The internet is used by many to stay connected and share information freely, but much of what's found on the Korean internet is antithetical to this. Though Korea has become "the most wired country on earth," it has historically cut itself off electronically from the rest of the world through policies like the real-name verification law and the software it chooses to use.
The obstacles recently gained some attention when a website designed to help expats access Korean websites was, ironically, about as unhelpful as possible. There are some lessons to be learned from the strong reaction from both Korean and foreign users, lessons that can help Korean websites and companies reach their intended audience.
I don't want to be a dick, and it's not my intentio to merely belittle bad English used by Koreans, though I'm not as patient when it's found on a page geared toward English speakers. In the article I do say that they fixed the website a few days after the wretched first edition launched, though of course the page should have never been that bad to begin with.
[T]he debacle was helpful in engaging a large number of internet users about the shortcomings of Korean websites. Whether because of ridiculous English, because of software obstacles, or designs unsuitable for international users (the overuse of pop-ups, for example) attempts to reach a global audience often fail. And when they fail so hard as ifriendly did last week, one asks if the designers are actually interested in reaching foreigners at all.
The working title I had was "Lessons learned from ifriendly.kr," and wasn't intended to be a broad overview on the perceived shortcomings on the Korean internet. I'm not a tech guy, and couldn't eloquently fit in all the incompatability issues under the word limit while touching on the other things that needed addressing. Google will be your friend if you'd like to find more information about the state of the Korean internet, a topic written about my people much more knowledgable on the subject than I. You might also like this post last month from Gusts of Popular Feeling, which quotes from this Chosun Ilbo column; an excerpt of the latter:
For one thing, accessing many Korean websites requires jumping through hoops not found anywhere else in the world. This may mean installing unfamiliar software programs, one to ensure secure access, another to protect against keystroke tracking, another for personal firewall protection, and on top of that, an antivirus program, all to be able to do some banking online. Nowhere else are websites so complicated and inconvenient.
It is also a uniquely Korean peculiarity that the programs needed for access to secure websites are compatible only with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Many are based on the ActiveX framework from Microsoft. And while there exist other technologies that perform the same function, none are in use in Korea. As a result, web browsers such as Firefox used by over 20 percent of users worldwide have no presence here.
The average computer user may not care whether it is ActiveX or something else that allows convenient and secure access. But that is misguided. In the event of worldwide Internet chaos, as was the case in January 2003 or during the DDoS attacks in July, Korea gets hit the hardest. Its online environment has become one where users habitually hit "yes" for every dialog box that pops up and install programs without a second thought.
For more information and comments regarding ifriendly.kr, see the previous posts on Brian in Jeollanam-do:
* November 20: "Korea Times looks at ifriendly.kr screw-up, this site."
* November 19: "What was wrong with ifriendly.kr?"
* November 17: "ifriendly.kr another major English fail by the Korean government."
You might also look at the post a few places down on Google Korea for some links and comments on Korea's portals and the relative failure of Google here.
20 comments:
Or... they could have just decided not to even create ifriendly.kr. All I've seen from you is you giving the Korean gov't the finger for even making the effort.
Bryan, I'm glad you like some of my posts (as indicated in your own blog post), but I think you're wrong to say I have a sense of entitlement, or that I'm giving the gov't the finger for trying. My point is, and has been, that the mess that was ifriendly.kr wasn't a very good effort, and that it's clear .
Regarding the sense of entitlement you perceive, I think you're doing some selective reading if you've come to that conclusion. It was en vogue to hate me a year-and-a-half ago, but I think people have moved past that.
En vogue to hate you a year ago? What does that have to do with anything? Sounds like you're a little caught up in your own celebrity.
In regards to entitlement, though, how should I perceive someone who has no patience for imperfect English when directed at foreigners? We are, after all, in Korea and not the US. The Korean government had no obligations regarding iFriendly.kr, and posts like yours are just all the more incentive for the government to give up.
*sigh* Well, I'm sorry you think I'm "unnecessarily critical" and have a "piss poor" attitude. Again, I attribute that to selective reading on your part and to readerrs who continue to think I'm "angry."
You'll note that my objections were to things besides simply bad English. And in the part you cite, I said I'm not simply going after bad English for the sake of going after bad English. But if you're going to do something, take steps to try and get it right. What the hell's the point of rolling out a website meant to "help" when it looked like nothing more than a spoof? You're right, the government didn't have to make that site to help foreigners. But, there's nothing wrong with members of the target audience pointing out the flaws of it. You'll notice it did get the page improved.
Anyway, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on some things.
bryaninkorea you seem to think the consultation of a native english speaker is some grand ordeal for the Korean government? Really how hard would it have been for the creators of the site to do just that? I'm sure they got paid to make the site, although in its current state means nothing to its audience. The governement is also trying to attract foreigners to invest in Korea so if they want to set a good image, being able to communicate in English would be a good start.
Yes, Bryaninkorea, the KCC is certainly showing incredible magnanimosity. We foreigners should thank them from the bottom of our ungrateful, entitled hearts. We have absolutely no right to use Korean websites, and certainly don't have any right to increase their advertising revenue by adding to their unique visitor numbers, and nor do we have any right to assist Korean business by making purchases online or signing up for online services. Who do we think we are, eh? The KCC makes this uniquely generous gesture and we throw it back in their faces.
