.jpg/dims/resize/740/optimize) |
Various Internet clubs reflect users' interest
By Baek Byung-yeul, Park Ji-won, Nam Hyun-woo
Internet communities are thriving, especially in Korea, one of the world's most wired societies, providing esoteric sites for cyberspace chitchats to take place.
In such countless communities, the members define the unique characteristics of each community. In return, an individual's interests, political viewpoints and sometimes character is shown through which communities they frequent.
This leads many Internet users to frequently delete their website-visit history to protect their privacy, knowing that the sort of online activities someone engages in has become an effective tool for understanding an individual's personality.
In a survey on 500 Korean university students by UnivTomorrow Research Laboratory for the Twenties, half the respondents said they regularly visit online communities.
Some 70 percent of them said they have heard of Nate Pann (pan.nate.com), followed by Ilbe (ilbe.com), DC Inside (dcinside.com), Today's Humor (todayhumor.co.kr) and others.
With their influence online, the communities frequently present their existence offline. Postings at Nate Pann, which is filled with writings mostly about fun things and trivial stories, often suggest a raw topic for a news article. Ilbe and Today's Humor have exerted their influence through a series of fusses in society.
It would be premature to proclaim that knowing what kind of online community a person frequently visits is required in judging the person, but it could be fun to compare the person's online and offline activities — whether they follow the community's characteristics, or completely separate their time on and off the computer.
Ilbe & Today's Humor at forefront of controversy
Ilbe and Today's Humor are at the forefront of online communities that reflect their members' preferences and political inclinations.
The communities originally started as trolling sites such as 9gag.com in the United States. As they coined insider-terms and bonded, Ilbe has become crowded with members claiming they are ultra-rightwing conservatives, while Today's Humor is filled with postings containing liberal ideas.
Among communities, those who have caused the most controversy are at Ilbe. From insulting the victims of Japan's sex slavery during World War II as "prostitutes," to lauding Korea's autocratic leaders, they troll with whatever they deem as conservative. The members of Today's Humor are relatively "moderate" compared to Ilbe.
Last year, one of its members faced lawsuits for posting racial slurs and other insults abusing Hwang Min-u, an 8-year-boy born to a Korean father and a Vietnamese mother who leapt to stardom after appearing in Psy's "Gangnam Style" music video.
Another member was accused of posting photos of himself doing obscene acts to a real-sized signboard of girl group Miss A member, Suzy.
Due to such provocative activities, there is tacit hostility against Ilbe members and most of them don't want to show that they belong to the community. Some members even coined a term "Ilmingout," which refers to letting others know that you are an Ilbe member, or "coming out of the closet of Ilbe."
Since Ilbe and Today's Humor hide the number of their members, it is uncertain how many are registered with the communities. It is estimated that around 300,000 have usernames in Ilbe and a similar number of people are registered with Today's Humor.
According to data provided by Rankey.com, an online market research site, an average of 695,580 Internet users visited Ilbe a week in April last year.
MLB Park and ‘I love soccer' — sports fans' spot
MLB Park (mlbpark.donga.com) is another crowded Internet community in Korea.
As the name of this community indicates, MLB Park is a place for baseball fans who especially love American baseball. It was launched in March 2001 as a unit of the Dong-A Ilbo, one of country's major conservative newspapers.
According to data from Rankey.com, MLB Park receives an average of about five million hits each month.
Visitors of MLB Park chat with each other and the content of their dialogue varies, ranging from discussions about American and Korean baseball to sharing everything about their lives.
Though it is a place for "guy talk," the bulletin boards are sometimes heated with political arguments.
Despite the fact that MLB Park is powered by a conservative media company, its visitors mostly have leftist-leaning political tendencies. Some leftist lawmakers, including Rep. Moon Jae-in who ran for president in the 2012 on the ticket of the main opposition Democratic Party, have consistently posted writings seeking support.
"I love soccer" (cafe.daum.net/WorldcupLove) is one of the largest and oldest communities in Korea for people crazed about the sport. From 2002, more than 1.2 million Internet users have been registered to the community and they share various kinds of information, including highlight clips or photos, match previews and other information.
Unlike MLB Park, however, "I love soccer" confines its members to posting only about the sport. Due to that policy, it is considered as a neutral community among ideology-stricken online communities.
Soul Dresser, Hwajangbal — off-limits to men
There are three famous and active Internet clubs mostly visited by young female users; Hwajangbal, Soul Dresser and Sanhwacha Cocoa.
Hwajangbal, which has some 312,900 members, mainly deals with cosmetic and beauty information, while postings written by 131,200 members about fashion information flood Soul Dresser. Some 124,400 members of Sanhwacha Cocoa share cosmetic surgery information.
The proportion of female and male members in such communities is not certain. However, it is likely most members are female, according to polls asking members' their gender.
Basically, the three club's members usually upload postings relevant to each community's themes and celebrity issues, as well as trivial stories — just like a bunch of girls chattering with friends.
Unlike other communities, postings on the three communities are written with the assumption that all users are women. So, their content is usually about topics that resonate with women.
When it comes to topics related to sex, postings are written from the viewpoint of women, which are rarely seen in male-dominated cyberspace.
These communities are also known for their active engagement with the real world, when issues of interest crop up.
Last year, members of the communities staged a series of rallies to voice their opinions on issues such as the National Intelligence Service's alleged doctoring of Internet comments about the presidential election. They raised funds in 2012 to support villagers at Gangjeong, Jeju Island, who have protested against the construction of a naval base in the region.
"I am proud of being a member of the community because it opened my eyes to social issues that we should face. Those are things that I would never know if I wasn't on the community," said a member of Soul Dresser.
Delete my footage
Park, 24, an active member of Ilbe living in eastern Seoul, told his close friends that he accesses Ilbe just for fun. However, because he shares a computer with his family, he erases his Internet log after visiting Ilbe.
"After the community was covered by news reports in a critical way, I have to erase my access log every time because my parents may worry that I am on Ilbe," he said.
He said a student at his college, surnamed Kim, 24, became a subject of bullying after he posted his photo on Ilbe, as part of "authentication" to other Ilbe members that he was a university student. The photo was discovered by one of his acquaintances at school, and the fact that Kim is an Ilbe member went viral.
Jang Yoo-han, 27, agrees with Park's habitual record-erasing. He confessed that he once visited a website containing explicit materials and his girlfriend found out because of the Internet log he forgot to delete. "Though there is nothing special in my Internet log these days, it feels much more comfortable to let others use my computer," he said.
IT experts recommend that people erase their Internet using-records occasionally, especially after using a computer to which others have access.
"Amid recent information-theft cases, it is never redundant to highlight the importance of deleting your records, since they not only contain the list of websites you visit but also your username and even password in certain web atmospheres. They can be a clue to hackers looking for your personal information," an industry insider said.
