Gaming is a big problem, according to the Korean government. Students are never on computers in our school alone and do not use on-line games at school. The PC Bangs they speak of are outside the school and outside our jurisdiction. PBS did a documentary on the subject that you can watch below.
Cyber bullying on social media is a very interesting subject because of the unique problems schools have in dealing with it since it's online and usually outside of school's traditional jurisdiction. It's also so easy to spread information that it can escalate so much quicker than before social media causing more drastic reactions by the victim, in some cases, suicide. It's tragic, but there isn't an easy solution. I haven't witnessed, or even heard of, cyber bullying at our school, but I believe this is a cultural and legal difference being showcased. The Korean government, as I have pointed out before, has it's hands involved in this problem, not just for children, but for adults as well. There is a law making defamation a crime. The controversial law claims "defamation is considered a criminal offense under the Criminal Code and an "unlawful act" under the Civil Code." (Youm, 1992, p 1) this creates a unique situation because even adults that make hurtful claims (even if they are true) about others can be sued or even prosecuted. In order to uphold the law, there is a lot of government monitoring of media and the Internet and children are no exception. Because of the relatively strict legal precedent it makes cyber bullying not just into an unacceptable category, but an illegal one. This makes my addressing of the issue redundant and allows for my classroom to run smoothly without worry. My students all have an ID to log into the network that can be tracked. Even though I disagree with this privacy intrusion on a moral level, it does make it easier to let my students on the Internet without worry. It also frees my hands from having to worry about off-campus cyber bullying, since it remains a law enforcement issue, not a school issue. However, the controversial part of the law is the obvious 'Big Brother' and freedom of speech breaches. For more information on the controversy click the button below.
In my class, I use a handout that can be taken home to go over the expectations and good practices of my class’s use of technology. In Korea, the government, because of the Juvenile Protection Act (MOGEF, 2014), are able to monitor cyber bullying and block pornography from children. At our school, each child must have an ID and password to log on to the internet and that code is matched with what sites they can use or not use. This allows the teachers to not worry too much, though we are still there for monitoring purposes. Since these rules are in place, I will focus my short lesson on netiquette and general rules of thumb the children should know whenever they are on-line, no matter where they might be. The handout explains more - click below.
Internet Dos and Don'ts Handout
For more information on Cyberbullying in Korea click the button below.
References
Carnegie Cadets. (2014). Fun Stuff. Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved from http://www.carnegiecyberacademy.com/funStuff/netiquette/netiquette.html
Ministry of Gender Equality & Family (MOGEF). (2014). Laws & Data. Government of the Republic of Korea. Retrieved from http://english.mogef.go.kr/sub04/sub04_11.jsp
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). (2014) Prevent Cyber Bullying. Retrieved from http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/prevention/index.html
Youm, K.H.. (1992). Libel law and the press in South Korea: An update. Occasional Papers/Reprints Series in Contemporary Asian Studies, number 3, 1. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi