Futures of Learning

Girls

Mobile-Girls @ Digital. Asia

Lee, Dong-Hu, et al, Eds. (Paju, Korea: Hanul Academy, 2006)

The title is catchy, true to the point. It just grabs all the hot spots within current discussion of youth digital culture: mobile, girls, digital, and Asia, in a fashionable yet quite adequate form. As a cultural studies scholar who has been chasing newly emerging digital media culture in Asia, particularly, mobile screen culture in Korea, I am always hungry for this kind of scholarly works that deliver vivid pictures of everyday use of ICTs. In spite of recent academic and popular interest in the Asian innovation and uptake of ICTs, ethnography or cultural studies based research studies are still rare, though increasing, compared to the plethora of the in-depth analyses of technological innovation, macro policy and industry models of ICTs implemented in Asian techno-centers. Often, these attempts to unearth the secret of Asian success seem to consolidate its myth, the image of digitized Asia, leaving our urgent questions unanswered: what people actually do with these technologies? Meanwhile, the linguistic barrier delays the conversation between these sites and outside observers, limiting our access to local perspectives toward what is happening in their everyday lives. Personal, Portable, and Pedestrian (2005) is a nice exception that delivers rich textures of Japanese mobile culture captured by insiders’ eye to the global readers. Turning to Korea, I have to say unfortunately much of its stories still left veiled behind such renowned tags as ‘IT-powerhouse,’ ‘the most wired country,’ ‘online Gamers’ Heaven,’ and ‘digital Korea,’ though we recently see increasing numbers of English-written studies on Korean Social Network Sites (mostly, Cyworld), Game Industry (PC bang and online game), and mobile media.

Considering this situation, I am happy to introduce Mobile-Girls @ Digital.Asia, a timely and valuable work that well serves to fill the gap of knowledge. This anthology came out of the international symposium, “Mobile Practice: Girls’ Culture and Digital Mobile Media”(2005). Nine articles by fourteen Korean scholars from Women’s Association for Communication Studies (KWACS), the organizer of the symposium, and international scholars including Angel Lin, Larissa Hjorth, Abin Tong, and Laura Miller provide substantial ethnographical research findings of gendered mobile phone use (centered on SMS and MMS usage) in the Asia-Pacific region (Mostly Korea, but including Japan, Hong Kong and Australia). In terms of its theoretical orientation and methodology, this book resonates to what Personal, Portable, and Pedestrian achieved, the serious attention to locally specific yet globally resonant youth (particularly, girls) mobile phone practices. As the book is written in Korean and hence does not allow access to most non-Korean readers, the brief outline of contents might be useful to apprehend the range of works.

From the outset, the book acknowledges girls’ marginalized position in this region in terms of social/financial/political hierarchies and attempts to reassure that teenage girls’ mobile phone culture have played a significant role in diversifying and cultivating the mobile phone as a ‘personal medium.’ The book consists of three parts: Part 1: Korean Sonyeodeul (Korean word Sonyeo means girl), Gender, Culture and Digital Mobile Technology, Part 2: Digital Asia and Mobile Girls, and Part 3: Digital Sketchy of Girls’ Subculture: Networking and Dynamics. Three articles in the first part solicit out general theoretical issues of gender, technology and media use through the textual analysis of the commercial advertisement (Lee, Dong-Hu, “Gender Image in Mobile Phone Advertisement”), the assessment of the notion (and the discursive construction) of ‘Sonyeo’ as physical/social/cultural identity and its presence in the technological field (Kim, Ye-Ran, “ Sonyeoseong (Girl’s Identity) and Mediafication of Body: Mobile Communication Culture and Sonyeo Discourse”), and the empirical research of Korean women’s practice of mothering with the mobile phone (Kim Myeong-He, “The Reproduction of Mothering with the Mobile Phone”). While the first part attempts to map and address overarching theoretical issue of gendered mobile phone use in Korean context, the second part extends this discussion to the other Asia-Pacific experiences. In particular, Larissa Hjorth’s article is notable. In “Gendered Mobility: Customization and Gender in the Asia-Pacific Region,” she offers the comprehensive and detailed analysis of what she calls the “topography of personalization” drawn from her accumulated ethnographical researches of teenage girls’ practice of customization (from the decoration of mobile phone device to the use of favored features of the multimedia phone) in four different national contexts (Korea, Japan, HK and Australia).

