Restricted information on the South Korean websites

 

 

South Korea, the world’s most wired country with the highest percentage of internet users in the world, has just got infamous title. Reporters without Borders (RSF) has listed South Korea as an Enemy of the Internet for its draconian censorship in March 2010. ( Lee, Y 2010)
The RSF announced that the South Korean government’s alleged censorship promotion and internet watchdog system gave South Korea this shameful title. So that South Korea is included in the lists of enemies of the Internet with North Korea. Congratulations.

“Draconian laws are creating too many specific restrictions on Web users by challenging their anonymity and promoting self-censorship,” read the report.( Lee, Y 2010) South Koreans are forbidden to access North Korean home pages on the World Wide Web. We meet all the people with internet access from all around world, but none of them from North Korea because we both alike have the world’s most draconian internet censorships.

Moreover, South Korea has such as diverse arrange of lists that have to be blocked. Before the 2002 World Cup, anti-military website was ordered to be closed down, and a number of gay and lesbian websites were blocked on based upon “Youth Protection Law”.

 International human rights community sent the letter of protest to the Korean government to revise the Youth Protection Law that designate homosexuality as harmful influence to youth. But the changes have never  happened yet. What about the matter of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or freedom of access to information?

The government’s strengthening of censorship and surveillance were motivated by its attempt to maintain order in a period of social and political unrest. However, the controls on the internet are limited and censorship is never intended to be 100% effective. The Korean government should keep in mind of that they also restrict Korean Youth to access to information on sexual health and sexual orientation.

Moreover, South Korean government’s fear about proliferating false information or homosexual contents on the internet alienates both enthusiastic Web users and potential investors. Their drastic rules for safe internet environment can restrain international websites to enter South Korean market for investment.

I thought that freedom of expressions, access to information and political and social participation are universal rights, but, maybe, it is just fantasy for some countries.

 References

Lee, Y (2010) “South Korea Listed in Internet Censorship Watchlist: Rights Watchdog”  available at http://saberfencer.blogspot.com/2010/03/s-korea-listed-in-internet-censorship.html  May 23 2010

북한의 인터넷-빌 게이츠의 사인을 받은 컴퓨터 천재들 (2010) available at  http://v.daum.net/link/7157272 May 23 2010

Online civic participation and its challenges in South Korea

The penetration of political forums and blogs in South Korea has been seen as positive effects of technology on politics and, in some way, democratic development for citizen participation in political issues. A number of politicians and authorities have opened their homepages and promised the public to use them to listen more voices.

However, the authorities claim that royal political participation online are often deteriorated into emotional and abusive behaviours when online political debates have been taken into the streets by active participants.

Moreover, Dr. Kim argues that “an impersonal and seemingly uncontrolled Internet-based social mobilization that casts the shadow of the effects of unmediated online activity on social and political life.” (Kim Y, 2008)

Internet political forums and blogs have encouraged the citizen to be more interested in political issues and participate to make changes. However when it came to sensitive issues such as U.S.-ROK Free Trade Agreement in 2008, online debates and activities could not function as effectively as they might be.

Some  political activists made invisible online political movement visible by the candlelight vigils on the streets in 2008 and this became main reasons for the government to regulate the internet.

Before the candlelight vigils have become an issue on mainstream media such as newspapers and television, many political discussion websites and blogs failed to listen to the public voices and ignored the public by shutting down their homepages. Politician’s blogs seem to be actively used only in election periods. In this tendency, political activities online have been gradually seen as abusive behaviours by the young and emotional left wing.

It is true that there is a flow of unreliable information online to confuse the readers. But, I believe, most web users have abilities to distinguish, read, post and download right information.

The government says that internet users can be dazed by unreliable information flowing on the internet, but there is no precedent political and social problems caused by completely fake information yet.

It is getting scary to register a website to post political opinions and private thoughts. In this tendency, the government’s explanation to regulate the free flow of information for state safety and protect the possibilities that online debates might be taken into the streets seem not enough.

References

1. Kim, Y (2008) “Digital Populism in South Korea?: Internet Culture and the Trouble with Direct Participation” in KEI’s Academic Paper Series, Vol. 3 , Num. 8.

 2. Chang, W. Y (2005) “online civic participation, and the political empowerment: online media and public opinion formation in Korea” in Media, Culture & Society, Vol. 27, No. 6, pp. 925-935.

Korean Netizens seek “Online asylum”

Google has had a miniscule presence in South Korea since the domestic Web sites such as www.naver.com ,  www.daum.net  and www.nate.com have been key players among Korean Web users.

However, due to the increased internet censorship and surveillance in recent years, many internet users are contemplating “cyber exiles” to foreign Websites.

There are probably not yet a significant number of bloggers and other activate web users moving to foreign websites to threaten the dominance of those key players. However, it is important phenomenon that web activities are suppressed more and more and an increasing number of users is turning their eyes on the web services that allow their speech freedom.

 Google prohibit South Korean users to upload some resources and comments on their website and YouTube requires real name registration of users who want to upload videos. But it only affects on the Korean version of their websites and services, so domestic users still upload videos and post comments on the YouTube other countries-based.

