 건가.. 정부의 대북 정책 변화에 따른 피해니까 이게 보상이 되는 건지 배상이 되는건지.

@murutukus: When companies in the complex file a lawsuit against the government, how should the court treat this case? Since it was damage done by the change of the government’s North Korean policy, should it be treated as “compensation” or “reparation“

Do All Miss Korea Contestants Look Alike?

Lee Yoo Eun — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 01:22:10 +0000

The web was abuzz over the photo of 20 of South Korean pageant contestants who all look uncannily alike, and jeering comments were made against South Korean women's beauty standards. However, some Korean net users, pointing out some media coverage can be misleading, posted another photos of contestants which people can tell them apart and explained that it is more of the ‘photoshop’ issue- the overuse of airbrushing.

Bill Gates’ Handshake Irks South Koreans

Lee Yoo Eun — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:52:21 +0000

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has sparked controversy for his single-handed handshake when meeting with the South Korean president. Gates’ left hand was jammed into his pants pocket during the handshake, which is considered disrespectful in South Korea. An extensive photo compilation of Gates’ handshake [ko] was viewed more than 76,000 times in less than a day.

South Korean Spy Agency's Political Meddling

Lee Yoo Eun — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:57:55 +0000

The latest police investigation found that at least two agents from the South Korean National Intelligence Service have illegally posted online comments to influence the presidential election. An online petition was posted [ko] on Daum Agora site in support of one police woman who bravely revealed that she has been pressured to remain silent on this illegal electioneering case.

YouTube Lags in South Korea While Internet Zips By

Lee Yoo Eun — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:33:20 +0000

In South Korea where net users are accustomed to whizzing along with one of the fastest Internet connection speeds in the world, YouTube's sluggish performance is a source of constant complaints.

But why does the video-hosting site run so slow compared to the rest of South Korea's Internet? The answer lies in the utter disrespect that South Korea's dominant corporations have for net neutrality.

Net neutrality is a principle defending the free flow of information on the Internet by forbidding Internet service providers from delivering one website faster or slower than another or blocking customers from accessing certain websites. (Read more on South Korea's net neutrality controversy by Global Voices author Jae-Yeon here.)

The emergence of bandwidth-guzzling video websites and software such as YouTube, Netflix, and Skype, which make it difficult or more costly for Internet providers to maintain high speed connections for their customers, have made the issue of net neutrality more important than ever.

Although South Korea proudly promotes itself as one of the most advanced high-tech countries, it has been a cruel place for small tech start-ups that have struggled under the government’s strict guidelines and policies and been squeezed out by a few powerful corporations that control the market. Google and YouTube had butted heads with the South Korean government for not following its attempt to enforce real-name policy.

YouTube by Flickr user codenamecueball (CC BY 2.0).

Korean net user ID:GaedokChoding elaborated [ko] on how a disregard for net neutrality by South Korean Internet providers led to YouTube's slow performance - a version of events [ko] shared by many in the Korean tech community:

1. 유튜브가 한국에 서버를 돌리려고 했음. 2. 인터넷 통신망 회사들이 유튜브가 트래픽 많이 차지하니까 사용료 내라고 압박. 3. 유튜브는, ‘우리 콘텐츠 덕분에 사용자들이 인터넷 신청하고 사용료 내는데 왜 우리가 돈을 냄?'하고 한국에 서버를 마련하지 않음. 4. 그래서 한국에서 유튜브는 해외 서버를 통해 들어옴 5. 그 결과 한국 통신 회사들은 해외 유입 트래픽에 대한 대가를 외국 통신망 회사들에게 지불하게 됨 6. 그래서 한국 유튜브는 느리고 한국 통신 회사는 많은 돈을 외국에 넘기게 되었음

1. YouTube tried to set up their server in South Korea. 2. Internet Service Providers pressured YouTube to pay fee since YouTube sucks up so much traffic. 3. YouTube responded with “why do I have to pay since users subscribe and pay Internet fees to watch our content?” and decided not to install their own server in South Korea. 4. As a result, YouTube in South Korea comes from servers in adjacent countries. 5. Now, Korean Internet service providers have to pay traffic fees to other foreign service providers. 6. The outcome: Korean YouTube slowed down and Korean Internet providers wind up paying lots of money to other nations.

