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Korea Fighting Pseudonyms on the 'Net

Posted by michael on from the why-is-every-user-named-kim dept.

ThreeDayMonk writes "According to the Chosun Ilbo, Korean net firms, pushed by the government, are moving to require message board users to use their real names: 'The current regulation that requires those who post messages on government and public organizations' web sites to use their real names is likely to be expanded soon to private portal sites.' The Japanese version of the page has more information. Apparently, citizen ID numbers will be used to verify identity."

7 of 377 comments (clear)

  1. NO! by mrpuffypants · · Score: 5, Funny

    But Mr. Puffy Pants IS my real name!

  2. Almost always been like this by Alex_Ionescu · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm not Korean but I have many friends that are...and whenever I had to signup for as little as gaming sites to play online games with them, I was always required to input a "Korean Registration Number", which is basically a citizen ID. Even if I had nicknames, they could always trace it back to the ID. However, the ID mechanism is pretty well known, and I was able to create a random generator, which is why I guess they now want real names.

    1. Re:Almost always been like this by wljones · · Score: 5, Interesting

      When I worked in Korea thirty years ago I learned a great deal about their laws by buying a home. One of the most important laws concerns the name of the individual. A person can use any name they want, but there must be no attempt to conceal their real name. Movie and TV stars all had stage names, but news items always included their real names, in parentheses and written in Chinese characters, right after their stage name. My real name is difficult for a Korean to pronounce, so I used a Korean name for convenience. To comply with the law I had to use a stamp with my Korean name and my usual American signature on all papers. When written up in the news for a charity contribution once, my Korean name was followed by a phonetic spelling of my American name, all to comply with the law. Some comments to this article show a few changes to the law, but the principle is still the same. Your real name must never be concealed, and it is virtually impossible to have it legally changed. Korean married women do not take their husband's name, but retain their own family name.

  3. Citizen ID Numbers by GozerBrothers · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Apparently, citizen ID numbers will be used to verify identity." Sounds like Big Brother to me. Would be effective in stopping SPAM though.

  4. Re:This is what happens... by g4dget · · Score: 5, Insightful
    why is it that asking people to give their real name before posting something is against free speech ?

    Because, apart from governmental repercussions, there is peer pressure and societal disapproval for unpopular speech. If you force people to use their real names, you will get much less disagreement. Which is, of course, just what repressive governments like.

    think about it. maybe a society where no one has to hide behind pseudonyms to speak their mind is more "pro-free-speech" than one where people feel the need not to compromise themselves or something by saying their opinion.

    People have thought about this for a couple of thousand years. Many great works of literature, social criticism, reportage, and political science have been published under pseudonyms. Pseudonyms are essential for free speech.

    If you want to get rid of the need for pseudonyms, you have to change human nature (peer pressure, retaliation, flaming, all that) first. Good luck.

  5. omg too good to be true by Flunitrazepam · · Score: 5, Funny

    they should be forced to have a real picture of themselves too so i wont ever be tricked into cybering with a horny old pervert... again

    --
    1) Your analysis is based on bad assumptions so your result is way off. 2) You're a sick bastard for fucking a horse.
  6. Korean Racism against Non-Koreans by reporter · · Score: 5, Insightful
    We should not kid ourselves here. The primary reason that the Koreans use the ID number to identify everyone in Korea is to quickly and efficiently force non-Koreans out of the country.

    Please read "Once shunned, Chinese in Korea courted again". Even to this day, the Koreans have a racist attitude against non-Koreans. Most damning is the discriminatory laws that the Koreans have used against non-Koreans. The government of Korea gives preferential treatment to ethnic Koreans seeking Korean citizenship, and if you cannot prove that you are ethnically Korean, then you must obtain a personal guarantee from a high-ranking government official. Even more shocking, for more than 50 years, non-Koreans were prohibited from owning businesses. The Koreans "successfully" drove out most of the Chinese, reducing their number from 150,000 to 20,000.