By Stacey Fox
Contributing Writer
The Internet has been ablaze with arguments and counter claims by members of both the expat community and Korean netizens of injustices perpetrated by one side against the other.
From claims of sexual abuse to minors, to death threats against English teacher union organizers, the anonymity of the Internet stands head and shoulders above any medium as the gossip mongering weapon of choice.
A great many accusations leveled at intended targets appear to be based on hearsay, rumor and stereotyping, brought in part by ignorance and, in some cases, people with too much time on their hands.
The growth of foreign blogs in Korea is a warning that with the rise in angry postings on both side of the racial divide, one could start to see this conflict take place at street level.
Korea has always been considered a safe country, with the exception of the nuclear threat north of the 38th parallel.
The streets of Seoul, especially have always been considered safe for foreigners.
With this in mind, the foreign community was stunned by allegations of the attempted rape of a woman on her way home from Itaewon to Haebangchon a few weeks ago.
The story, circulated by her brother on the Internet, states that the woman, name withheld, was dragged into a limousine in the early hours of the morning on a weekend, by five Korean men who attempted to sexually assault her.
They finally gave up trying to have sex, so instead, resorted to punching her in the face a few times, before throwing her from the moving vehicle.
The incident was reported to police by her sister-in-law, but no arrests have been made.
A major problem is the total absence of any CCTV footage of the incident.
One possible explanation is that it never happened, but how does one explain the injuries the woman sustained.
Another, equally plausible, reason could be that the CCTV cameras are designed to photograph parking violators.
How this system works is very simple and equally easy to fool.
Because these cameras only take about one shot every three seconds, there's a good chance a car could drive past the camera, in full view, and not be snapped.
For lack of proof and vague memory recollections, such accusations could do harm to real victims.
Either way, this finger pointing has got to stop.