These days, there are many Internet Websites that netizens, including students, use to exchange information and thoughts. There is one Internet community, however, that is in the hot seat these days. The site is called Ilgan Best Jujangso (a site collecting each day’s best posts), abbreviated as ILBE. Ilbe was originally just a Website derived from the giant Web service DC Inside. The site was used to collect the best posts from DC’s small clubs called galleries each day. The users, however, started making their own contents and trends and they gradually formed Ilbe as it is now.

 

ST found out Ilbe’s main interest. ST investigated by looking through 70 new posts on their free board. According to ST’s study, Ilbe’s most popular contents are as follows. Mainly, there are four topics that are mostly talked about: satirical posts concerning politics, particularly former presidents; posts with random information for daily living; posts sharing their hatred of Korean women; and posts showing attempts to bond with other Ilbe users.

 

Ilbe has been raising a lot of issues concerning the four topics that their users mainly talk about. First, Ilbe has been consistently in the news for belittling the former presidents and other politicians. In May this year, one Ilbe user was accused of putting a Photoshopped picture on computer screens in public spaces, a photo that makes fun of the late President Roh Moo-hyun. Second, Ilbe was accused of spreading information on how to carry out certain wrongful deeds, such as information on how to rape women and get away with it, and how to download underage porn. Third, word spread across the Internet that Ilbe has been showing extreme hatred of women, especially of Korean women. They were denounced for critically calling Korean women “kimchinyun”(low-class women) and “bosuel”(women who abuse their privileges as women). Aside from this, Ilbe caused many other mischiefs: putting up a post about a celeb that’s sexually harassing, and getting sued for it; destroying public property; etc.

 

Due to these occurrences, Ilbe has been accused of many wrongdoings by the public. As the public consider Ilbe users serious sinners, most Ilbe users try to hide their identities. A few months ago, a lecturer at Soongsil revealed that he was an Ilbe user. He even encouraged the Soongsilian Ilbe users to do the same thing. This incident made Ilbe infamous in the Soongsil campus. ST conducted anonymous interviews of two Soongsilians, one a non-Ilbe user and the other an Ilbe user. 

 

 

 

 

The interviewees showed opposite views with regard to Ilbe. Most of the research previously conducted by the press, like Kyunghyangshinmun, revealed that many netizens, including the Soongsilians, see Ilbe in two different lights. One group sees Ilbe as an improper and seditious community while the other sees it as a straightforward community that fits our society, where there is freedom of speech. The reason for their opposing thoughts regarding Ilbe is that this controversial Internet community has both bad and good sides.

 

Ilbe’s adverse effect is that it might break the social order. As in the social occurrences mentioned earlier, Ilbe’s topics, like misogyny and regionalism, can’t be justified in our society. Also, as the posts on Ilbe’s board do not need any certification of name or age, it’s easy for youngsters aged 10 to 20 to freely browse through the site, and this might cause problems. The young users might unquestioningly take in all the information they will find in the Ilbe Website. Ilbe might expose the young users to the forthright, non-filtered, and sometimes immoral statements of the other Ilbe users, and this might teach the young users wrong things.

What’s right about Ilbe, on the other hand, is that despite its potentially ill effects, it is still a way of communication. Especially for the conservatives, before Ilbe, there was no decent Website that allowed their voices to be heard. As the site does not suppress their freedom of speech in any way, they enjoy their freedom, loosen up, and speak out the thoughts they previously had to hide from the public eye. At least, that’s what the Ilbe users are promoting. Also, they can express their unique sense of humor, particularly that with political color. They say that by using humorous codes, they can make young men more interested in politics.

 

Ilbe’s good functions may justify its continued existence despite the mischief it has caused. It can serve as a community that protects the South Koreans’ freedom of speech, and can serve as a political agora. As for now, though, Ilbe does not seem to be achieving what it should. The reason for this is that it is causing more trouble in our society than it is doing good. It will be wrong logic to say that its good features justify all its wrongdoings. Ilbe’s acts of making fun of deceased people and discriminating or sexually ridiculing others are considered crimes in our community. The Ilbe users say that formality is only a barrier to open-mindedness, but most of us will say that they have to at least obey the very basic rules in human relationships. Ilbe’s goal or its very existence can’t be considered evil, but it really isn’t the kind of Internet community that the people behind it want it to be: a free chit-chat space where everyone can speak out his or her thoughts. It is too anti-social and offensive. If Ilbe wants to get rid of its bad image and wants to pose as the guardian of the South Koreans’ freedom of speech and to promote liberal democracy, the Ilbe users definitely have to change. If the users work hard to purify their community and to be more socially positive, then maybe Ilbe will be seen as a good Website by netizens.