Sunfull

Counter cyberbullying with Sunfull

In October 2008, a merciless tide of public opinion was a major reason that drove movie star Choi Jin-sil to take her own life. The most well-known victim of cyberbullying in Korea was also a mother of two.

Her suicide is not an isolated incident. It is part of the country’s growing problem with insidious chat room activity. In May 2010, a group of Internet users attacked rapper Tablo, whose Korean name is Lee Seon-woong. The members accused the 32-year-old of forging his Stanford degrees and argued that he did not graduate from the prestigious university. He presented his credentials, yet the group continued to attack the artist.

As one of the most wired nations, almost every household in Korea is equipped with broadband Internet. But this freedom in exchange of information and opinion has made celebrities as well as ordinary people vulnerable to relentless online attacks known here as “akpeul,” or vicious online replies. Min Byoung-chul, a renowned English educator and a professor of International Studies at Konkuk University, has been trying to combat it. In 2007, he started Sunfull, a non-profit organization formed to fight bullying and hateful comments posted on the Internet.

The word “sunfull” mixes the Chinese character “sun” meaning good or virtuous with “full,” which pronounced in the Korean way is synonymous with the shortened version of how Koreans say “reply.” In English, the name stands for “full of sunshine.”

Hiding behind the cloak of anonymity, the majority of Korean cyber bullies are teenagers (61.2 percent), followed by 20-somethings (20.1 percent), according to Sunfull.

“Children’s bad habit of posting vicious attacks can lead to violence at schools,” said Min during a recent interview. “These things happen because we don’t educate children on building character.”

He is known as a pioneer in the promotion of English education in Korea. The Sunfull president has studied English education for more than 30 years and released many books including “Ugly Koreans Ugly Americans” and “Make a Global Impact Through Mastery of English.” The latter, written in 2011, is to help competent and competitive Koreans realize their full potential on a global scale by enhancing their English communication skills.

The Sunfull movement has now become an important part of anti-cyberbulling programs in many schools around the country.

It has worked with schools, businesses and government organizations including the Ministry of Justice, Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and Korean National Police Agency. It encourages students to voluntarily create positive, meaningful online comments.

When students find an instance of someone being harassed, they read the original posting and the comments, and write something positive and meaningful.

The movement logged its 3 millionth positive post last month, thanks to constant efforts by the team.

“I first started this movement by tasking my students to post one positive comment on the websites of 10 different celebrities. It’s amazing to see that this small activity has spread so wide,” said Min.

The professor was also once a target of cyber attacks by a student.

“A student of mine once posted an unpleasant comment about me on the school’s online notice board. I guess she was disappointed by the fact that she didn’t get an A grade from me, which she was expecting. I am OK with critical comments but slander is not acceptable,” he added.

According to data from the organization, over 20,000 students from about 3,000 schools have participated in the movement to date. It said based on the surveys that children are less likely to post vicious attacks online after participating in the Sunfull movement. More than 20 percent of students had engaged in cyber attacks at least on some level before their involvement in the campaign whereas the number dropped to about 5 percent after participating in it.

The students have also become more careful with the language they use. And interaction with their parents and siblings has improved.

A recent story about a middle school student tells the extent to which the Sunfull movement can give hope.

“This little boy, Im Jae-yoon, was left in a vegetative state after a bus crash in May. His classmates wrote messages on a board wishing him a speedy recovery. His parents hung the board on the wall and reminded their son of the messages several times. His condition improved astonishingly since and he is now able to breathe without a respirator. I believe our activity had a beneficial influence,” said the professor.

Sunfull aims to spread its campaign to other countries and make them aware of what it is doing in Korea to counter cyber attacks. Such K-pop stars as MBLAQ, KARA and ZE:A have helped spread the word as honorary ambassadors.

“We went to Beijing in 2009 to promote our campaign. We are planning to reach out to more educational institutions around the world and awaken them to the benefits Sunfull generates,” Min said. “We are seeking to go as far afield as the United States in the near future.”

Why don’t we all try giving words of encouragement to families, friends and colleagues? Even a small warm-hearted text message will make their day.

For more information about Sunfull, visit their websites at www.sunfull.or.kr (Korean) www.sun-full.org (English), call (02) 535-3449 or contact Rich DeBourke, Sunfull’s international public relations director at rdebourke@yahoo.com. <The Korea Times/Rachel Lee>

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