The third part is particularly interesting as it delves into the micro-level details of everyday life of Korean ‘Thumbelinas.’ Authors argue that Handphone (a Korean word for mobile phone) is an “affective digital technology” that allows high school girls to create and micro-coordinate their intimate personal networks in and outside of the surveillance of elders’ eyes as well as functions as a ‘personal memory box,’ the object of emotional affection (Kim-Go Yeon-Joo & Lee Ji-Eun, “Handphone as Emotional Media: Focusing on the Teenage Girl’s Daily Use of Handphone”), a creative and expressive tool for girls play culture in their use of ‘emotext’ (emotion + Text)(Lim Sook-Hyun et al, “Sonyeo’s Handphone Play”), and the central space for ‘chatting’ among their peers that increases the sense of intimacy and belonging to their community (Kim Eun-Jin et al, “Mobile Sonyeo’s Suda (Chatting)”).

Overall, each article makes numbers of interesting points. One of overarching themes I find notable is the position of youth mobile culture in a broader cultural context, which is often constituted and represented in terms of ‘conflict’ or ‘difference’ in the public imagination. Especially, Part 1 nicely raises questions on the ambiguous status of Korean youth who are called ‘Digital Generation,’ ‘Cyber Sinillyu (new human species: new generation),’ ‘Thumb tribe,’ and ‘Netizen (Net + Citizen).’ Korean youth, as far as digital technologies concerned, remains a contested terrain where the tensions provoked by the digital divide, mainly according to generational gaps, is intermingled with the celebratory expectation of its prosperity. I agree with this point that ambivalent representation of Korean youth in public and even academic discourse, both elevated to the future hope in techno-nationalistic Korea and at the same time condemned as a threatening force to the existing social norms (accused for their cyber delinquencies and different lifestyles), let the real picture of young peoples’ lived experience slip through.

Yet as much as I agree it is vital to account for the contextual specificities in interpreting the actual practices, I sense the potential drawback of context-determinism, as in the case when the socially constructed girls’ role is taken for granted as a given condition without further consideration of other variables. This could lead to another quanundrum that I find from this volume: the implied assumption of biological determinism. I would not see it problematic to argue girls’ mobile phone culture significantly contributed to constructing mobile technology as it is, as a personal medium that consolidates the intimate relationship. However, the simplistic assumption that girls want to continue, or in other words, favor to build their intimate relationship with whatever available technologies somehow seems to easily collapse the gender identity with the specific form of social relationship building (in the same vein, selection of research themes such as ‘mothering’ and ‘chatting’ may be questionable as it tends to preset the boundary of practices.) Even though these are in fact prominent practices of girls/women that have been widely observed and definitely deserve serious attention, we could also learn more from self-reflexive questioning, before hastily moving into this direction.

Finally, just as this book draws on the geopolitical boundary of Asia-Pacific, it is an ongoing challenge to define the ‘regional’ characteristics of mobile phone use, if any. To begin with, generalizing Asia as one entity is certainly problematic considering the unequal dissemination of digital/mobile technologies across the region. It is truly a few technological centers such as Japan, Korea and maybe HK that have spurred this hype of Digital(and Mobile) Asia. More importantly, what implications can we draw from thinking about specific ‘regionality’ in relation to the global and local mobile phone culture? This book does not explicitly answer to these questions. Larissa Hjorth’s article may be a suggestive example that presents the value of cross-cultural research in finding answers, as she provides a comparative frame against which locally specific girls’ practices acquire additional meanings. In the end, this is one of those questions that keep haunting/stimulating our international literature review team along the way.

New Media Practices in Korea: Part 2. Gaming

Online game and PC bang (Internet café) are two key words that represent Korean game culture. In early 2000s, online gaming emerged as the primary mode of gaming due to the rapid penetration of broadband Internet network. In fact, scholars argue that online games were a “catalyst for creating an increasing demand for broadband connection” since the huge success of StarCraft, the first phenomenally popular online game title introduced in 1999 (Huhh, 2008). In a short time, Korean game industry has risen to top and online game services have become representative cultural exports of Korea, particularly in the global MMORPG market. For example, since first launched in 1998, Lineage, the most successful domestic MMORGP, has built one of the prominent MMORPG worlds that boasts the largest share of global market (combining Lineage I (21.9 %) and Lineage II (23.1 %).