Some have even created cartoons [ko] explaining the source of problem and discussions have formed below the cartoons, with many net users sharing their YouTube experience [ko] in and outside South Korea:

ID 우사우사냥냥: 일본에서 유튜브는 니코니코동화 보다 빠름. 근데 한국 영상은 [...]
ID Caspian: 미국 거주중인데 확실히 유투브 빠릅니다… 1080p도 original 화질도 버퍼링 없이 봐요[...] ID Lucis: 이거 맞는말임. 여기 필리핀에서 한국 포털사이트(네이버,다음) 동영상 재생할라면 하루종일걸림. 근데 유투브는 진짜 올려져있는 2시간짜리 영화도 실시간으로 볼수있음. 네이버?다음? 1분짜리 동영상도 10분은 버퍼링해야하는곳이 여기임[...] ID Beef: 근데 이게 진짜 실감할수있는건 해외와서 인터넷을 해봐야됨. 한국 IT 강국에 인터넷 빠름 진짜 빠름. 근데 유튜브는 겁나느림. 근데 한국보다 인터넷느린나라들도 유튜브는 빠름 진짜 빠름

ID UsaUsaNyangNyang: YouTube in Japan can be faster than NicoNico Douga site [popular video-sharing site in Japan]. However, [things are different] when watching Korean video…
ID Caspian: I am now in the United States and YouTube is really fast indeed. I can stream 1080p video with keeping its original resolution.
ID Lucis: This is all true. Here in Philippines, it takes nearly an entire day to stream video on Korean portal sites such as Naver and Daum. However, you can stream a two-hour-long movie seamlessly on YouTube. To compare, a one-minute-long video [on Korean sites such as Naver and Daum] needs ten minutes of buffering to watch.
ID: Beef: You can feel the difference when you use the Internet abroad. In South Korea, despite being a strong tech nation and despite its fast Internet speed, YouTube is freaking slow. How weird it is that YouTube is really fast in other countries, whose Internet speeds are much slower than South Korea's.

Foreigners in South Korea, used to better YouTube performance in other parts of the world, have also commented on it's slow speed, posting on forums seeking an answer.

Blogger DamviWorld criticized [ko] how near-sighted the actions of Korean Internet service providers are:

국내 통신사들은 유투브의 (무료로 네트워크 망을 제공하라는) 요구를 거절했고 유투브는 미련없이 한국을 떠났습니다. 결국 생산자가 우위에 서게 될 것이다란 사실을 그들은 벌써 알고 있었기 때문이죠. 유투브의 한국 이용자는 폭발적으로 증가했고[...] 만약 우리나라 통신사들이 미래를 내다보고 유투브와 유연한 자세로 계약을 했었다면 엄청난 액수의 선로 사용료가 중국과 일본에 해마다 유출되는 일은 없었을 것입니다.

Local communication companies declined YouTube’s request for free network connection and YouTube left Korea without hesitation. Because they knew that content providers will get the upper-hand eventually. The number of Korean YouTube users has increased exponentially indeed.[...] If our communication companies were not so near-sighted, and flexible in negotiations with YouTube, we wouldn't be paying huge sums of money to China and Japan for [using their YouTube servers] for traffic.

The blogger also pointed out that local video-streaming sites, such as Mncast [ko], have gone out of service for huge burdens imposed on them by Internet service providers:

유투브가 한국에서 이처럼 빠르게 확산된 이유에는 국내 토종 동영상 서비스 업체들이 무너졌기 때문인 이유도 있습니다. 국내 업체들은 통신사에 지불하는 엄청난 네트워크 비용을 감당하지 못하고 하나둘 파산했기 때문이죠.

One of the reason how YouTube has expanded rapidly in South Korea is because local video-streaming sites have collapsed. Local companies, after not being able to afford the huge amount of fee for using networks, went bankrupt one by one.

