Nice English language article from the WaPo about Minerva, the blogger who was arrested by the South Korean government earlier for spreading “false” rumors of economic collapse.
Some choice cuts:
In this education-obsessed country, where academic credentials are often taken as a measure of human value, he was also something of an idiot savant. He had no degree in economics. He had no professional experience in finance. He was not a wealthy investor…
He had been a so-so student who studied communications at a so-so junior college in a backwater town south of Seoul. Thirty-one years old and single, he spent much of his time alone in his room. As his father noted, “He can’t even get a job.” (Emphasis mine)
Wow.
Wanted: Economics blogger who can frighten a top 13 economy’s government to the core and force a massive cyber-manhunt. No experience necessary!
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
There are intelligent people on this planet who do not have college degrees.Really! There are. Some people can reason out things without an “I Love Me” wall. Truly. I can imagine how this ability must grate the living hell out of the diplomaed elite.
Well the competence of many of the locals is sparklingly lacking. Huge number of employees labor to get it right, when a small team could suffice. This guy is a threat to the ‘Korean Way’ of over employment and incompetence. He will be punished.
This is just extraordinary. Anyone can copy and paste from other peoples works and generally slap together an “economic report”. That’s exactly what he did. And now he’s a smart guy worthy of this kind of attention?
I enjoyed the comments at the WaPo:
“So, in South Korea it is illegal to be right?”
“What disgraceful behavior by the Korean government! Let this guy go. He did nothing wrong. Korea’s political and legal communities are demonstrating their immaturity here. Shame!”
Time got to it a day earlier (at least on the Time.com website) and with better experts quoted. Minbyun? Yuck.
I have what I believe to be a sensible rule of thumb for casual readers of international media. Do not preach about events happening in foreign countries if you cannot understand their language well enough to read their most important media publications.
It’ll save us from having to be faced with idiots like R Elgin who enjoy irrelevant second hand comments which do nothing but bolster in some truly pathetic fashion the idea that his foreign existence is in every way superior to that of the natives –these are the natives who for some reason I cannot understand are providing him with a decent job.
Of course, you don’t have to follow the rule, but I think it is very sensible nonetheless.
Korea in Focus’s Podcasts have followed this for a while. I think they cited you, Brendan.
Who exactly did he cut and paste from?
The WaPo journalist is correct in reporting that Lee Myung-bak has done himself no favors by arresting Minerva. I have heard people who were once strong supporters of the President now having strong and openly voiced doubts following the arrest and Pres. Lee.
But the problem does not simply stop there. In the ongoing rush to get the news out without taking time to adequate check facts and do sufficient analysis, the mainstream media have created a news vacuum in this cyber happy market. South Koreans trust what they read on the Internet more than what they read in the newspapers and equally to what they watch on television.
Consequently anonymous bloggers here potentially have greater influence on public opinion. But to reiterate, that is partially because traditional information sources have failed to provide credible, in depth information on topics of critical importance to many news consumers.
Given the anonymous bloggers of last year who whipped the masses into hysteria about the mythical dangers from importing US beef, moderate Koreans are also arguing there needs to be some kind of safeguard against rampaging anonymous cyber opinion leaders. To which I can only suggest that there are probably no practical legal or technical safeguards. Rather, the only practical solution IMHO is for credible news sources to do their jobs better and more professionally.
Meanwhile, we have a situation with Minerva that almost approaches killing the bearer of bad news.
let’s ban cm.
cm is retarded.
I know he is, but what are you?
Per “Tom”s observation
I agree as well, “Doing their jobs better” also would include shedding the undue chaebol influence that gives their reporting a certain bias (and trouble with public credibility) and that is not easily done as described in this thread by Kim Hyejin. The same unhealthy influence can be found in the U.S. media, as well and some have attempted to blame the media in America for failing to do their job as an advocate for the public.
It seems amazing how poor the MSM has become. All the major scandals investigations in the U.S. the last few years have been either initiated, propelled along or reinvigorated by the blogging community.
And it’s not just major scandals. The MSM’s coverage of other important events has become shallow, one-sided and incurious. You have to go online to get the details. Here in Korea the online community is going to become more and more important no matter what they do to Minerva.
Nice quotes Carr…..
I have to agree with Tom, many of my friends are making similar comments (not that they are business leaders or anything) about the intelligence of arresting Minerva. With LMB’s approval on its ever-quickening fall one must wonder what Korea’s political situation is going to look like in a couple of months…..
Dogbertt wins. The thread is over.
minerva’s source.
let’s not have racist lawyers around.
