SEOUL, KOREA - Each year, Korea Internet Security Agency (KISA) issues a white paper on Korea’s Internet environment, available both in Korean and English. The 500 page–long white paper covers a variety of Internet-related information ranging from important statistical data on Korea’s Internet environment, Internet infrastructures, Internet technologies and Internet services to businesses, social trends and relevant Internet laws, so the white paper is very useful as a reference book for those interested in the Internet. The e-book version of the white paper is available for free on the official website of Korea Internet Security Agency (KISA). According to the 2010 white paper’s statistical data, the number of Korea’s high speed Internet subscribers surpassed 1.6 million and the number of Internet users over age 7 reached 3.6 million. In addition, one out of every preschool-age (3-5 years old) was using the Internet while over 99 % of the students at elementary, middle and high schools were Internet users. Let’s look into other statistical data to understand the Internet as a new form of media.
The circulation of printed newspapers tumbled from 70% to the 30% range over the past couple of years. On the contrary, the rate of Internet usage doubled from 40% to 80% in Korea. Surveys showed that Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) (Korea’s biggest radio and television network founded in 1927) topped the list of the most influential Korean media brands, followed by MBC (Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, one of four major national South Korean television and radio networks) and Naver (one of Korea’s popular search portals). However, in the under 30 age group, Naver ranked first, KBS second and MBC third. Furthermore, though the ranking order of the most credible Korean media brands was KBS (first), MBC (second) and Naver (third), the order changed to Naver (first), MBC (second) and KBS (third) in the under 30 age group. As for the most frequently used news media, the younger the respondents were, the more often they get online to get latest news reports. Almost 90% of the 20-something respondents hit the Internet to keep abreast with latest news reports. Recently, the high penetration of smartphones has spurred up young people’s dependence on the Internet as a source of news reports. As such a trend is expected to continue generation after generation, there is no denying the Internet will gain ground as the most powerful medium that affects our daily lives just like TV.
The basic functions of the traditional media include news coverage, the formation and delivery of public opinions, surveillance of social environments, the provision of entertainment and playing the role of an impartial opinion deliverer. The functions of the Internet as one of media are no different. However, traditional mass media and the Internet have a few differences, which we need to understand to shun the adverse effects of the Internet and to become unbiased media participants or users. Basically speaking, traditional mass media, namely printed newspapers and broadcasters, can be deemed as elite communities. Existing mass media producers are those who went through a long period of education and training and a certain amount of capital is required to run a medium.
Traditional media has a function called “gate keeping” to prevent the quality of messages lowering due to self-righteousness and errors, which are the byproducts of traditional media’s one-way communication structure. Gate Keeping makes messages go through a series of filtering systems before official publishing to maintain fairness and prevent any damage to individuals and the nation. Though such self-screening procedures are not perfect, they are traditional media’s utmost efforts to minimize the drawbacks of its unilateral communication method. On the other hand, one-person media such as blogs, online discussion cafes, and individual online rooms can be taken part in by anyone with Internet connections and they are run on a real-time and horizontal basis. Thus, such an online environment gets the credit for taking participatory democracy to new heights. Yet, the Internet cannot put the gate keeping function in place.
Besides, online anonymity inundates the Internet with irresponsible messages and the absence of discussion mediators can allow a few ill minded people to drive public opinions in the wrong direction. That’s why the issue of Internet ethics has emerged. Newspapers, representative of traditional media, were also once labeled as “yellow journalism” owing to their excessive commercialism and sensationalism: they presented little, well-researched news and instead used tabloid-style headlines to sell more newspapers. Then, media ethics were introduced to fix things right. Korea also has put in place media ethics principles and the outline of practicing media ethics to encourage voluntary efforts from traditional mass media.
However, the Internet, an individual-based communication medium, has neither gate keeping function nor ethics principles. Netiquette (short for "network etiquette") was created and is being embraced by many, but it does not fully reflect the characteristics of the Internet as a form of media. Though establishing Internet ethics rules is very important, it gets little attention and few studies have been conducted on this issue. As a result, possible online-versions of gate keepers have yet to be contemplated, which is truly unfortunate.
The essence of media is to encourage more brisk conversations among people and to carefully listen to what they say. Since the Internet is the best medium to live up to the essence of media, the Internet can be called the ultimate version of mass media. The Internet, which came 300 years after the introduction of daily newspapers and about 150 years after the emergence of the world’s first electric communications’ method “telegraph”, is reinventing itself as a new medium that has the greatest impact on our ways of thinking. Internet ethics aim to turn the Internet world that we are in on a daily basis into a humane space full of warmth and sympathy. Therefore, Internet users, IT experts and eventually all Koreans should pay due attention to Internet ethics and accept them as a new set of necessary manners.
In the US, activities for promoting Internet ethics, which are regarded as part of the environmental movement aimed at handing over a clean Earth to the next generations, enjoy much attention and efforts are being made to make the Internet environment cleaner for generations to come. Unfortunately, worries over the dysfunctions of the Internet do not directly translate into systemic efforts to overcome them in Korea. Making the Internet world more livable for the next generations necessitate continued attention and efforts just like we all agree that strenuous, continuing efforts are required to protect the environment. If the environmental movement is for the good health of our bodies, endeavors for promoting Internet ethics is, as it were, an environmental movement for our healthier mentality.