No More Apologies – Japan's Facebook Users Share ‘Fake’ Propaganda

Keiko Tanaka — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:00:29 +0000

A thousand Japanese facebook users unknowingly endorsed and shared a fictitious image [ja] that seemed to be an official publication and highlighted the negative impact Japan's apologetic stance in history has on the country's children.

A citizen journalist traced the image, which even has the official government seal of Japan in its top-left corner, (although the government does not use this seal for its official publications) to a right-wing Facebook page.

Fabricated image widely shared on the Internet. Vertical text: “Mommy, Daddy, did my ancestors do wrong things? Does that make me a bad Japanese? – How do you respond to your children?”
Horizontal text: “Let's teach our children the true history. Government publication”

Facebook user Tsubasa who liked the image wrote[ja] in support of a patriotic view:

自虐的な教科書には、もううんざり(´・ω・`)ちゃんとした教科書を、今の子供達に読んで欲しい!!戦争を美化するつもりは、ありませんがその当時の先人が、何を想い何のため戦い散ったのかを、教えて欲しいです。

I'm sick and tired of introspective history textbooks. I want the children today to learn from legit textbooks. I don't mean to glamorize the war, but people need to think what they fought and died for.

The fabricated image took a life of its own on Facebook when it was shared along with famous quotes, from Indian jurist Radha Binod Pal, Thailand politician Kukrit Pramoj, Indonesian scholar Arifin Bey and British historian Arnold J. Toynbee, that reinforced the idea that Japan's war posture was always for Asia's liberation.

Earlier this year, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, almost offended China and Korea, when he signaled that he would “review” the country's apologies made in the past for its World War II aggression. Later, he backtracked and said would not review Japan’s wartime history and that he would abide by the official stances of his predecessors on the issue.

Facebook user Rie noticed it was fake:

この画像は偽造です。確認しましたが、このような政府広報はありません。誰かが何らかの意図を以て「政府広報」を偽造し、フェイスブックで拡散するのは異常な事態だと思います。一体何の目的で偽造するのでしょうか。分からない。

This image is fake. I've checked and I can tell you there's no such government publication. It's insane for somebody to intentionally create a fake government image and amplify it on facebook. I don't understand why they do this on purpose.

Citizen journalist Norifumi Ohtani at Miyazaki Citizen Media criticized [ja] social media users who shared this image without verifying its source and traced the image to right wing activists who apparently fabricated the image, and gave it an official government seal.

The image of the uniformed child originated from an online shopping site for children's school-bags. Ohtani wrote a series of analysis [ja] on how the image was edited and right-wing text and a government seal were added, before it was appropriated on a Facebook page and shared without context.

I saw this on my Facebook feed on April 15, 2013. [...] Apparently this image gained more than 1300 Likes with many comments. I wondered when this image was released by the Cabinet Public Relation Office. So I checked the website of the Office [ja] but I couldn't find one like this.

Then I thought, maybe this image is a fabrication. So I searched for more information.

The one I saw on Facebook was posted by “Japanism“[ja], a Facebook page that has 4,617 likes.

There was no reference of source in the description of the image so I searched on Google with words like “Cabinet Public Relations Office Let's teach our children the true history” and arrived to this page.

It directed me to a Twitter account that intentionally amplified this image.

With that clue, I got on Twitter and found a blog named “Wake up! Japanese spirit and the eyes of patriot” [ja] in this blog post [ja] of January 14, 2013.

He adds:

It is okay to quote blogger's posts, but when you quote, make sure you name the source.

I think people should refrain from abruptly sharing facebook images, [out of context] when they do not reflect the agenda of the author.

Maybe it's nice to pause for a second and verify where the source comes from.

The alleged creator of the image was a Facebook fan page called “反日対策協議会” [eliminate anti-Japanese activity]. They have since admitted [ja] that it was fake, meant to be ‘parody.’ The Facebook page of Japanism also added a comment [ja], apologizing for sharing the image without checking where it came from.

Ohtani criticized [ja] the ‘parody’ which mislead citizens, saying that right-wing activists went too far in disguising themselves as a government publication.