Before online game arrived, Korea also had arcade games and video game culture since the early 1980s, but their influences were circumscribed due to Korea’s complex historical context. As a repercussion of the colonial experience, Korea government regulated and imposed restrictions on the import of Japanese arcade games, early portable games, and console games (both hardware and software) until 2004. Arcade game parlors, which operated with pirated or copied game softwares, flourished as popular local hangouts among young people. But console games have not taken up its momentum for Korean gamer as much as in other countries. This social context paradoxically facilitated the growth of domestic online games, which took advantage of the absence of strong competitors as well as the latest technology of broadband Internet.

The context of 1997 economic crisis is particularly important in the development of online game, as for other ICT uptakes. Huhh (2008) elaborates this unique contextual aspect of Korea online game, wherein with the collapse of conventional industries, human/financial resources flooded into the game industry. Massive population of youth in teens and twenties transformed themselves into gamers, often unwillingly with more free time to devote to gaming due to the exacerbated job markets. This migration of cultural resources led to the boom of PC bang as a new profitable business. Subsequent development and the success of adjacent institutions such as game TV channels and professional game leagues promoted gaming as a serious leisure activity: appropriated as e-sports. Like all other ICT uptakes in Korea during this period, online gaming industry also benefited from the government’s strategic support, whose favorable policies for the industry have become a benchmarking model for other countries such as China and Singapore (Chung, 2008). For this reason, issues of policy/regulations, technological innovation, and the business strategies of game culture have attracted the most attention from both domestic and overseas scholars who either aim to promote domestic game industry or unearth the secret of its success (Dai & Chee, 2008).

From the beginning, young people were major players in the gaming scene as well as main residents in the thousands of PC bangs located in every corner of the street. Initially, the public discourse surrounding gaming had a rather positive, at least not condemning, tone as Korean youth’s mastery of new media technology was generally considered productive for the future of the nation. However, the emergence of new forms of social problems that were linked to intensive gaming culture stirred up social anxiety about the ‘incomprehensible youth culture’ spiraling out of control. Such notorious incidents as death by excessive gaming, game item stealing/selling, and murder in the revenge for PK (player killing within game) has easily led to the dismissive public debate on the hazards of game addiction and youth delinquency (Sung & Lee , 2003).

Heaven of Gamers: PC bang

PC bang is perhaps the most discussed topic both in and outside Korea as it represents culturally specific gaming practices in Korea. In 2007, Seoul alone hosted 22,000 PC bangs, which are ubiquitous in most second-levels of buildings on the street (Huhh, 2008). Like Internet cafes in other countries, PC bang provides the physical place where general public can have easy access to the Internet service: It is mainly for gaming in Korea. However, PC bang in Korea is a social and economic institution central to the formulation of Korean business models such as “IP pricing,” “no-subscription fee system/micro-transaction,” and “GongSungJun” (in-game Guild Warfare often collectively conducted at PC bangs) (Yoon, 2003; Huhh, 2008). It is also the cultural space where ‘collective’ gaming formed as the predominant practice of Korean gamers. In addition, PC bang serves as a local community for gamers. Consequently, it nourishes the future career of young gamers to step up into the professional game leagues, bridging between online and offline game world and amateur and professional game sphere. In particular, PC bang is the center of gaming-related youth leisure culture outside of official education institutions and after schools, what Florence Chee defines “the third place”(Chee, 2005; 2006). Motivations and individual needs vary but teens mostly go to PC bang to socialize with peers, whether it is for gaming and/or for dating (Yoon, 2001). Also it provides the pseudo/alternative private space for solitary gamers outside of the parents’ surveillance (Sung & Lee, 2003a). As high-speed broadband has become more easily accessible at home, however, solitary gaming in the private gaming environment is increasing. In 2005, 76.5 percent of gamers reported that they play mostly at home (Ahn, 2005).

Playing Together: MMORPG

It is this ‘social play’ of gaming that represents Korean game culture. Most attempts to recuperate the positive effect of online gaming focus on the gamers’ extended ‘sociality.’ In general, young Korean gamers engage with online game out of such motivations as “drive for power” (Lee, 2002), “easy access”(Nam & Lee, 2005), “stress relief and escapism”(Lee, 2003), “fun”(Jeong & Lee, 2001), and “sociality, entertainment, and escapism.”(Lee, 2003). Among diverse online game genres, MMORPG is the most popular genre and the favored subject of academic studies although online game market has greatly diversified since the sensational success of the casual online game Kart Rider in 2004. Research findings show that social interaction is the central characteristics of the MMORPG genre and the attraction of ‘networking’ is the major factor of the success of online game genre (Yoon Sunny, 2001). In this regard, numerous studies analyze the formation of game community, guild activities, and pro-gamers centered on specific game titles.

