Saturday, March 5, 2022

The Korean Hit Job

 They're brutal. They're effective. They're eternal...


I'm going to take you on a journey down the dark side of the net. The side where anonymity allows for trolls to take pot shots at anything or anyone without much blow back or effect on the troll's daily life, off the net. This first installment of three, will cover the results arising from a collaborative effort of thousands of netizens that took an interest in a Korean entertainer and damn near ended his life.

Imagine the year 2010. You've just turned 30 years old and the world's laid out in front of you. Back in '02, you achieved both your Bachelor's in English Literature and your Master's degree in Creative Writing from prestigious Stanford University in just three and one half years. In 2008, you published a book of short stories in Korean and it became a best seller. Just last year, 2009, you married a popular, not to mention beautiful Korean actress. On top of all this, your hip-hop group, since 2003, has released seven albums, five of which hit #1 on the Korean charts and produced six, #1 singles.

This was the life of Daniel Lee.

Then it all came crashing down....
 
Daniel Lee photo by Timothy Archibald/STANFORD Magazine
 

I'll let STANFORD Magazine paint the picture....



(It wasn't just Koreans in Korea, it turns out a  major player in all this is a guy living in Chicago)


 

 

I'm not sure of the translation to Korean for "it was then, that things got squirrely". The "netizens " then went after his wife, his mom and his brother. Friends that stood up for him suddenly came under scrutiny. He was made a pariah. An entertainment program in Korean followed Lee back to Stanford to prove that transcripts he offered in support of his college claims , matched the registrar's copy. His paperwork and diploma were legit.

It didn't matter....