Group action power, positive? Negative?

Group action, positive or negative...

The lost phone story from Shirky's book was very impressive.

The story showed a power of group action in social network.

I know a couple of similar stories that happened in Korea.

Such stories were recognized as problematic social issues.

Here is the story.

A woman guest in a Korean TV program mentioned,

"All men who are shorter than 180cm are losers."

I still remember what happened at that night in the Internet.

Every men Internet users got into rage. I was, too. My height is 176cm.

At that night, many Internet communities focused on who she was.

Unfortunately, Korea is too small, and smaller than FL. 

It was too easy to find her everything.

She was a university student in Korea.

Many Internet users found her name, her school, her address, what she have done before, and share the information all about her with many Internet communities.

Some Internet users, who go to the same university with her, share some stories about her with others.

She was branded as all men's enemy.

I remember that the story happended a couple of years ago.

But still most of Korean Interent users never forget her.

She branded most of Korean men as 'losers'.

And most Korean men branded her as 'enemy of men'.

Very fortunately,

I found a English article about the story in Korean Herald.

If you are interested in the story, please read this link.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20091113000032

A college student is in hot water as her "short men are losers" statement on a local television show is spreading all over the internet community.
Lee Do-kyung, a Hongik University student, appeared on a popular KBS TV show "Misuda," or "Chatting with Beauties" on Monday and said, "I don`t like short men. Height is competitiveness these days, and I think short men are losers. Men should at least be 180 cm tall."
Hurt and angry, Korean internet users began to criticize her online immediately, and decided to take another step: "googling" her.
Before noon the next day, all her personal information including her homepage address, graduation photos, and her frequently used internet ID were posted on numerous websites.

Internet users tracked down the trails of her internet ID. Her past activities online such as the questions she posted on her university`s website about scholarships, the ones she posted on luxury brand shopping websites and plastic surgery websites were all quickly disclosed.
Internet users made a caricature of her words by creating parodied photos. For instance, "Who is Lee Do-kyung?" is written on top of a poster of the movie "The Lord of the Rings" where hobbits pose holding swords, and also on top of a portrait of Napoleon.
Some even wrote that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who happens to be short, got furious about Lee`s "loser" statement and ordered Tuesdays` naval clash between the two Koreas.
New words appeared as well, such as "Tom Closer," "Loserleon," or "Wayne Loser," each referring to Tom Cruise, Napoleon and Wayne Rooney, celebrities or historical figures who are shorter than 180 cm.
language="JavaScript"src="/khjs/banner/article_340.js">
Later on the same day, Lee`s every action started to be broadcast live over the internet. Students at her university seemed to be keeping a close eye on her as websites were flooded with anonymous eye witness accounts on Lee. Anonymous rumors about her and even comments about the situation from some self-claimed friends of hers quickly spread online.
As the situation seemed to be getting serious, some internet users started reflecting on their own behavior, saying that they do not have the right to do surveillance on other people, and that they should stop.
"Internet users themselves are feeling burdened as the situation becomes uncontrollable," said Jeong Hyun-min, a researcher at the National Information Society Agency.
Meanwhile, a weird consequence of her comments is that some celebrities were suddenly praised on the internet for their past comments about men`s height. Attention is especially focused on Hyun-ah, a member of the girl group "Four Minute," whose recent appearance on a radio show where she talked about her ideal boyfriend is spreading online.
"I hope he is shorter than 173 cm. About 170 cm would be great," she said.


(claire@heraldcorp.com)



By Park Min-young