The bloggers and other active web users who are willing to venture out of their habits are mostly active web users, educated and have much of knowledge on the internet and digital technologies.

In addition, the users who move in to foreign websites are people who actively involve the social issues and are able to express and judge the government rationally based on their experience and education.

Some bloggers establish their own sites based on a foreign server; for example, the famous Korean blogger “Chi yong Ahn” established his blog “SECRET OF KOREA” based on the U.S server. His blog is a Korean version of http://wikileaks.org/ dealing with senstive issues around Korean society.

 He mainly posts about anti-government criticism or very rare information about Korean government or Korean giant companies such as Samsung or LG. It has hugely influenced on Korean bloggers and his articles are often mentioned in political discussions.

As an increasing number of bloggers are arrested of anti-government, bloggers , who do not agree with the internet regulation, seek online asylum and move to foreign sites.

After Google decided to bypass local censorship laws in 2009, we have witnessed its following issues between Google and China which ultimately resulted in Chinese government’s prohibition of access Google in China. 

However, in Korea, technologically savvy web users and enthusiastic bloggers are being pushed to Google or other foreign websites. Korean government are losing tech-savvy Internet users who are also the most enthusiastic about the issues of their country.

References

Digital Nation Team (2009) “Free Speech in South Korea — is the Internet a poison or cure?” available at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/blog/2009/04/free-speech-in-south-korea—-is-the-internet-a-poison-or-cure.html  [accessed on 30 April 2010]

S’outh Korean ‘Netizens’ take to the streets’ avalable at http://www.france24.com/en/20080618-south-korea-internet-netizen-demonstration-democracy-broadcasting [accessed on 30 April 2010]

Self-imposed censorship; There is no anonymity in Korean internet.

Self-imposed censorship, There is no anonymity in Korean internet.

Avatar and Nickname substitute for the real users on the net. People enjoy hiding their identity and play and live second life with the character that is either  similar to them or completely different from them. People also comment on sensitive political and social issues freely without revealing themselves online discussion forums. 

I strongly believe that anonymity makes people to express their opinions and complaints online discussion forums more freely. Moreover, user generated contents platforms have been also developed and flourished by internet users who participate actively with their second name and identities.

 However, there is a very unique regulation about real identity in South Korea. If you want to post comments on a website that gets more than 100,000 visitors a day, you must verify your real identity.

It is not only meant to give the host of the website your information but also to make the police to be able to find who you are and where you post whatever contents. 

 Usually users are asked to give verifiable information such as government ID and there is a government ID tracing system to verify whether the given ID is matched with your name. And normally you will be asked to give your mobile number and the website sends the certain number to your mobile and then you have to type the given number when you register to the website.

If someone like foreigners or people who live outside of Korea, well, you are free to be traced by the enforcement officers, but sorry, you are forbidden. You are not permitted to post anything on large websites since Korean government cannot find you to prosecute for anything that bothers people hold the seat of power.

All I have written so far includes much of my subjective understanding of current internet situation in South Korea.  However, it is ture that people on the Net are afraid of anything they post and warn each other of any given contents.

Great!  Korean government might celebrate by themselves for making perfect panopticon in Korean online environment.

S.Korean government says that they are protecting people on the internet from propagationg falsehood.

South Korea has been abuzz with prosecuting bloggers criticizing the government and blocking online discussion forums alleging that the government misconducts on the economy.

Disgracefully, South Korea is one of the very few countries or could be the only one democratic country that prosecutes bloggers and imposes criminal penalties for “propagating falsehood” on the internet.

 The most disgraceful behavior by the Korean government is arresting the financial blogger going by Minerva earlier for spreading “false” rumors of economic collapse.  He made correct financial predictions and proved a severe irritant to South Korean government such as the Korean won’s sharp decline against the American dollar, and heaped scorn on President Lee Myung-bak and his finance minister, Kang Man-soo, for their handling of the economic crisis.

Find more information of Minerva story ->

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jyCa6oHYm8

The goverment claimed that he made a fase prediction; however, we all know, his charged was based on what the relevant government officials think is true or false and usually biased towards whoever has more power.

As a result, the government has faced a long struggle to prove themselves right, but could not find enough evidence to prove what Minerva had done wrong, but succeeded to put him in jail for “Libel”. South Korea government might have known that the Minerva case was not legally punishable, but wanted to silence people by showing how they could be punished if they embarrass the government.

American lawyer, Brendon Carr, said that “The story on Minerva is [that] Korea is a democratic state with certain fascist impulses, the basic complaint is that Korea has a high-handed, undemocratic government.”

 Major newspapers had headlines after Minerva had arrested that “All were deceived by false Nostradamus” since he is a junior college graduate with no professional credentials. Ok, then shame on you “smart people” including the finance minister and Ivy League graduates in Ministry of Finance and Economy and send Minerva at The Economist, Quick.

References

1. Kirk, Donald (2009) “Financial blogger’s arrest tests Korea’s progress on human rights”  [accessed 2 April, 2010] http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2009/0127/p04s02-wosc.html

2. WangKon936 ( 2009) “Minerva, the Unlikely Economic “Prophet”” [accessed 2 April, 2010]  http://www.rjkoehler.com/2009/01/24/minerva-the-unlikely-economic-prophet/