Article from Oh My News:
They’re Ilbe So You’re Not Suprised? Don’t Let It Go Further.
Members of right-wing blog, Ilbe, stage their “Food Binge” strike in front of bereaved families.
Everyone looked normal. One participant looked like a high school student. They stood in front of the bereaved families of the Sewol tragedy, who were staging a hunger strike and demanding a special law, to mock them. Shockingly, Ilbe members were eating kimbap, pizza, and fried chicken in front of people who were on a hunger strike.
On the afternoon of September 6th, the first day of the Chuseok holiday, approximately 100 Ilbe members and university students appeared in Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. To the bereaved families, it was the first major holiday since the Sewol tragedy. They must have been in even more grief than usual. However, Ilbe members did not care about this, and staged their own “bood binge” strike.
Am I overreacting? I couldn’t erase the image of these Ilbe members during the whole Chuseok holiday, of them eating so much chicken. In this image I saw Korea sinking [into the sea.] More than anything else, they made me feel ashamed. Why were they doing this? Have they thought about who they tried to make fun of?
A strike disguised as “patriotism” and for the “public good.”
People like you and I have lost their beloved children. They treated their sons and daughters as themselves and saw them drown in front of their eyes. They were only able to watch, stamping their feet as they painfully saw their [children] become lost. Who could remain calm in this situation?
In front of them, President Park and the government said firmly that the Sewol tragedy was “a traffic accident.” I would like to ask them, what kind of “accident” takes the lives of 300 people? This is such an absurd and unfair death. Isn’t it natural for the bereaved to ask the government to reveal the truth in detail?
However, Ilbe members were different. For them, to eat and to live seemed to be more important than the truth of the Sewol tragedy. Ilbe members were the ones who complained that the Sewol tragedy was dragging down the economy. There was also a message [on Ilbe] saying that the Gwanghwamun Square should be returned to citizens. Ilbe’s food binge strike was disguised as patriotism and for the public good.
Of course, to eat and to live does matter. Without patriotism and things benefiting the public, the government’s community spirit disappears. However, there is a pretext of humanity. For whom is “to eat and to live” if there are no people? What is patriotism and public good if it means stepping on the weak who are shedding their tears?
One article, titled “Ilbe’s food binge strike-immorality and barbarism- and the increasing silence of conservatives,” by Professor Jin-wook Shin from Joongang University, came to the conclusion that Ilbe members acted as if they were conservative leaders. It sounds reasonable since they appeared offline even in the face of all the severe threats made by their opponents. Yet it is suspicious that they are politically mature enough to regard themselves as conservative leaders.
If we neglect to give attention to Ilbe, its members more actively seek recognition.
People are eating pizzas distributed by Ilbe members.
There is an appealing analysis in this article which approached the Ilbe strike from a psychological perspective. Professor of Mental Health, Jun-won Hwang from Gangwon University noted that the Ilbe strike showed their tendency to enjoy both positive and negative attention from the public. It is a distorted need for recognition.
If this analysis is correct, all the severe criticism of Ilbe will only satisfy its own purpose for the strike. Ilbe members who joined the strike are likely to consider themselves a noble and ethical sacrifice.
If this is so, we should completely ignore Ilbe in order to incapacitate it. This is a widely understood method of “how to kill Ilbe bugs” to people who are afraid of Ilbe’s influence. So, is the Ilbe problem solved?
No, it isn’t. The more it is ignored, the worse Ilbe action will get. Keep in mind some key words from the analysis; “leader” and “acceptance.” According to the article, receiving attention from others is of importance to Ilbe members. It doesn’t matter whether it is positive or negative. The point is, Ilbe members would do anything to get any kind of attention at all.
A performance that gets to the core of the issue is thrilling. However, would Ilbe bugs, a humiliating term used to describe Ilbe members, get it? Honestly, I’m worried about them coming back with another vicious and shocking performance for the Sewol families. So, what should we do?
Why is it a shame even though we’re trying to punish Ilbe members for contempt.
There should be way to stop inconsiderate actions by Ilbe bugs. It is to punish them for slander, which is similar to libel (trying to ruin a person’s reputation.) The difference between them is whether or not there is some fact presented. In the case of libel, the facts are important. However, with slander, it is not done to make others aware of some fact, but is done only to show contempt.
I’m not an expert in law, but Ilbe’s strike seems to have all the elements to establish a case of slander. “Slander” means someone speaking “publicly”* in contempt of another. The word “publicly” here means the statements that anyone could become aware of. So people who are watching their performance should understand their behavior as an act of slander.
[*公然-히]
The fact that I, just a random person, felt offended by watching Ilbe’s food binge strike shows circumstantial evidence of the contempt that I explained above. The sense of outrage by the bereaved should be much deeper than what I felt. The food binge strike satisfies the conditions needed for slander. Doing their strike in front of the bereaved gives enough proof that the act was intentional.
It is said that the Sewol Tragedy Council prepared a table in advance for Ilbe members who announced their strike. The committee wanted them to realize what they were really doing while they ate at the tables. We should admire their generosity toward Ilbe members, but we should be more strict in demanding legal responsibility. Ilbe’s immoral provocation wont end if we act with such tolerance.
According to the Constitution, in article 311, the punishment for slander is less than 1 year in prison or a fine not exceeding 2 million won. About 100 people, including Ilbe members and university students from the Youth Liberty Union, took part in the food binge strike this time.
If they were prosecuted and found guilty of slander, they woul have to pay a fine. Since they have been worried about the financial state of Korea, they probably couldn’t be happier to help out. It’s sad to see that the only effective medicine against Ilbe bugs is legal action.
Comments from Nate:
cheo****:
Ilbe members really look like Ilbe, ke ke.
ciel****:
Doing those things doesn’t make them embarrassed?
infi****:
There is a saying that we should hit Ilbe jerks once every three days, hee hee.
cham****:
Was it an Ilbe meeting? They all looked ugly with pimples and glasses so I thought it was the “Glasses, Pimples, and Pigs” club having some chicken and pizza. I’m sorry you got mistaken for Ilbe members, haha.
orth****:
Korea is a democratic country and even Ilbe have free will. Also, it is within one’s rights to display one’s free will so long as it does no harm to others. That said, is there anyone who can say, “I’m an Ilbe member,” to his relatives and colleagues? If not, you know it yourself, and if you do, please shut up.
김명진:
Bastards. They’re expressing themselves in their articles. It’s they who press the “disagree” button and make comments. Damn bugs. They probably love being cursed at. You guys are just the useless trash of society, ugh.
wnal****:
Even his face is so Ilbe-like. Horrible physical appearance and horrible acts as well. Such disgusting trash, tsk tsk.
inth****:
Ilbe bugs think they are attacked because they are conservative. To explain the reason to them is as useless as knocking at a deaf man´s door.
cham****:
To rational Ilbe members. I have a question. Why does every single argument from Ilbe turn out to be a lie? This happens, always, every time. Can you say you’re the rational ones? ke ke. You said Yoon-taek Im [a Korean singer who passed away from cancer] didn’t have cancer, but he died from it. Not to accept your mistake, you guys talked crap about his wife. So gross! Besides, you insisted the president wouldn’t implement Four Rivers Project – but now what? During the election period, you also asserted that there were no part -timers hired by the governemnt writing comments. But then we found out that not only part-timers but even army was put to work manipulating people. ke ke. I’ve just mentioned 3 big things that prove your absurdity. I have a question for you. You know you keep lying, and it was revealed that you were controlled by the Saenuri party. Whatever happened, do you live a life forgetting your past, not thinking about anything? How many times have you been deceived? Is there no learning effect? Which part of your writing is rational? Do you have brains? It is so fun whenever I see you. It is so fun of you to be controlled that easily. If I can borrow your words, LOL, stupid Ilbe bugs!
flow****:
Wow, he really looks like an Ilbe. Idiots, keep doing Ilbe. After watching the video, I understand why you act like idiots.
kyun****:
The journalist who wrote this article said he isn’t an expert in a law. Yes I agree. Whoever wants to can use a plaza for its meeting, if that person registers in advance. Of course, Ilbe members eating all that food in front of the bereaved families make me think of what and why they are doing this. But in this article you mentioned contempt and some phrases regarding Ilbe members as offenders. You should think about this more. This article includes enough clues that you might be sued back..
dcdf****:
Who is worse? A person who ate food in Gwanghwamun, or a group of people who asked him who his parents were? From when has it been banned to eat food in Gwanghwamun?
lsbk****:
Korea is a country where you are cursed at for eating food in a public square.
namm****:
The journalist is too one-sided.
youm****:
ke ke, when a woman passing by Gwanghwamun Square with her coffee, one of the people of the bereaved families said he would cut her legs into pieces. He is a man of justice, right?