Reflecting its cultural hegemony, Lineage world is also the most studied from various perspectives, in terms of its formal structure, aesthetics, social effects, and gamers’ practices. In particular, the issue of ‘sociality of Lineage players’ has generated vigorous discussion (Han, 2000; Hwang et al, 2004; Jang, 2005; Steinkuehler, 2006; Whang, 2003, 2004; Park & Yu, 2008). 50 percent of Korean gamers consider friends who they meet within the Lineage world to be as equally important as their real-life friends, acknowledging Lineage functions as a pseudo real world (Hwang et al, 2004). Experiences in Lineage world have also proven to nourish gamers’ offline leadership (Lim & Park, 2007) and embedded game activities such as micro-transaction, item trading, and internet item buying, encourage young people to engage in diverse economic activities (Kang, 2007; Lee et al, 2007). Scholars argue that these diverse social activities that are manifested in gaming present possible learning opportunities for Korean youth to extend their social interaction and reaffirm their sense of presence (Um et al, 2005).

Mobile Gaming

Overshadowed by the dominance of online games, other modes and forms of games have been marginalized in the academic discussion. Recently, the increasing popularity of mobile gaming for a wide range of generations, especially among women, is particularly noteworthy. In Korea, mobile phone is the common platform to play mobile games, which are mostly mobile version of online games provided through mobile content service. Portable game devices such as Sony DSP and Nintendo DS are slowly taking up the attention of casual gamers, regardless of gender. Since Nintendo DS went on sale in 2006, it has sold 2 mil consoles as of 2008 (http://kotaku.com). The appeal of mobile games based on their female friendly genres and aesthetics raises an interesting question regarding the gendered aspect of gaming culture (Jeon, 2007a, 2007b; Hjorth, 2006, 2007).

Indeed, female gamers have increased from 29.9 percent in 2005 to 31.5 percent in 2006 and they show more preference for mobile games (Korean Game Industry Promotion Agency, 2006). Many women see online and offline game worlds as constructions of masculine space and feel social restraints or societal pressure in navigating these worlds. Jeon (2007b) argues that mobile game provides spatial freedom for female gamers from male dominant social orders in conventional game space. However, there exist continuing (cultural) restrictions of mobility for female gamers, as most female mobile gamers prefer to play at home in contrast to male players who enjoy unrestricted playing at school or work place. Therefore, it is not surprising that ‘solitary gaming’ is the prominent mode among female mobile gamers. The popularity of ‘board game’ genre, especially on mobile phone, seems to reiterate this tendency. For example, Gostop, a traditional Korean card game, was the most popular board game among adult mobile gamer in 2004 and Gostop and poker games have continuously dominate the mobile game market (Han et al, 2005).

Young female mobile gamers play with their peers in a more relaxed environment since the games do not require engagement with collective guild and clan activities as seen in serious PC-based online gaming. They often exchange text messages or chats with their friends while playing the same mobile games. In this sense, mobile gaming forms the part of ‘casual intimacy-oriented’ youth peer culture (Hjorth, 2007; Jeon, 2007a). Significantly, cute aesthetics of mobile games played a key role in attracting these marginalized groups of gamers, who were already accustomed to it through other new media services such as Cyworld. At the same time, simple and easy application of these cute casual games invited female gamers who initially had resistance to serious online gaming due to their lack of technical or social skills. The sensational success of Kart Rider is a good example. When it was first launched in 2004, it was hard to expect this cute racing online game would topple the famous StarCraft. Unlike heavy and complicated MMORPG game, Kart Rider was also easily adapted to the mobile platform. More than 2 million individuals played it everyday and up to 220,000 users are connected simultaneously during peak hours (Cho, 2005). Considering that convergent mobile devices are at the center of the changing new media environment in Korea, there is no question that gaming will expand its charm to a wider population, probably outside of PC bang.

References

English Sources

Chang, B., Lee, S., & Kim, B. (2006). Exploring Factors Affecting the Adoption and Continuance of Online Games among College Students in South Korea: Integrating Uses and Gratification and Diffusion of Innovation Approaches. New Media Society, 8(2), 295-319.

Chee, F. (2005). Understanding Korean Experiences of Online Game Hype, Identity, and the Menace of the “Wang-tta”. Vancouver, Canada. Retrieved July 30, 2008, from http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/1620.
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Chung, P. (2008). New Media for Social Change: Globalization and the Online Gaming Industries of South Korea and Singapore. Science Technology and Society, 13(2), 303-323.

