
Korean Star’s Suicide Reignites Debate on Web Regulation - robg
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/technology/internet/13suicide.html?ref=media
======
neoxr
Korea has something equivalent to the social security number called "Ju Min
Deung Rok Jung Bun Ho", which literally means resident registered proof
number. You need a valid number to register to any site.

Internet has been the medium for the Korean people to quickly organize
protests against the government and the place where all rumors regarding
celebrities start. The Korean government simple wants to have people reliable
for the comments they make on the internet as well as find those people who
organize protests. The government or the current president probably wants the
latter while using the former as a strong case to do so.

[btw, I don't think Korean people glorify suicides as the Japanese do; I'm a
Korean and at least the people around me and I do not think suicide is
something to be glorified.]

------
fallentimes
Because countries should always let the exception dictate the rules.

Ugh.

------
KirinDave
It seems a little misguided to try and regulate the internet, since it's
inherently an international entity. Even China, who's willing to sink a _lot_
of money and resources into the problem, is having a lot of trouble with it.

It also seems like the easy way out for South Korea. The real problem they're
grappling is a long-standing cultural problem in which suicide and suicide
pacts are glorified. Trying to come to grips with this and deal with it is a
heck of a lot harder than blaming popular media and the internet.

~~~
mnemonik
The reason China's censorship works so well is not because it is so hard to
bypass, its because the general populace doesn't understand or wants to take
the time to understand how to bypass it.

Imagine if FOX was your only news source just because you had to go out of
your way to get a black box and steal your neighbor's cable. (Maybe that's
stretching it a little, but you get my point.)

~~~
KirinDave
I don't agree with this statement at all. China has a lot of highly educated
(and in practice, unemployed) young people. Many of them are in IT. In my
opinion, it's ludicrous to think that large numbers of people don't circumvent
the great firewall routinely (perhaps even for simple privacy issues devoid of
any seditious intent).

Look at America. Lots of people use privacy-enhancing technology, even in
illegal contexts, without really understanding it or the issues that surround
it.

~~~
gojomo
Those people who are skilled enough to circumvent the censorship also know
they could be summarily punished for doing so.

That is, the firewall/censorship is not designed to be unbreakable, but just
to send a message: when you go around this, you are now breaking our rules,
and we can get you at our option. This is effective enough to induce people to
limit their curiousity. See for example James Fallows, who lives in China and
is not just speculating on what's 'ludicrous to think':

"'The Connection Has Been Reset' - China’s Great Firewall is crude, slapdash,
and surprisingly easy to breach. Here’s why it’s so effective anyway."

<http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/chinese-firewall>

The punishment might include "re-education through labor" without any trial,
or disappearing into detention, as with people who simply applied for protest
permits during the recent olympics:

[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/sports/olympics/21protest....](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/sports/olympics/21protest.html?em)

------
djcjr
The "crises" will continue until the web is regulated.

------
mhb
They have social security numbers in South Korea?

~~~
silencio
something very similar to the idea, as neoxr mentions in another comment here.