Article from Hankook Ilbo:
Eating, Throwing Around Chocolate Bars – Why We Are Worried About Ilbe Taking to the Streets.
Ilbe members are distributing chocolate bars to people asserting that the bereaved staged their hunger strike with chocolate bars.
On September 13th, in front of the statue of King Sejong at Gwanghwamun Square. About 300 people, including members of Ilbe and other conservative groups, distributed chocolate bars to the public, asserting that the bereaved “fasted” while eating chocolate bars and they cheated all the people in Korea. People were shocked to see them, making statements like, “Are they mad? How can they do that only a few meters away from the bereaved?” or, “That is so immature.” Some Ilbe members acted boldly and didn’t hide, even when the press was recording them.
Ilbe members who used to be active only online are now revealing themselves offline. They have uploaded some videos showing off themselves. One was about hitting an Elementary student on the head and running away. [The student was targeted] he was watching ‘Humor Today’, and assumed he was a member of the progressive online community. Or another about ripping posters that criticized government policies. These are recorded and uploaded onto Ilbe’s site, but there had been no group events like the one recently. This event was in Gwanghwamun Square on September 6th, when their “food binge strike” was set up to mock the families of the Sewol tragedy.
Ilbe members has caused many problems online due to irrational articles that attack the homeless, weak,those from the Honam region, women, and label anyone criticizing current policies as jongpuk. These kinds of Ilbe members are showing signs of having evolved into extreme conservatives offline, calling each other “heng-gey”[a slang word that simply means, “active,” presumably on the Ilbe site]. One Ilbe member posted an article saying, “We haven’t been as active as progressives, but I’m impressed that we can show off our Ilbe collective power from now on.”
Experts have analysed that some conservatives hold primary responsibility of causing Ilbe members to frame the Sewol tragedy the wrong way. “As Ilbe members politicize the demands of the bereaved, they go along with the conservative stance of minimizing the government’s role in the tragedy. Ilbe members taken this and come out to mock the bereaved families, victims of the Sewol tragedy. Conservative press and politicians should take a huge responsibility for creating this atmosphere,” said Professor Won-jae Lee, of KAIST’s School of Culture Technology.
[…]
Comments from Daum :
강민님:
Cockroaches are creeping up the farm.
응답하라 1994님:
Ilbe members regard themselves as the hope of Korea. Let’s step on these insane people with our warm attention.
행복한세상님:
This worries me. These base people, lacking any sense of morality laugh at the weak in the [Gwanghwamun] square. Conservative press and political force encourage their behavior. They’re trash..
Beautiful_Tomorrow님:
Get their foreheads tattooed with an Ilbe mark.
린나공주의 집님:
Say something to Abe who spews bullshit about their neighbor!
정인님:
How much crazier can people be? Let’s be honest. There are evil people who give Ilbe members financial support.
지은님:
Otaku might be better than you guys..
헌터님:
And the regime is just like those Ilbe bugs. The government won’t listen no matter how many times people ask to shut down Ilbe.. fuck!
털밑썸씽님:
Why do they live such lives? Losers.
파커님:
If we leave them alone, even normal people will get contaminated and they will infect others. We should prepare some measure to keep those things from inhabiting our land.
별별별별님:
Losers who gave up on being human.
찌라시는 김무성님:
Why didn’t they say they would give people some pocket money as well? Or the unemployed could come out to eat chicken.
서민1호님:
Are there any hackers who can reveal who they are? I’m wondering whether their parents are also Ilbe bugs or not. That kind of environment would have some major effects.
설란님:
On Saturday passing Gwanghwamun, I was sad, so, so sad.
water님:
Ilbe members are immoral ones so even though they know the truth, they will deny it till the end. I’m sometimes astonished by their bold attitude without questioning anything about how the world goes around. They act as if they know all the wisdom in the world. It seems like they say the world will fail if we don’t listen to them. I’m sure the day when the sword of justice will severely punish them will come soon.
