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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 001354 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KS KN
SUBJECT: WEB PORTALS AID "SMART MOB," STYMIE KOREAN 
GOVERNMENT 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  During the ongoing protests about U.S. 
beef, new means of disseminating information and networking 
internet users created what is being called a "smart mob." 
These new capabilities allowed protestors to use their 
cellphones to instantaneously upload video, pictures, and 
information to the web.  Particularly younger Koreans used 
these online forums to learn about the issues, watch the 
protests, spread rumors and misinformation about government 
policies, and share tactical information about police 
deployments and blockades.  Websites like DAUM Agora, Afreeca 
Broadcasts, and the Naver Portal demonstrated their influence 
in the recent candlelight protests by encouraging mass 
participation and broadcasting from the protest scene.  These 
news sources -- thought by many to be more reliable because 
they are "independent" -- are the primary source of 
information for young Koreans, who are unlikely to read print 
media and tend not to watch television news.  Government 
efforts to hold portals responsible for misinformation are 
still in the formative stages but are already being derided 
as state interference in freedom of the press.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------- 
The Features of New Media 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) New internet capabilities in Korea have enabled a 
new level of interconnectivity and information sharing among 
the Korean youth, in particular.  Through these sites, 
individuals can post reports on blogs and online discussion 
boards and broadcast live events such as the recent 
candlelight vigils.  The influence of the new type of media 
is possible due to widespread public access to high-speed 
internet and the active participation of Korean internet 
users in online activities.  (NOTE: According to OECD 
statistics, 94 percent of Korean households use the internet. 
END NOTE.)  On June 19, for example, within just 30 minutes 
of President Lee's special press conference, more than 2,000 
responses (more than 1 per second) were posted on DAUM Agora, 
the largest online discussion board.  Such prevalent use of 
online media had a significant influence on public criticism 
about President Lee Myung-bak, especially among those in 
their teens to early 30s. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) This user created content (UCC), lacking 
journalistic rigor, reported on supposed flaws in the beef 
negotiations and spread other information about the safety of 
U.S. beef -- some of it fact, but most of it fiction.  These 
users also reported on events as they were happening; the 
reports swiftly circulated through the tens of thousands of 
users who were watching the broadcasts or reading the reports 
from a home computer, internet cafe or cell phone.  This 
ability enabled protesters to evade police and thwart 
blockade attempts, giving rise to the "smart mob" moniker. 
Netizens seemed to unquestioningly accept such information 
and scorned traditional print media, which protesters alleged 
had been co-opted by the government. 
 
---------------------------- 
DAUM Agora: Campaign Starter 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Korea's second largest web portal, Daum, hosts an 
online forum called Agora on which netizens can discuss a 
wide range of topics.  Agora was instrumental in initiating 
the candlelight vigils and the boycott of the mainstream 
daily newspapers for their criticism of the protests and 
support for the beef imports.  Agora users have also posted 
the names and telephone numbers of the firms that buy 
advertising space in the newspapers, encouraging citizens to 
call the firms in protest and start boycotts.  In early July 
the Korea Communication Standards Commission ruled that the 
boycott threats were illegal, and Daum started removing 
postings promoting such boycott campaigns.  Subsequently, on 
July 7, Daum announced that it would no longer host content 
from Korea's three largest newspapers, which have accused the 
portal of routinely editing news stories and making value 
judgments about content. 
 