What on Earth is wrong with wjk? I’m like the only guy here who doesn’t reflexively dismiss him, but unless he’s referring to some other lawyers, now I’m a “racist”.
A Korean with honest-to-goodness ability?
A commoner who dared to let the other serfs know what is headed their way?
Minerva is going to be burned at the stake.
#5 Time got to it a day earlier (at least on the Time.com website) and with better experts quoted.
LOL!
Brendon,
It’s on account of you being a whitey, but I’m sure it’s nothing personal or professional.
Oh snap. Brendon Carr quoted in Times Magazine. Congratulations. *My* closest brush with fame came when a comment I put up on NYTimes.com got highlighted as an editor’s pick.
I’m thoroughly jealous.
#22,
Would you give us the citation? Do you mean the little magazine that comes with the NYT Sunday edition, or the LAT Sunday edition (or some other mag)?
I’m honored that you’d even be interested. Not that it would be of particular interest to anybody, unless they are considering Lasik surgery. If you click on below link and go down to comment 216, you will see it. Needless to say, my experience with Lasik wasn’t all that great.
http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2008/03/13/fashion/13SKIN.html?s=4
Or were you perhaps asking for Brendon Carr’s quote? Jeez, I feel like an idiot
That’s funny JW. Anyway Brendon, dogbertt is also a lawyer.
Brendon,
Yes, WJK has admitted that he was speaking of dogbert – so rest easy, sailor – you’re officially not racist.
JW,
Yes, that’s what I’m asking for – our Mr. Carr’s mention in the Times magazine.
LASIK holds absolutely no interest for me. I’d rather blow the money on wine, women and song and keep my eyeglasses.
Morning CactusMcHarris,
Link is below. Slow day at work. I’ll be looking forward some more idle banter today.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1873346,00.html
Is dogbert a racist?
Is it offensive calling someone a racist?
dogbert is a racist. To him, whites invented all the good stuff, and East Asians are just good copy machines.
I may make racist comments, but it’s more of a revelation of real trends, and off this forum, I actually am too chicken to say any of that in public, except to my brother.
I have a public life to protect, and I am sweet as pie in demeanor.
I predict that starting at the end of Q1, the next big collapse will be felt in the personal credit card industry (VISA, MASTERCARD, AMEX). The average credit card debt in the US is approximately $11,000. Just as the sub-prime mortgage crisis was precipitated by an avalanche of homeowners defaulting on their mortgages, there will be a similar effect with credit cards. As credit card interest rates creep toward 20% and unemployment continues to rise due to the ongoing layoffs, more and more people will be defaulting on their payments. Just another causal domino effect produced by a confluence of different factors brought on by the larger crisis.
A rise in credit card defaults will also mean that this recession will be a boon for debt collection agencies. They will shift into high gear and declare open season on credit card consumers. The business model of debt collection agencies push the limits of unscrupulousness within the legal bounds which they operate. They buy thousands of personal debt from credit cards, banks, school loan lenders, etc. They go after possible suspects in a shotgun manner, anybody who is remotely connected to the real debtor in anyway is fair game. For example, if some deadbeat owes $50,000 in unpaid student loans for Ohio State University, and you have a similar name to that deadbeat, debt collection agencies will contact you. They have no incentive to be accurate on their end. You may be contacted several times via phone and finally be served a claims suit. You only have a certain window of time to jump through all the hoops required to prove your non-liability. If you fail to provide sufficient proof within 30 days a default judgment may be settled against you, whereupon the agency and the court will take measures to have your wages garnished. The debt collectors figure that a certain percentage will fail to provide Answers, other required, documentations, or even show up to the claims court. Some people will even pay the debt, even if it’s not their debt, just to get the claims people off their backs.
You may call me “Athena” from now on…hmmm, what are those black helicopters doing outside my window?
NK,
You are not an economic genius… you are a “cut and paste” nerd…
You are free to think what you will but my dire warnings are based upon real experiences.
I was actually contacted by several debt collectors last fall because there is someone out with a name similar to mine, who owes over $1000 on a Bankfirst Mastercard and over $50,000 in unpaid student loans to Ohio State Univ, which I never attended. If I ever meet this guy, I want to choke him.
As for me being an economic genius…well, it doesn’t really take a genius to put two and two together and figure out that something like what I said might happen. But it is a prediction of sorts…mark my words.
Your flag thingy has red, white and blue… so very little worries if anyone in the government cares what you blog about… hahaha.
You must log in to post a comment.
{ 2 trackbacks }