[Opinion] Twist Kim`s Tears

Although they are both war movies, the battle in "Troy" is more romantic than "Saving Private Ryan." The sword is an extension of the arm. A general feels his enemy`s condition when their swords meet. The gun, on the other hand, is more impersonal. The shooter cannot feel the shock when the bullet hits the enemy. The Gulf war and the Iraq war that were broadcast live on TV seemed like a computer game. As technology develops and enables people to attack from long distances, does mass destruction and human violence increase along with it?

Nuclear bombs are not the only weapon of mass destruction. For the regular person, not many weapons are more destructive than malicious gossip. Internet gossip, which spreads instantaneously, is the weapon of mass destruction on cyber space. There were more than 30,000 replies about the video and article on the woman dubbed "dog dung woman,” who left the subway without taking care of her puppy`s droppings. When a high school girl committed suicide after she was accused of thieving, the pictures and names of her accusers were uploaded on the Internet, making it impossible for them to transfer to different schools.

Normal people are apt to turn into "techno rioters," sure of their anonymity within a group and in cyberspace. Verbal attacks become increasingly abusive, and the Internet becomes an ugly battlefield. Whether a person is guilty or not, once online attacks start, the hostility amplifies and people attack indiscriminately. This psychology is shown most distinctly in cyber space.

Twist Kim (whose real name is Kim Han-seop), the veteran actor who gained popularity in the 1960s movie "The Young with Naked Feet" with the twist, confessed that he tried to commit suicide due to cyber terror attacks. To an entertainer, a professional name is more important than a given name. Imagine how shocked the actor was when he found that his granddaughter was teased and his wife suffered from depression because his professional name was used as part of an illegal adult site and in Internet domains. The legal sector should not sit idly, hiding behind ambiguous legislations. Netizens should change their ways of thinking; they should take voluntary action, such as Internet moral conduct movements, to prevent further damage.

Kim Sun-duk, Editorial Writer, yuri@donga.com