RANT RANT RANT RANT

Pann: Idol fans must read) K-Pop fans react to Korean netizens

"K-Pop is receiving popularity overseas but the image of Korea among K-Pop fans is gradually worsening. The reason is none other than because of Korean netizen culture (hateful comments, posts, etc).

There is a site named Netizen Buzz that translates in real time Korean news (from Naver, Nate, Daum, etc) and other famous sites (like Instiz, Nate Pann, etc) along with the comments.

So K-Pop fans read comments left by Korean netizens and many are actually disgusted by the attitude of Korean netizens. This is something that affects the image of Korea and I think a lot of people need to know about it so I'll be posting articles from it once a day.

For an extreme example, here are translated comments from an article about Jiyeon having her hair pulled in Vietnam. Tomorrow will be an article about EXO."

(NB: You can read which comments they chose to translate on the source. The gist of this Pann is that Korean netizens are ruining the image of Korea and that they should clean up their act.)

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1. [+50, -6] This is true, Korean netizens always call out idols for making mistakes and saying they're an embarrassment to the country without realizing that what they're doing is embarrassing the country too.

2. [+37, -4] Human beings are the scariest and I think Korean netizens rank at the top of the most cruel. They're selfish, self-centered people so I doubt the hateful comments will subside. I wish people would have some shame for at least a minute.

3. [+33, -13] Yeah, the comments went too far... I honestly didn't have that positive of an opinion on foreign fans but seeing them speak for justice like this makes me think they're cool. I also didn't care about Jiyeon but seeing her get all this hate makes me like her too.

4. [+15, -1] The owner of Netizen Buzz is a Korean American gyopo female and the site is anti-Korean. The site translates articles from Naver, Nate, Pann, Instiz, Telzone, and even blind items/rumor mills. The site basically discusses Korean netizen comments. The site rarely posts positive articles, mostly negative.. especially ones with hateful comments, and a lot of non-entertainment related news about rape and crime. The site only translates crime news and rumors and I think that's a severe issue. Blind items about celebrities getting abortions, having affairs, etc... Rumors that we would think were ridiculous but gets posted regularly. Popular posts there get hundreds of comments.. one of the bigger sites after allkpop.

5. [+15, -6] Honestly, celebrities get crazy amounts of hate for one mistake but the ones hating on them don't really have any right to... and they say such inhumane things that I'd rather not say out of my own mouth and it's scarier to think that those comments make the best replies. I wish people would stop taking their stress out on bringing others down and relieve it through positive means...

6. [+13, -3] Netizen Buzz is anti-Korea, please take this Pann down

7. [+12, -1] Hey, do you know what kind of site Netizen Buzz is? They're anti-Korean... I've been reading them for a while and they never translate positive comments, only the bad ones, and post only negative articles about Korea like rape, sexual assault, child abuse (which happens in any country). They try so hard to make Korea seem like a crazy country not worth living in... and they always post positive things about Japan and make Koreans out to be the weirdos who hate only hate on Japan.

8. [+11, -2] Netizen Buzz = a site that makes Koreans look like psychos by translating only hateful comments (leaves out idol praises).

9. [+8, -0] You know what's funny about Netizen Buzz? Hateful comments exist anywhere in the world. Japan, China, America, etc... some are even worse than Korean comments. But hateful comments left by other countries are seen as crazy people with nothing better to do with their time whereas hateful comments left by Koreans are seen as the majority/mass public... and they make Korea seem like weird people. Netizen Buzz doesn't care about hateful comments, they're just out to hate on Korea as much as possible. They take articles about Korean society that even Koreans don't know just to stir hate.

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NB:

Okay, first of all. This blog is not pro-Japanese. It doesn't have a pro-Japanese/anti-Korea agenda either. It's just a blog about issues I happen to be passionate about.

The blog started off as a way to provide international fans with context behind what was happening in the K-Pop industry. Often times, before Netizen Buzz, international fans were served the final result of a scandal without any of the context of what happened in between.

For example, Jay Park was kicked out of 2PM. But how? What happened? What were the comments about him saying, what was the public sentiment like that led to him being kicked? Example two, T-ara was pretty much exiled over their bullying scandal. But how? What were the 'proofs' that these so-called netizens were condemning them for? Example three, everything that went the fuck down with Yewon and Lee Tae Im, where one basically lost her career and the other is still on TV.

Etc, etc, etc.