Dal Yong Jin, & Chee, F. (2008). Age of New Media Empires: A Critical Interpretation of the Korean Online Game Industry. Games and Culture, 3(1), 38-58.

Hjorth, L. (2006). Playing at Being Mobile: Gaming and Cute Culture in South Korea . Fibreculture Journal, (8). Retrieved August 29, 2008, from http://journal.fibreculture.org/issue8/issue8_hjorth.html.
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Huhh, J. (2008). Culture and Business of PC Bangs in Korea. Games and Culture, 3(1), 26-37.

Steinkuehler, C. (2006). The Mangle of Play. Games and Culture, 1(3), 199-213.

Whang, L. S. (2003). Online Game Dynamics in Korean Society: Experiences and Lifestyles in the Online Game World. Korea Journal, 43(3), 7-34.

Whang, L. S, & Chang, G. (2004). Lifestyles of Virtual World Residents: Living in the On-Line Game “Lineage”. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(5), 592-600.

Korean Sources

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Han, C. (2000). Online Gameeu Sahyeujeok Gineung Yeongu: Lineagereul Jungsimeuro (A Study of Social Function of Online Games: Focus on Lineage). Electronic Engineering Studies, 27(9).

Han, K. H., Kim, T. U., & Kim, Y. K. (2005).  Yiyongkwa Manjok Kwanjeomeseo bon Mobilegame Yiyonheh Kwanhan Yeongu (A Study on Mobile Game Usage of Adolescent from Use and Gratifications Perspective). Computer Education Studies, , 8(2), 61-73.

Hwang, S., Kim, J., & Im, J. (2004). Sangpumuiroseoui Online Game Segyewa Yeokhalnolyijaroseoui Online game Sobijaui Hengdong Teukseong (The Online Game World as a Product and the Behavioral Characteristics of Online Game Consumers as Role Player). Journal of the Science of Emotion & Sensibility, 7(3), 37-50.

Jang, K. (2005). MMORPGeui Sahweoijeok Hameui: Gameeui Jinhwa, Siljegam, Gondongche, Munhwa (Social Implication of MMORPG: The Evolution of Game, Sense of Presence, Community, and Culture). Information Science Studies, 23(6).

Jeon, G. (2007a).  Yeoseong Gamerui Gamehagiwa Geo Munhwajeok Euimie dehan Yeongu: Golevel Yeoseong Gamerui Gamehagireul Jungsimuiro (A study of Women in Digital Games and Their Gaming). Cyber Communication Studies, 22(0), 83-117.
------, (2007b).  Mobile Gamekwa Yidongseongui Seongbeulhwa: Yeoseongui Yidongjeunhwa gamehagiui Tamsekjeok Gochal (Mobility and Playability: A Study on the Female Mobile Phone Gamers). Korean Broadcasting Studies, 21, 536-573.

Jeong, Y., & Lee, S. (n.d.). Namjacheongsonyeunui Computer Gameyiyonggwa Game jungdokseong mit Gonggeokseong (Computer Gaming and Addiction/Aggressive Behaviors among Male Adolescents). Dehan Family Studies, 39, 67-80.

Kang, J. (2007). Online Game Item Sijangyi Gamemunhwae michineun Yeonghyange gwanhan Gochal (The Effect of Online Game Item Market on Game Culture). In Proceedings of the Korean Sociology Conference (pp. 19-33). Korea.

Lee, E., & Park, H. (2007). Cheongsonyeunui Internet Item Gumemanjok Yuhyeonghwawa Gyeoljeongyoin (Adolescent Consumers’ Internet-Item Shopping Satisfaction: Satisfaction Types and Its Determinants). Consumer Culture Studies, 10(4), 173-196.

Lee, H. (2002). Cheongsonyeondeului Eumranmul, Eumranchatting, Pokryeokgame Jungdokgyeonghyeome dehan Bigyobunseok (A Comparative Study of Adolescents’ Addictive Experience of Adults content and Violent Game). Youth Studies, 9(1), 91-114.

Lee, H. (2003). Cheongsonyeunui Game Yiyonggwa GeinSahyuijeok Yoinyi Gamemolyipgwa Gamejungdoke michineun Yeonghyang (A Study of Adolescents’ Motivations of Gaming and the Effect of Personal and Social factors on Game Addiction). Youth Studies, 10(4), 355-380.
Lim , S., & Park, N. (2007). Dasayongja online Roleplaying Game Yiyong Donggiwa Offline Leadership Yeonghwang Yeongu (MMORPG Users’ Motivations and the Spill-over Effect on their off-line Leadership Development). Korean Journalism & Communication Studies, 51(5), 332-485.

