Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Korea's "ilbe" illusions

일베저장소 (Ilbe Jeojangso) is a strange phenomenon in South Korea. Young disaffected people are doing odd & crazy things. The "anything OK" bulletin board is typically labeled libertarian or right-wing, but ILBE is a kind of anarchy - and the ILBE tribe follows a disturbing trend that reaches to the top of Korean society.

People in Korea see flim-flam in action. They followed how the government bolstered one party and undermined its opponent in an election farce far dirtier than Watergate. Anything is OK. It's unethical and corrupt, a soulless crony capital system.

There is dynamic democracy in Korea - partly stifled by authoritarian rigidities and corrupt leadership. Populism thrives. Local people feel outmaneuvered, and hit-out at those weaker. Chauvinistic popular feeling regularly condemns non-Korean businesses: unreasonable attacks are justified by the rubric that "Koreans are emotional." Ultimately, everyone is either connected & protected, or an outsider without influence.

We're all encouraged to hurry. Why?  Perhaps that's a root of  일베 ...

ILBE is best translated to English as "WTF" or "whatevah..."

Those who understand what's happening often believe it's sick, sick, sick. But so is the sham government of President Park: sick, sick, sick... Outsiders not invested in Korea see rot and corruption, and understand anarchist sentiments - where the unconnected are food for the fishes. Korea is unhealthy! So sad...