And then the blog began branching into non-entertainment topics to provide even more context for celebrities who got into criminal scandals involving the army, gambling, rape, sexual assault, etc. International fans read that these people were often being let off with light sentences, but why? I translated more non-entertainment articles to provide context on the sentences and the realm of everything going on in terms of the army, iljins/school bullying, and the light sentences on sexual assault related crimes. That, yeah, Korean netizens realize the sentences are too light. Yeah, Korean netizens are mad and want change just like you do. These sentences are not taken as the norm.

The blog is just here to provide as much background information and context as possible to issues that relate to a common topic we're united under, K-Pop.

Some Koreans fail to realize that and the #1 classic response that these people default to without any understanding of the issue at hand is... YOU'RE JAPANESE.

I often receive e-mails from Koreans. Not often, all the time. They say things like, do not air our dirty laundry. You are Korean, you have an obligation to present the best image of Korea possible to the rest of the world.

I don't have an obligation to shit. You don't get to dictate where the responsibility of my blog lies in. I'll paint Korea to be the beautiful, flowery, unicorns that piss glitter picture for you when the paint I use fucking reflects it.

You choose to ignore these very real issues that plague not only Korean society but every damn society in the world and CHOOSE to hinder discussion and understanding on it because you'd rather sweep it away and pin the problem on this site being anti-Korean, pro-Japanese.

Okay. Let's say for some bizarre reason I have soooo much time on my hands and soooo much hate for Korea that this site really is pro-Japanese. What does that change? Does that suddenly make all of those issues that I'm passionate about raising awareness of and sparking discussion in disappear? Does it make bullying, suicide, the rising depression levels, all disappear? Did all of those student suicides never happen? Did all of those cases of rape where the victim never received justice NEVER. FUCKING. HAPPEN? Did celebrities NEVER read those hateful comments and cry, lose their careers, or even commit suicide?

Nobody is stupid enough to believe that Korea is the only country in the world with these problems. For every idiot who thinks that in the comments, someone else will correct them that it's an issue that affects every country, society, and culture in the world. God forbid that I try to incite meaningful discussion in a community that happens to be united under the common interest of K-Pop though, right?

But you know... it's always easier to play the blame game than get to the root of the problem. We can all try to be nicer people like the OP of this Pann initially suggests OR you can just continue to let netizens wield this ungodly power where their words determine the careers and very lives of celebrities by refusing to focus on THAT issue and instead focusing on this site being anti-Korea.

I do post positive articles. I do post positive comments. But people don't care or read them. It doesn't interest them so they gloss over it and move to the next drama/controversy, which I don't fault you for, we're only human and gossip is always juicy... In the end, positive articles don't really provide context for anything that this blog really stands for. This blog doesn't stand for the majority/public opinion and sentiment on everything Korean. It stands for context. And sometimes the most ugliest, least positive comments are the ones controlling the industry. Yeah~~ so-and-so idol is like, suuuuuuper pretty. So what?

I'm not quite sure what ruling this site as anti-Korea accomplishes. We live in a generation where reactions to EVERYTHING is a point of interest. Korean girls react, K-Pop reactions videos, ask Koreans on the streets, ask a white couple their opinions on Korea... People care about opinions. Opinions are interesting. Opinions are also controversial.

In the end, they're just fucking opinions. Treat them like one and move on. If you don't want mean things translated, don't say mean things.

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/end rant.

I'm sorry if this is a lot to take in. I know I rarely ever voice my opinion on this blog just for the purpose of avoiding drama but it's just been sitting on my chest all night. This blog isn't perfect, I know that. There are things I fuck up on all the time, which is really irresponsible of me considering how long I've been running this blog and how big it has gotten.. but my intent is not one of them.

Yeahhhhh, I'll admit I post up some articles just because it's juicy gossip or whatever but I genuinely find them interesting and I think the thousands of other readers do too. Maybe I'm simple-minded like that and enjoy reading some mindless gossip to wind down to at the end of the day, but if I wanted to make this a full blown gossip, click-bait blog to make loads of money off of, trust meeeee... the opportunities are a-plenty. I'll hem and haw with 20 potential articles tabbed and then only post three of them because I realize that most of it is just petty drama that I'm not interested in and don't want to stoop to the level of resorting to (you can judge me all you want for the articles that do end up being posted lol.... they're not exactly of stellar quality either but sometimes judgment is clouded when you're posting at like 5 am.)

Anyway, as always, thank you for your support in this blog. I don't say it enough and you guys deserve all the thanks and more. Thank you to those who contribute so much to the comments section. I understand that sometimes the comment section here isn't the best but on other non-entertainment related topics, we have A LOT of educated readers who have a lot to share about their own culture and experiences. As I always said earlier, it's like taking a mini-vacation through the world when scrolling down comments where you share and compare points of interest from your own culture.