 
SEOUL 00001354  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Agora's appeal stems from its real-time 
capabilities, a large audience, and policy focus.  During the 
weekly broadcast of a political affairs television show 
called the "100 Minute Discussion," Agora simultaneously 
hosts an online discussion with Korean citizens voicing 
opinions and commenting on the actual program.  The most 
heated discussions in recent weeks centered on the beef 
imports, candlelight protests, and criticisms of Lee 
Myung-bak.  In the past months, Agora's content has become 
increasingly emotional, and postings that attempt to support 
Lee Myung-bak, the mainstream print media, or abandonment of 
renegotiation demands receive open contempt and abusive 
language.  Metrix, an online survey agency, conducted an 
analysis of all messages posted on Agora from April 1, 2008 
until June 18, 2008.  They found that 71 percent of all 
articles posted on the site were written by 10 percent of 
users.  Further, of the top ten users, who are responsible 
for over 21,000 posts, seven are anti-government.  These 
findings seem to imply that rather than a mass, collective 
opinion, the site is dominated by a few. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Afreeca: Live Candlelight Vigils 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Afreeca is an online television portal through 
which users can view programs that are broadcast live by 
video jockeys (VJs).  Broadcasts vary from Premier League 
Soccer, animation, movies, and music depending on the tastes 
of the broadcaster.  Afreeca played a prominent role in 
broadcasting and advertising the mass candlelight vigils; 
dozens of VJs broadcast the protests live from the scene 
using their cell phones.  From May 25 to June 1, as many as 4 
million people watched the protests on Afreeca with 1.2 
million views on June 1 alone.  The numbers are likely to 
have skyrocketed during early June when the protests reached 
their height.  Its appeal is derived from the on-the-scene 
feature, unlimited access, and lack of censorship. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The live broadcasts are a means for two-way 
communication -- users can type their opinions in the 
chatting window while watching the reports, and broadcasters 
are then able to focus their reports on what the viewers 
want.  Thus, Afreeca has become an interactive broadcast 
between viewers and reporters, a capability that is 
impossible for most television media.  There is no censorship 
of the site, enabling the spread of false information.  On 
May 7, it was discovered that users were posting old footage 
of riots and police action and passing it off as images of 
the current protest.  Afreeca is considered to be free from 
any ideology -- broadcasters report the scene as neutral 
citizen reporters -- but its open and unrestricted user base 
combined with a complete lack of editorial intervention 
enable participants to advance their own social agendas. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Naver: "Dinosaur Portal," Main Source of News 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Naver is the largest Korean internet portal which 
boasts 16 million daily visitors (about 30 percent of the 
population) and an internet-search market share of 
approximately 70 percent.  More than 60 percent of Korean 
internet users select Naver as their home page.  Naver 
provides news reports from various media including the 
conservative mainstream newspapers as well as the more 
liberal Oh My News, Hankyoreh, and Kyunghyang, which support 
the protests and criticize the negotiations.  People could 
compare stories from different media through Naver's grouping 
of articles on hot issues.  Until recently, Naver had the 
ability to position news articles, control their size, and 
change the headings to fit the webpage.  The portal announced 
on July 1, however, that it would stop editing articles 
posted on its main page and leave the news selection to the 
media. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Naver does not provide an open forum to discuss 
controversial issues and has come under criticism in the past 
 
SEOUL 00001354  003 OF 003 
 
 
two months for excluding candlelight vigil reports from its 
news page until early June.  Consequently, Naver has lost 
much of its user base and popularity to Daum Agora.  Naver is 
seeking to create an open portal option for the website by 
the end of this year to address the complaints. 
 
------------------------------- 
Direct Democracy, "Videocracy?" 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Some pundits predicted that these new portals 
would create the possibility of a direct democracy, or a 
"videocracy," that would complement the current "indirect" 
democracy.  The rise of this new media has brought 
politically aloof citizens to discussion boards.  A professor 
at Sung Kyung Kwan University, Sung Dong-kyu claimed, "the 
rise of (these portals) widened the scale of democracy -- 
anyone can participate -- and the strengthened social network 
produces new social agendas."  This mass media is completely 
open to abuse, however.  Unverified reports and rumors are 
easily spread.  False reports of police rapes and murders 
appeared on these sites and government officials seem to be 
unsure of how to squelch this kind of reporting.  The 
National Police Agency is in the process of creating an 
"internet monitoring team" in charge of watching public 
opinion online and setting false rumors straight.  The ROKG 
has also taken steps to strengthen the "real-name use 
system," to discourage users from hiding behind aliases when 
posting rumors.  The ROKG has already come under heavy 
criticism for this involvement in the "free" media.  Claims 
of government suppression and infiltration of the sites are 
creating huge backlash and hampering the already limited 
action. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The degree of Korea's interconnectivity combined 
with a significant level of public distrust in both the 
government and in mainstream, generally conservative news 
sources combined to create an internet maelstrom that incited 
and fueled the protests against U.S. beef.  Even more 
disturbing than the administration's inability to manage its 
public image is the significant portion of the Korean 
population who believed these online stories without 
questioning origin, motivation, or veracity.  Though the 
protests have ebbed, the challenge has just begun for the Lee 
Administration, which now has to find a way to reduce the 
influence of this "smart mob" without trampling on the right 
of free speech. 
 
¶12.  (U) This report was drafted by POL Summer Intern Jin-kyu 
Lee. 
VERSHBOW