Blogspot and Typepad blogs are still blocked in Korea. Frankly, I thought this issue would have been resolved by now, but it seems the boys and girls over at the Ministry of Information and Communications have their heads further up their asses than I initially thought. For a nation that prides itself on its Internet culture, this is more than a bit ridiculous. They’ve had two weeks to figure out the problem here, and nothing has been resolved. There are a couple of petitions going round — one posted by Joel of About Joel and another by Ed of Gumbi & Marley. I’m not sure how much time those petitions have, so if you’re going to sign, sign quickly — I’ve linked them at the top of my sidebar on the right. Kevin at the Big Ho has, for all intents and purposes, turned his blog into one big anti-censorship site, so take a look at it. And Blinger has been doing quite a bit work with the censorship issue
Just got an email from some bloggers considering submitting an appeal to the Constitutional Court. At this point, I’m not sure if that would be such a great idea, frankly. Aside from the fact the court is currently dealing with the capital relocation issue, it would seem a better approach to get a group together and actually pay the MIC a visit. I’ve called them, and I know at least one other blogger has, but it’s one thing to talk on the phone with the guys, and another to actually talk face-to-face with them. Perhaps show them what the issue is. Will this help? I don’t know. Probably not — bureaucrats are bureaucrats. But it would seem to make sense to talk with the guys at MIC first to see if a) they even understand what is happening; and b) whether they can restore access to the blogs before going to the courts. It might be better to get a couple of guys together, though, rather than just have one guy waltz in (although I shudder to imagine how a Korean bureaucrat would take being confronted, even politely, by a gaggle of foreigners).
Anyway, if you got ideas, let me know.
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I think that’s a great idea. I’d love to go, but unfortunately I live in Ulsan, so getting to Seoul is impossible unless the MIC is one of the organizations that still have Saturday hours. Perhaps you should try to make an appointment before going? That way they know to be expecting you and you know the applicable person will be there. On the other hand, perhaps the shock value of having a group of foreigners walk in is better. Regardless of how you do that part, you should probably notify the press, and if the MIC isn’t responsive to the issue, then you could be prepared to do a protest outside their building after you talk with them.
There’s an extensive and interesting article about Chinese bloggers and censorship issues over at Atimes.
Here’s the link.