Steve Bee, you are making an obvious slippery slope argument with a nice little dash of ad hominem.
To Brian and Craig, my point is that there's not so much as a "hey, thanks for trying Korean gov't, but..." Instead, Brian's posts are quick to point out the errors of the Korean gov't without so much as mentioning that they at least tried when they had no obligation to. Especially with the remarks you made in your post, it presents them with a "do it right or don't do it at all" ultimatum, in which they might as well not do it at all.
Bryaninkorea - 'slippery slope'?! 'ad hominem'?! Let me make this absolutely clear: You are a cretin.
The point is (and I am actually indulging far beyond what you deserve be even bothering to explain this to you, for your decision to respond to my comment by completely misusing categories of rhetorical fallacy, and your previous comments to the blog owner above, mark you out as absolutely the worst kind of fucktard) that the KCC offering help to English speakers and English speakers' criticism of the ham-fistedness and non-functionality of that assistance is not akin to the KCC inviting us into their home for us to lambast their choice of curtains. The KCC is attempting a work-around for a system that should never have existed in the first place (the whole point of ifriendly.kr is to help 'foreigners' use the real name verification system), and is doing so to help Korean internet business maximize its profitability. The one million foreigners in Korea are all potential customers, see, and so should be treated with the deference appropriate to that relationship, rather than being thrown crumbs down from the table.
KCC: "Hey I heard you need a ride home, you can borrow my car with four flat tires." Don't forget to say thanks.
bryaninkorea: deluded kyopo or Stockholm-syndrome apologista.
This website is just another example of how Koreans would rather go out of their way to jack something up completely than try to get a consultant to check their content. We'll have jobs here forever because most Koreans are utterly incapable of learning English. A token effort by blatantly inept bureaucratic parasites doesn't deserve thanks, much less acknowledgment.
Good work on the article, Brian. The way in which Korean websites serve to simultaneously connect Koreans to each other, and disconnect them from just about everyone else -- and how that ties into larger cultural issues -- is a fascinating topic.
to bryaninkorea:
to say that Brian is "giving the Korean government the finger for even making the effort" is disingenuous at best. Clearly, the Korean government did not actually make an effort. If they had, then the website wouldn't have been completely unusable in the beginning. Like Brian says, if a website is targeted at English speakers, it should be proofread by a fluent English speaking person.
I, and I'm sure others, see bryan's point in terms of the government deciding to create a page to "assist" foreigners in using korean websites.
But the execution was so terribly handled that it is a joke. It is worth making fun of. Furthermore, it never should have been published without being reviewed. You think government websites are launched without strategic testing first?
bryaninkorea:
If I may give Brian credit for helping create the "storm" around ifriendly.kr (if not storm, then definitely one of the main seeds), then it wouldn't have been improved on.
And now we see the rippling effect in the press because of this where even Koreans are entertaining the fringe thoughts on how "closed" their they of using the net is by choice of browser, installing pointless programs, etc. This is AMAZING news! Change is hard, and the current system for Koreans (IE\ActiveX\3rd party programs) is terribly convoluted and must change to become more easy for everyone, Koreans and foreigners.
I got am email reply yesterday from kait.or.kr about my complaint about the ifriendly.kr website. This is fantastic news, and a very small sign of change in the messy quagmire of Korean web use.
Brian, don't listen to the haters, your blogging helped improve that website for us all. Keep bringing us the hard, and sometimes ugly truths!
Gah, in my fervorous posting, I made some terrible grammar mistakes that may have made it confusing:
And now we see the rippling effect in the press because of this, where even Koreans are entertaining the fringe thoughts on how "closed" their way of using the net is. This includes their choice of browser, installing pointless programs, etc.
Translated into Korean:
http://kin.naver.com/qna/detail.nhn?d1id=11&dirId=110812&docId=100017606&qb=YnJpYW5kZXV0c2NoLmJsb2dzcG90LmNvbQ==&enc=utf8§ion=kin&rank=1&sort=0&spq=0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxxPLDZnqwA love the haters
In response to bryaninkorea's link on his blog--I have to agree with Brian on this one. It really isn't hard to get a proofreader and doing the job right the first time no matter the language.
Brian has been here for several years and has seen both the high-heeled, well-dressed side and the dark underbelly of South Korean society and isn't afraid to call it like he sees it.
Thanks John. :)
It really isn't hard to get a proofreader and doing the job right the first time no matter the language.
Sure there's a problem. Why would you correct the writer and "embarrass" him like that? Being copy editor at either of the English rags has got to be one of the most futile jobs in Korea: you're expected to do your job and edit the articles, but your edits rarely get used. (I had enough pride in my work to tell them to stick it)
In the last couple days, there were a couple articles in the Times where I swear they fired the copy editor. Articles were written like my sophomore English class. ie terribly and Konglishy
Sorry Darth, I keep forgetting the lack of "professionalism" over here and the concept of saving "face" above all else that trumps even the most basic common sense like picking up a dictionary to double check one's spelling or even running it through a decent spell checker like word or wordperfect. I, myself, might use descent for decent if I'm quickly leaving a quick comment on a blog, but I'd never make that mistake in something I'd publish for my employer as my employment would probably be contingent upon doing a professional job in most other countries no matter the tongue used.
No problem, Brian. I just wonder where I will turn once you leave as there are so few in your league providing so much useful information.
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