미국 뉴스에도 2MB 뜨다!

By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter

What is an Agorian? How about 2MB? They are among descriptive words and phrases being used by Internet bloggers and even journalists to discuss ongoing anti-U.S. beef protests and the public debate over the issue.

Here is a guide to these oft-used phrases that have made their way onto Internet blogs and discussion sites as well as various news reports.

Agora Democracy


``Agora," an open place of assembly in ancient Greece, is also the name of a popular online discussion forum at Korean Internet portal Daum. Participants at the forum discuss a wide range of political issues. Participants at this left-leaning discussion forum, also referred to as ``Agorians,'' have even led a campaign against the conservative media and conglomerates like Samsung.

Launched in 2004, Agora has now emerged as an online gathering place for citizens opposing President Lee Myung-bak and his policies. It has produced numerous threads criticizing his policies such as the cross-country canal project.

In April, the forum also started an online campaign for the impeachment of President Lee. It has so far secured some 1.4 million signatures. Critics say Agora users have played a role in leading anti-U.S. beef candlelight vigils.


Direct Democracy


Some Korean academics have been describing the Internet-driven public protests and discussions as a new form of direct democracy that would complement Korea's representative democracy. ``We are witnessing the practice of direct democracy in Korea,['' former President Kim Dae-jung said last week, during a conference to mark the eighth anniversary of the first-ever inter-Korean summit. ``This direct democracy is practiced both on- and off-line via the Internet and text messages, and candlelight vigils on the streets.''


Digital Populism
Observers in Korea have been offering views on the growth of Internet-based, digital populism and its implications. One such commentator was conservative-leaning writer and novelist Yi Mun-yeol, who spoke out about the vigils during a press conference last week while discussing his latest novel. He said these protests have been both ``a victory of a great digital populism, but it is also a fearsome digital populism.''

These Internet-driven vigils and protests are ``great because something very challenging has been achieved. But also, it is fearsome because the public has proven that it can now wield its collective power against any national and state affairs,'' Yi said.


2MB
Critics on the Internet have been using this shorthand to describe President Lee. It can actually be a legitimate description since the surname ``Lee'' and the word for 2 sounds the same in the Korean language, while MB stands for the President's initials. But MB could also stand for the computer term ``megabytes.'' Some critics and Internet users have been using the term ``2MB'' to argue that the President lacks sufficient processing capacity.


Street Journalism
The phrase refers to real-time reporting and online video streaming by a new and growing group of citizen journalists. Equipped with laptop computers and digital video cameras, protesters are reporting and posting their own news on the Web in real time. This type of reporting has been giving a boost to Internet reporting and news sites. And online bloggers have also been participating in street journalism by streaming live video footage. In Korea, these street reporters represent ordinary citizens who upload real-time broadcasting, using the country's ``WiMax'' wireless Internet network.


Group Think
Some critics of the current protests have used the phrase ``group think'' to describe anti-U.S. beef opinions. The phrase refers to a universal social tendency in group settings in which members try to avoid conflict by agreeing to a consensus without fully evaluating ideas.

Group think is described as ``a quick way to refer to a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to appraise alternative courses of action.'' In Korea, one of the most wired nations in the world, the Web may facilitate building consensus among the country's Internet users, also referred to as ``Netizens."


Internet Mob
``Internet mob'' or ``Cyber mob'' are some of the phrases that have been used by critics to describe the ongoing public backlash. In Korea, the Internet has shown its capacity to connect and organize participants. In an Internet mob, the high-tech world of Web connectivity may work with the old ``mob mentality,'' where groups may act together without a specific planned direction. Such mob mentality can be found in street demonstrations and mob violence as well as everyday decision-making and opinion-forming processes, even including stock market performances.


Mad Cow Mob

Critics of the anti-U.S. beef protests have used the phrase ``mad-cow mob'' to describe the Korean public backlash against unrestricted U.S. beef imports. ``The Internet has enabled a lot of social changes'' in Korea, according to one report. ``In Korea, the Internet-organized mob has gone to the next level…The Internet has remained the focal point for most of the reactionary responses to U.S. beef imports.''