Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Twitter buzzing over Yeonpyeong
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The news of North Korea’s artillery attack in South Korea’s Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea Tuesday spread fast through social network services such as Twitter.
Kim Ju-ha, MBC anchor and renowned tweeter, conveyed the breaking news and her newsflashes were immediately retweeted among her followers.
She also asked for calm reactions on the attack. “I hope my Twitter friends cope with the incident calmly. Keep your eyes on the news updates and do not hoard necessities. I will keep you posted,” Kim said.
Celebrities, especially those who served in the Marine Corps, paid condolences to the fallen soldiers through Twitter.
Phillip Choi, an actor who was a Marine, said, “Two Marine soldiers died in action. I pray for the repose of their souls, as they gave their lives for the country” on his Twitter account.
However, some tweeters and other microblog users were criticized for their rash attitude toward the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island.
A netizen wrote on her Me2Day account, a Korean social network service, that it was her husband’s 33rd birthday.
“It is his third birthday since we married. Our daughter sang the Happy Birthday song and the Yeonpyeong artillery attack could be a salute from the North Korea,” she wrote. She was attacked for making such a reckless comment.
Other people who laughed at or made a joke of the artillery attack were also reprimanded.
A tweeter said she would rob department stores if war breaks out. “I will flee after stealing shoes and bread,” she said.
Kim Ji-won, 27, an office worker, said though they might not really mean what they said, they should be more careful about talking so flippantly.
“It is a threat to national security and I cannot understand people who make fun during such a serious incident,” Kim said.
By Kwon Mee-yoo
연평도 트위터
북한이 서해 연평도에 발사 소식은 트위터와 같은 소셜네트워크서비스(SNS)를 통해서도 급속히 퍼져나갔다.
트위터에서 유명한 김주하 MBC 앵커도 속보를 전하고 팔로어들을 통해 속보가 리트윗됐다.
또한 김 앵커는 "트윗친구분들이라도 차분하게 대응했으면 합니다. 계속 속보를 주시하고 생필품 사재기등 혼란이 없었으면 합니다. 속보가 파악되면 바로 알리겠습니다." 라고 했다.
해병대 출신의 연예인들은 전사자들에게 애도를 표했다.
해병대 903기 조교출신인 최필립은 24일 새벽 자신의 트위터에 "사랑하는 해병 후임병 두 명이 전사했다. 나라를 위해 목숨을 바친 붉은 명찰, 해병대원의 명복을 빕니다"라고 글을 남겼다.
그에 비해 이 사건에 대해 소셜 네트워크 서비스에 경솔한 태도를 보여 비난을 받은 네티즌들도 있었다.
한 네티즌은 자신의 미투데이에 "오늘은 XX의 서른 세번째 생일입니다. 올해는 딸내미가 생일 축하곡에 박수까지 쳐주네요"라며 "오늘 연평도 폭격은 알고보니 북에서 XX의 생일을 축하해주는 축포인가"라고 글을 남겼다가 비판을 받았다.