By J.R. Breen
Contributing Writer
When Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Ramstad came under attack last week from the Ministry of Finance and Strategy, the incident was reported widely in the Korean media, but the real discussion took place on popular English-language blog, the Marmot's Hole.
The blog entry by Robert Koehler, the man behind the blog -- "Oh Those Lazy, Ignorant, Racist Foreign Correspondents..." -- posted last Tuesday, prompted a number of people to respond and has attracted 278 comments.
The incident occurred last Monday, after Ramstad asked Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun about "room salon" culture at a press conference held by the ministry for foreign press. Ramstad then swore at a ministry spokesman who criticized him for asking the question.
Koehler posted a blog entry about the event which soon had comments from a former Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club president, Ramstad and the ministry spokesman in question, Kim Young-min.
As commentators gave their views, the quality of discussion took a real life turn when the protagonists themselves posted their own explanations.
Despite the quality of commentary on Koehler's blog, one aspect holding it back as a legitimate place for discussion is that few of those who comment identify themselves by their real name.
Ramstad initially made a comment to explain himself, followed by Kim who stated he was presenting the "ministry's opinion."
"Although we believe that Ramstad's questions to the finance minister were inappropriate considering the occasion, we also acknowledge the fact that it was within his right as a journalist to ask any question he sees fit," Kim said.
"However, Ramstad's actions following the press conference at the entrance of the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club building were not only inappropriate, but also unprofessional to say the least. During a dispute over whether his questions were appropriate or not, he shouted profanities at the spokesman of the ministry."
Ramstad followed with a second comment defending himself.
"I apologized in an email a short time later (after the incident). Today, this effort at conciliation was used against me," read Ramstad's comment. "I am still embarrassed."
"Kim and his colleagues are PR (public relations) people doing their job, which is to make the ministry look good, the minister look good and promote the Korean economy," he continued. "As I told him in my email of apology yesterday, it's my right to ask hard questions and it's their right to say whatever they want about me. That's what freedom of speech is."
The blog, established in 2003, has since become one of the most widely read English-language, expatriate blogs on Korea -- regularly attracting an average of around 4,000 visitors every day.
Whereas in the past such disputes may have been publicly debated via letters-to-the-editor or in editorial sections of newspapers, this event suggests that blogs are becoming increasingly more important and taken more seriously as a public forum.
The ministry has since ceased sending press releases to Ramstad, and sent a letter of complaint to the paper's head office in New York.