The quoted blog post was written by Norifumi Ohtani in Japanese under Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 2.1, by Nippon：Citizen's Media Miyazaki

East Asia's Appetite for Eels Pushing Species to the Brink

I-fan Lin — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 03:50:52 +0000

In Japan, summer is the season of eel.

On the sweltering midsummer days between mid-July and early August, it's traditional to eat a plate of golden-brown broiled unagi kabayaki, or broiled eel. The popular dish is believed to help people stay healthy during the hot weather.

But the tradition is now at risk. Skyrocketing demand for glass eels, once considered a highbrow delicacy, is pushing fishermen to exhaust the population and causing prices to soar. A number of East Asian countries including Japan have proposed ideas on how to preserve the wild eel, but there are so far no concrete efforts underway to curb the trend.

Ida Tetsuji, a columnist from Nippon.com, a Japanese news website, described how the production of eels has been increased fourfold over recent decades to satisfy the increased eel consumption:

Domestic eel production in Japan held at about 40,000 tons a year through the mid-1980s. This was supplemented by imports from Taiwan, which ranged from about 25,000 tons to a high of around 40,000 tons. [...] In 2000 a record high of over 130,000 tons of eel products were imported from China and Taiwan, and domestic sales volume rose to almost 160,000 tons, also a record high. This was almost double the volume of sales 15 years earlier.

Specially cooked eels in Japan. Photo from ysishikawa (CC: AT).

A common misconception is that glass eels can be farmed to keep up with the increased demand. However, eels are catadromous, meaning that part of their life circle is in freshwater and part in saltwater. Since there was no current method to reproduce the eel larvae, the fishermen need to catch the wild glass eels when they enter the river and travel upstream and farm them in ponds.

So without a way to replenish the eel population in the face of such demand, the number of these glass eels caught by fishermen in recent years continues to decrease. “Dogfamily”, an independent reporter in a Taiwanese citizen news portal, Newsmarket, reported [zh] the reality on March 18, 2013:

過去亞洲一年日本鰻苗捕獲量接近100噸，但近4年產量急遽下滑，2010-2012的產量遽降為41、35、26噸；以台灣為例，過去一年有20噸，但2010-2012僅剩4、4、2噸，今年（2013）約1.5噸。

The number of caught glass eels of Japanese eels has dropped dramatically in the recent four years from an average of 100 tons per year to 41, 35, 26 tons in 2010-2012. Take Taiwan for example, Taiwanese fishermen used to catch 20 tons of glass eels annually (e.g., 20 percent of the glass eels caught among the countries along the Kuroshio Current), but the total number dropped to 4, 4, 2 tons in 2010-2012. This year (2013), the number is around 1.5 tons.

Total eel production. Figure from the TRAFFIC report written by Vicki Crook.

The price of glass eels has soared as a result. Dogfamily [zh] pointed out:

幾年前，鰻苗1尾10元[…]今（2012）年的平均價達到180元/尾。以每公斤6000尾來換算，一公斤的鰻苗要價108萬，接近黃金的市價。即使價格如此驚人，但因為捕撈量嚴重不足，苗戶的收入還是下降。

Several years ago, one glass eel was sold for 10 Taiwan dollars [0.34 United States dollars] [...] This year (2012), one glass eel in average is sold for 108 Taiwan dollars [3.62 US dollars]. Since 6,000 glass eels are about one kilogram, one kilogram of glass eels is 1,080,000 Taiwan dollars (36,249 US dollars). This is close to the price of gold. Nevertheless, despite the amazing price, the fishermen’s income decreases because the amount of caught glass eels is so little.

The shortage in supply has resulted in smuggling activities, Dogfamily [zh] explained:

即使台灣經濟部已訂定3月31日前鰻苗禁止出口，但在日方出價高的誘惑力之下，苗商仍透過各種管道以走私的方式將苗輸出至日本。去年12月間，桃園機場就查獲以行李箱攜帶20,000萬尾鰻魚苗走私的案件。根據業者私下透露，1月15日前捕獲的鰻苗，幾乎是100％供應到日本。

Although the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan has set up regulations to forbid the export of glass eels before March 31, the Taiwanese merchants still find ways to smuggle glass eels to Japan because the price provided by Japanese businessmen is so tempting. Last December, 20,000 glass eels were discovered to be smuggled in suitcases in Taoyuan International Airport. Based on private conversations with the Taiwanese merchants, almost 100 percent of the glass eels caught before January 15 were sold to Japan.