Nam, Y., & Lee, S. (2005). Cheongsonyeunui Internet Jungdol Yuhyeonge Ddareun Wihyeumyoin mit Bohoyoingwa Jeongsingeungang Bigyoyeongu (A Comparative Study of Dangerous Aspects and Protective Aspects of Adolescents’ Game Addiction). Korean Social Welfare Studies, 57, 195-222.

Park, S., & Yu, B. (2008). Online Communityui Hyoyulseongyi Online Community Molyipe Michineun Yeonghwang (The Effect of Online Community Effectiveness on Online Community Commitment: Focus on Online Game Community). In Proceedings of the 2008 International Economics Joint Conference (pp. 1-12). Seoul, Korea.

Sung, Y., & Lee, S. (2003a). Gameban Cheongsonyeonui Siberiltal Kwajeonge Kwanhan Munhwagisuljeok Yeongu (An Ethnographic Study on Cyber-Delinquency among Adolescents). Association of Child Studies Report, 24(3), 109-134.
------, (2003b). Cheongsonyeuneu Onlinegame Molipgwajeonge Gwanhan Munhwagisulseok Yeongu (An Ethnographic Study of Online game Commitment among Adolescents). Adolescents Counseling Study, 11(1), 96-115.

Um, M., Kim, T., & Kim, C. (2005). Online gameeui Ehodoeh Gwanhan Siljeungjeolk Yeongu: Sanghojakyongseonggwa Hyeunjongameul Jungsimeuro (Exploratory Study of Loyalty to Online Games: Focus on Interactivity and the Sense of Presence). Management Science, 22(1).

Yoon, S. (2003). Networkgamegwa Yeongsangmunhwa, Geu Gujowa Jucheeui Dynamism (Network Game and Visual Culture : Dynamics between the structure and Subject). Sasang, Summer, 214-243.
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New Media Practices in Korea: Part 4. New Media Production

In 2001, a series of high school girls’ eccentric romance story, That Bastard was Cool (Geu Nomeun Meosisseosda), sparked teenage readers to flock into Daum Internet café. It was the beginning of Internet novel syndrome. The phenomenal success of this idiosyncratic and unconventional novel establishes its author, a sixteen-year-old high school girl whose Internet ID and penname were Gwiyoni (which literally means ‘Cute One’), as the icon of youth Internet culture. That Bastard was Cool scored 8 million views online, sold 500,000 copies when published as a print book later, and eventually was made into a movie in 2004. Its popularity even crossed the border to nearby Asian countries including Japan, China, Taiwan, and Thailand where the popularity of the Korean Wave was surging to its peak. Gwiyoni herself joined the so-called league of ‘Korean Wave Stars’ who enjoyed widespread fandom overseas. Following up That Bastard was Cool, Gwiyoni published five more Internet novels until 2006. Most of her novels have been adapted to movies that target the teenage girl market by starring popular young actors: Seduction of Wolf (Neukdaeui Yuhok; English movie title: Romance of Their Own) and That Bastard was Cool (English movie title: The Guy) in 2004, Doremipasolasido in 2008, and To You currently under production.

The popularity of Gwiyoni’s short, comical, lighthearted, episodic stories about everyday school life and teenage romance not only shook the professional literature community but also the popular media. In fact, Gwiyoni syndrome did not come out of the blue. Before WWW was introduced to Korea, several pre-internet novels, with similar styles and subjects, attracted young readers to a cyber space that was running on Telnet system (PC Tongsin in Korean) in the early 1990s. Gwiyoni syndrome brought out this underground youth subculture, particularly girls’ subculture, to the surface of public discourse (Kim & Kim, 2004).

