Cyberbullying: Rampant in Kpop Industry

Cyberlife gives us the chance to be ingenuous. We tend to be frank and straight to the point without fear. Since we are  assured that our identity is protected,even if  we reveal your deepest and darkest secrets through the internet, people will never know and people will never care. Yes, the anonymity of cyber life is a great advantage. We can share our thoughts and opinions openly without fearing of being judged or contradicted; but just because internet gives us the privilege to conceal our identity and to allow ourselves to openly make comments, it doesn’t give us the right to insult, to demoralized, to threaten or to offend other netizens just because we are displeased by them.

There is what we call Cyber-bullying. It  involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.

Most people never run out of anything bad to say. They could make a paragraph of insults but could not even post a single polite and kind word. Some of us may think that it is okay for us to post hateful comments on a person’s account or comment box or to call him bad words because it’s just normal to curse each other.  Maybe, it’s okay to post death threats on the internet–they’re just hollow threats, anyway. Even if we post rude and offensive comments or send hate mails, we really could not do anything to harm that person, not when your butt’s glued on the seat and your eyes are fixated on the screen. Well, yes… You can’t harm a person physically but emotionally, you have left a deeper wound than what a physical injury could inflict.

Did you hear about a Super Junior fan who committed suicide because of receiving hateful comments on her blog?

The reaction of Lee Eun Ji’s suicide is somewhat mixed, demonstrating the complexity of this issue. First of all SM commented “What can we say? We are shocked by this as well.” Personally, I wasn’t surprised by SM’s comment, but they could’ve done more than just say we don’t know what to say. Why couldn’t they dedicate a song to her? Why couldn’t they attend her funeral services? Why didn’t they stop all activities for a day or two in memory of their fan? After all, Lee Eun Ji was SuJu’s fan just like any other die-hard fan and just continuing with their activities as if nothing happened seemed inconsiderate if not obnoxious.

Star King’s producers wrote on their message board that they are heartbroken to see a very bright girl end her life tragically and aired a minute tribute in memory of Lee Eun Ji. And finally Elves (SuJu fans) released a public apology letter apologizing for what they did. I’m glad to see some Elves taking responsibility of their actions, but what angers me most is that Lee Eun Ji’s cyworld post back in May clearly demonstrated that she was suffering from depression, but Elves just continued to torture the poor girl.

Lee Eun Ji mentioned that she went up to her attic several times because she thought that it was better to end her life than to continue with her rigorous diet (she starved herself for three months, drinking only one or two cups of milk daily). She also cried her heart out saying it’s very difficult to deal with all the crap she’s currently going through. Before her weight loss, people treated her like a pig and after her weight-loss people are treating her like a liar (some were accusing her of losing weight via plastic surgery and/or diet pills). Any sensible person would’ve realized that this girl is suffering a lot and that she’s in fragile condition, but Elves ignored her plead and continued to attack her, which apparently pushed Lee Eun Ji over the edge.

I just hope that this isn’t “hey I apologized and my conscience is clear” kind of deal. Instead, I hope that all fans learn the gravity of hateful comments towards celebs and fans to prevent future tragedies like this. Am I asking for too much? (http://popseoul.com)

How about Kang Eun Bi’s suicide attempt? Does that ring a bell to all of you cyberbullies?

She almost lost her life? What if she died? Would you feel guilty about it? Well, maybe not really. You only posted once. But don’t you know  your awful comment creates a ripple effect?

A new effect of cyberbullying is Jaebum’s painstaking adieu.

My dear netiznes, Leader-shi of 2pm, Park Jaebum quit 2pm because he thinks he could not perform in front of the crowd anymore after he embarrassed himself by calling Koreans (his own countrygaymen) gay. In my opinion, what really made Jaebum call quits are netizen’s’harsh suicide polls.  (this isn’t probably the main reason why he quit but this probably contributed to his decision of saying goodbye.) 5000 netizens petitioned for Jaebum’s suicide. (Why? do they hate him that much?) 5,000 sociopaths who should have been put to jail for such inhumane and ominous coup de grace. Why would they do such thing? Why would you wish someone’s death. Even if you really despise this person, would you want to wish for his death and live a guilty life later? They’re lucky Jae is strong… They’re lucky he decides to live on…They’re lucky they got their wishes.

It’s seems unfair that while antis get their deathwish… The fans have to suffer. 2pm has to suffer. Worst, Jaebum has to suffer. Can’t you not see how hard it must’ve been for him now? He is dealing with a lot of dilemmas such as the feeling of dejection for having disappointed Hottests and his members and feeling utterly embarrassed for a stupid act committed in the past.

I wonder when Netizens will learn. Can they not see how much irreparable damaged is inflicted? Some people lost their self-esteem and self-confidence because of cyberbullying… and some even lost their lives. You know if you have nothing better to say, you might as well not post your comments.