European eels have already been listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in June 2007. Earlier on this year, the U.S had considered submitting a proposal for an international trade regulation on eel catches in CITES. At the same time, the Japanese Environment Ministry also designated the Japanese eel as a species at risk of extinction on its red list of endangered freshwater and brackish water fish in last February. However, the move is not legally binding.

In reaction to the pressure for eel preservation, a number of East Asian countries, including Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea have held several conferences and several preservation procedures have been proposed, including rehabilitation of the eels’ natural environment, restrictions on eel export, and release of adult eels in the rivers.

Production of different species of eels. Figure from the TRAFFIC report written by Vicki Crook.

Nevertheless, with such a huge consumer market, eel merchants will continue to find new ways to make profit. In fact, the Japanese merchants have turned to African eels as an alternative, Dogfamily [zh] reported:

美國意圖將鰻魚列入貿易保護名單的舉動使得日本相當緊張，開始尋找替代的鰻魚來源，最近觸角伸向馬達加斯加的養殖業者，將購買非洲鰻來因應日本鰻價格節節升高以及美洲鰻前途未明的情況。

America’s intention to list eel in CITES makes Japan very nervous, and they have started to find an alternative source for eels. Recently, they contacted eel farmers in Madagascar and plan to buy African eels to avoid the soaring price of eels and prepare for the possible ban on American eels.

At the same time, international NGO, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC) has also discovered that the Philippines has started exporting large amount of Japanese eels and Luzon eels, a newly discovered species, out of the country:

In July (2012), TRAFFIC surveys found almost 50 listings from businesses in the Philippines offering eel fry or glass eels for sale through online B2B platform Alibaba.com. Several reported they could supply for export hundreds of kilos of glass eels of a variety of eel species every month.

Amount of caught eels. Figure from the TRAFFIC report written by Vicki Crook.

To break the demand-supply cycle, some Japanese have started consumer campaigns to reduce the consumption of eels. Ida Tetsuji on Nippon.com wrote:

Consumers and distributors of eels also bear considerable responsibility for the situation. As a result of the unsustainable inflow of large quantities of imports, eels, formerly considered a deluxe food, have turned into a cheap item sold in bulk through convenience stores and supermarkets […] We need to take this opportunity to transform the eel business from its low-profit, high-volume “quantity over quality” model back to a “quality over quantity” approach. Otherwise the stocks will become even more seriously depleted, and we are liable to sink into a descending spiral in which consumers tire of low-quality eels and stop buying them, causing the eel industry’s profits to decline further and the business as a whole to weaken.

Tirrano, a Japanese blogger from Decent Point, also believed [ja] that despite the gravity of the problem, the solution is rather easy:

どうしたらよいか、激減した原因の反対のことをすることなら簡単に始められそうです。つまり、不必要の多くのウナギを食べないこと、安いからといってウナギを食べないことです。日本の消費量がとてつもなく多すぎるのです。それを30年前ぐらいに激減させればいい。それには、スーパーなどの特売にある、それほどおいしくはない、ウナギを無理して食べないことです。

What to do to avoid the dramatic decrease of Japanese eels is actually easy. In short, we should not eat eels if not necessary, and we should not eat those cheap eels. Eel consumption in Japan is too high. If the amount of eels consumed can be reduced to what it was 30 years ago, conditions would be better. In other words, we should not eat eels only because there is a super sale on eels in the supermarket.

Psy's YouTube Phenomenon Continues

Lee Yoo Eun — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:21:57 +0000

South Korean rapper Psy's new single, Gentleman, has already surpassed 120 million views on YouTube within four days of release, despite unfavorable reviews and worries that Psy could wind up one-hit wonder after his ridiculously successful Gangnam Style. Read more about the new music video from K-pop blog.