Most of all, Gwiyoni’s novels were severely criticized and frowned upon by adults due to her constant usage of informal and colloquial languages, internet idioms, foul expression, and emoticons – all in violation of traditional language structure. However, Gwiyoni’s violation of the linguistic code was not new but familiar to young people. Gwiyoni Syndrome is significant in that it represents the migration/expansion of youth linguistic code that young people constantly create and share with their peers through SMS of mobile phone and Internet chats in their everyday life (Choi, 2003). This trend of sharing new linguistic codes within their intimate networks dates back to the popularity of Tongsin Eoneo (Internet Communication Idioms) in the times of beepers and early Internet community. While Gwiyoni’s informal use of language mostly consists of Tongsin Eoneo, there is also a popular trend of using more radical and broken form of language, which is called Oegyeeo (Alien Words). The creation of and the sharing of Oegyeeo tend to be exclusively limited to young people’s intimate networks (mostly, early teens) or special online communities such as ‘Teusumunja Manddang’ (Special Words Heaven, Daum), which has more than 1 million members. The level of deconstruction for Oegyeeo, which dissects and fabricates a grammatical system while mix-and-matches foreign words, is so radical that ordinary Koreans cannot understand or decipher their meaning (Yoo, 2003). In this sense, Choi argues that the Gwiyoni syndrome illustrates the broader changes in culture, from “Print literature based” to “Electronic literature based,” (Cho, 2007) and the advent of a new form of youth digital storytelling.

In a broader context, Internet novel syndrome signaled the expansion of girl’s participatory fandom culture in online space, which already existed before Internet in the form of fanzine (fan magazine) and/or fan art. Right before Gwiyoni syndrome, writing and sharing fanfics (fan fictions) about pop stars (mostly male idol stars) emerged highly visible activities across Internet fan cafes. Daum alone hosted around 9241 fanfic cafes and the largest one had over 300,000 members in 2003. Just like the Gwiyoni syndrome, girls’ fanfic writing also came under public scrutiny, but for a different reason. In 2000, the Ministry of Information and Telecommunication introduced new online content rating system for youth protection and fanfics, which often contain the story about homosexual relationship, were selected as harmful contents to censor. As fangirls organized online protests against contents censorship through Internet cafés, girls’ writing culture suddenly emerged as a hot topic in popular media (Jo & Kim, 2005). These examples demonstrate how Internet provides an alternative space and effective tools for Korean girls to create “communities of fantasy”; those in constant struggle with cultural authorities (Kim & Kim, 2004).

As image producing technologies - such as digital camera, mobile phone camera, and editing softwares/applications - became widely available, literary form of youth play was replaced by various multimedia productions. Creating and circulating fun content such as parody pictures, often with political satire, emerged as a representative of online play culture. Two notable examples are Yeopgi Syndrome and JJang syndrome. Originally, the term Yeopgi referred only to ‘weird, uncanny, pervert or frightening phenomena’, but the term now indicates all weirdly funny things and operates as a code of light humor among Korean youth since 2000. All sorts of media contents – pictures, video clips, and literatures – with the Yeopgi code populated online space, feeding young people’s insatiable appetite for unique fun: certain internet cafes such as ‘DC inside’ acquired new reputation for their famous Yeopgi contents. The other example is the Jjang (the best) syndrome, which involves online voting by netizens on uploaded self-photos, which often becomes a “gateway towards stardom”(Choi, 2006). Various types of jjangs, such as uljjang (person with the best face) and mom- jjang (person with the best physique), have become “catchphrases in society, entertainment business and other areas” in contemporary Korea (Choi, 2006: 180).

Recently, various forms of contents produced by netizens are touted in the name of UCC (User Created Contents). In most cases, UCC refers to shared video contents in online space. As major portals open special services for UCC, following on the successful models of UCC sites like Pandora TV, it became a hot item in current mediaspace in Korea. Initially, UCC fever is largely based on the prevalent and notorious P2P file sharing culture. In the past, free/illegal downloading and repurposing were adopted as alternative tactics to share commercially unavailable contents due to limited access to foreign media contents and/or inefficient distribution systems. While media industry is slowly shaping new business models to counteract this practice, the active reappropriation and consumption of popular cultural contents from overseas (particularly, Japanese pop music/TV drama/animation) in the form of UCC is still widespread. For example, young Korean fans’ various fandom activities around trans-Asian television drama contents form a significant part of UCC sites (Kim & Lee, 2005).

Researches show that women, especially female college students, are more active in producing and consuming UCC (Yim, 2008). It is noted that the central motivation to create and share UCC is ‘self-expression’ and ‘getting recognition from others’ (Sung & Lee, 2007). Still, 90 percent of UCC is repurposed works out of existing media contents. In this sense, the significance of UCC culture lies more in that it represents the decentralized mode of media distribution (Jeon, 2008). This aspect of UCC, as a potentially democratic media form, becomes more apparent when it serves a journalistic purpose. Indeed, the social implication of UCC, as an emerging form of journalism to monitor and engage both macro and micro-level social issues, is one of the widely discussed topics in Korea (Kim, 2008; Kang, 2007; Lee & Kim, 2007). During the 2006 presidential election campaign, UCC appeared as the preferred tool for expressing political views, especially among college students (Ban & Kim, 2007).

