As tensions rise between Korea and Japan over the issue of control over the Dokdo Islets, Web sites ridiculing Korea are being set up in Japan, with Internet users from both countries hurling abuse on one another and launching ¡°cyber-attacks¡± by bombarding opposing sites with traffic. This ¡°cyber-Imjinwaeran¡± is expected to reach its climax Monday night.
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Dokdo Island Stamps to be published by the Korea Post.
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The Imjinwaeran is the Korean name for the seven-year war between the Chosun Dynasty in Korea and the Shogunate of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Japan. The war began in 1592 when Hideyoshi¡¯s forces invaded the Korean Peninsula.
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Korean and Japanese Internet users
are swiping at each other,posing such
images as the,¡®Korea as dog eating
country¡¯on Japanese websites, while ¡®54th
anniversary celebrating the day nuclear
bomb hit Japan¡¯ stamp (below) is posted
in Korean cyber space.
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According to Internet users, the Korean internet users who are driving the cyber-demonstration are planning to launch two massive ¡°traffic bombardments¡± Monday evening against the Japanese websites ¡°2CH¡± (www.2ch.net) and ¡°The K-Country Way¡± (kanokuni.hp.infoseek.co.jp and kanokuni.8bit.co.uk). The attacks work by routing so many visitors to a single Web site that the site¡¯s host computer collapses.
¡°2CH,¡± considered the headquarters for Japanese Internet users in the battle, experienced partial slowdowns due to concerted traffic attacks by Korean Internet users on Saturday and Sunday. Since the site started blocking connections from South Korea, however, it has been running without major problems.
The Korean Internet users leading the cyber-attacks claim that ¡°The K-County Way¡± is maliciously trying to spread clearly false facts about Korea by posting pieces debasing Korea and uploading a large number of bizarre composite photographs and even strange photographs of other countries that the site says describe Korea.
On Sunday afternoon, some of the bulletin boards used by the Korean Internet users leading the attacks experienced slowdowns and difficult connections as they were flooded with traffic. As of Monday morning, however, most appeared to be running normally, as a temporary lull in the traffic bombardment from both nations¡¯ Internet users set in.
Korean Internet users have switched strategies this time, launching attacks not only through Korean and Japanese Internet service providers (ISPs), but over major ISPs from around the world.
Even sites such as the offbeat Korean news website ¡°Doggaebi News¡± (www.dkbnews.com) have been informing domestic internet users about Japanese websites, such as ¡°The K-Country Way,¡± that have content that unjustly debases Korea.
In this situation, Internet users from both countries are opening one site after another ridiculing the other side and have started using such means as bulletin board flame wars and traffic bombardments to attack each others Web sites. Korean Internet users, for example, have opened a ¡°K-County Way¡± parody site named ¡°The J-Country Way¡± (www.nfonews.net) that accepts from contributors photos and content mocking Japan.
Korean and Japanese Internet users are also leaving an unending stream of ridicule, abuse, and obscene language on each others¡¯ bulletin boards using robot translation programs provided by sites such as Naver.com¡¯s Japanese information Web site, Enjoy Japan (enjoyjapan.naver.com).
By Sung-ho Youn and Robert Koehler
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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