However, as the cultural influence of UCC is increasing, the debate over its legitimacy as a viable media form is also intensifying. Various issues, such as policies and regulations on UCC for youth protection and legal copyrights, are still unresolved. It has become a daily battle between the major portals who regularly monitor illegal ripping of media contents, media producers who seek for additional profits through ‘one-content-multi-use’ strategies, and bloggers who want to repurpose these media contents. In the end, although debates about whether these syndromes actually reflect young people’s productive use of new media technology still continue, these various forms of syndromes demonstrate that young peoples’ reappropriation of media contents with their newly acquired technological mastery have become a predominant practice in Korean online space.

References

English Sources

Choi, J. (2006). Living in Cyworld: Contextualizing Cy-ties in South Korea. In A. Bruns & J. Jacobs (Eds.), Uses of Blogs. (pp. 173-186). New York: Peter Lang.

Korean Sources

Ban, H., & Kim, S. J. (2007).  Dongyongsang UCC yiyongwa Jeongchi Hengtee gwanhan Yeongu: Dehaksengdeuleui UCC yiyonggwa Jeongchi News Yiyongeul Jungsimeuro (A Study of Relationship between UCC Usage and Political Behavior: Focus on College Student Voters` Usage of UCC and Political News). Cyber Communication Studies, 22(0), 123-166.

Cho, H. (2007). Munja Munhakeseo Jeonja Munhakeuro (From Print Literature to Electronic Literature). Seoul, Korea: Hangil Publisher.

Choi, M. (2003). N-sedewa Internet soseuleui Nolli -Gwiyeonieui Soseuleul Jungsimeuro (N-Generation and the Logic of Internet Novels - Centering on Gwiyeoni’s Novels). Public Narrative Studies, 10, 34-63.

Jeon, G. (2008). Cybergongganeui Seroun Sotong, UCC: Dongyeongsang UCCeui Textjeok Teukjinggwa Munhwajeok Hameuieh gwanhan Yeongu (A Study on the Textuality and the Cultural Implications of Video UCC). Cyber Communication Studies, 25(2), 337-370.

Jo, H., & Kim, J. (2005). Cheongsonyeun Mania Munhwaeui Siltewa Jeongchekgwaje (Present of Youth Fandom Culture and Policy Issues). Korea: National Youth Policy Institute.

Kang, J. (2007). UCC Yeongsang Munhwaeui Hameuiwa Munjejeom Yeongu: Simcheung Interviewreul Yiyonghan Dehaksengui Insiksarereul Jungsimeuro (Study on Meanings and Issues Related to UCC Visual Culture: Cognition Case Study by depth Interview with University Students). Korean Broadcasting & Telecommunication Studies, 21(6), 9-43.

Kim, H., & Kim, M. (2004). Fapiceui Sengsangwa Sobireul Tonghe bon Sonyeodeuleui Seong Fantasywa Jeongchijeok Hameui (A Fantasy of Fanfic and the Politics). Korea Journalism Studies, 48(3), 330-478.

Kim, H., & Lee, C. (2007). Cyber J-Dorama: Internetsangui Ilbondrama Sobijuchewa Yutongui Mechanism (Cyber J-Dorama: Agencies and Mechanism of the Consumption and Distribution of Japanese Drama in Online Space). In Cho H.J. et al (Eds.), Internet and Asian Cultural Studies. Seoul, Korea: Yonsei University Press.

Kim, S. (2008). Cybergongganeui Seroun Sotong, UCC: UCC Journalismeui Yironjeok Gochal (Theoretical Analysis of the UCC Journalism). Cyber Communication Studies, 25(2), 221-262

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Sung, M. H., & Lee, I. H. (2007). Dongyeongsang UCCeui Yiyong dongiwa Manjoke gwanhan Tamsekjeok Yeongu (Uses and Gratifications of User-Created Contents: Expressing Self with Self-Produced Video Clips). Korea Association for Communication and Information Studies Journal, 40(0), 45-80.

Yim, J. (2008). Yeoja Daehaksengeui UCC sobiwa Sengsangeul Tonghe bon Suyongja Neungdongseonge gwanhan Yeongu (Reconceptualizing Audience Activities: Female College Students` UGC Consumption and Production). Korean Broadcasting & Telecommunication Studies, 22(4), 320-354

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