Korea’s internet environment has improved rapidly over the years and Korea is now the most connected country in the world. The Sunfull Movement aims to control the proliferation of malicious comments, information leakages and breaches of privacy by fostering a positive Internet environment. Efforts are under way to achieve a more mature Internet culture where everyone logs off happy.

Korea’s internet environment growth with the highest online public participation rate

The Internet made its commercial debut in Korea in 1994, and its expansion has since been furthered by the rapid development of high-speed communication networks and advanced computers. Korea now ranks top of the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) Digital Opportunity Index and the UN e-Government Index 2010, boasting the highest online participation rate in online government policies.

77.2% percent of all Korean citizens above three years of age were using the Internet as of December 2009. The number of users has reached 36.5 million, which is nearly the entire adult population. Over 99 percent of all students have access to the Internet; 98 percent if including young citizens in their twenties to thirties. The Korean portals Naver, Daum, and Nate provide a comprehensive community service - commonly referred to either as a cafe, a blog, or a mini hompi (mini homepage) - where people can exchange opinions and share information. The Internet has become an indispensable channel of communication for many Koreans.

Vicious criticism, a generic side effect among highly connected countries

The Internet’s vast popularity has made certain aspects of life much easier. Take internet banking, electronic identification certificates, online retailers, and active online communities as examples. Who would have thought all this possible when internet was first introduced over a decade ago? But, like all powerful tools, the Internet is subject to abuse. Hurtful comments, violations of privacy, Internet addiction, online fraud, and hacking are now pretty widespread on the Net. Rootless rumors, posts, and videos spread throughout online communities like wildfire, fuelling social anxiety and stirring up mistrust among users. Abusive comments on the Net have long since crossed the line.

Anonymous comments with vicious intent are as deadly as an invisible bullet that can claim an innocent life. Famous celebrities and political figures are exposed to raw criticism, making them vulnerable to abusive comments. Their profession is heavily influenced by public reputation; a hard blow can cost them an entire career.

The rampant spread of such comments is not an issue unique to Korea. It is generic among other countries that are advancing to a highly developed information technology; the more advanced Internet connection and accessibility inevitably bringing side effects besides the positive ones.

After a series of high-profile celebrity suicides, esteemed English education professor Min Byoung-chul of Konkuk University started the Sunfull Movement to raise awareness about online etiquette and resolve the social issue.

In 2007, a young female singer committed suicide, purportedly due to online harassment. Similar cases have continued cyberstalking has been raised as a severe social issue in Korea. The Sunfull Movement Headquarters has been established as a response calling for a halt.

Korea may be an information technology powerhouse but it has been unable to avoid the social illness of online abuse, slander, and other forms of online violence. In 2005 a video of a young woman leaving her dog’s feces in a subway carriage was uploaded online. This two-minute clip resulted in a nationwide cyber witch-hunt. It is a well-documented incident that illustrates the pernicious effect of anonymous comments. Unfortunately, similar issues continue to surface.

Not long ago a celebrity of national status took her life to the surprise of the entire nation. Investigations revealed that she was the victim of relentless insults, slander, and the spread of false information about her on the Net. The incident raised awareness on and laid the foundations for the launch of the Sunfull Movement.

When Professor Min Byoung-chul first learned about the shocking suicide of the young female singer in early 2007, he decided to take immediate action. That spring semester he gave out an unconventional assignment to 570 students taking his English class. They were assigned to visit homepages or blogs of ten celebrities suffering from malicious comments and leave positive and encouraging comments that describe why these celebrities deserve positive comments. A report was to be written on the results. This assignment sparked a movement to cover the boards with 5,700 positive comments of hope and encouragement that was once full of spiteful words.

The students initiated the movement by posting such comments as, “Do not bother what those trolls say. Hold your head up high!” “It is good to see someone so passionate about their job. Keep up the good work!” and “I was one of those who wrote spiteful comments but through the assignment I realized I should no more be one of them.”

But, the assignment alone could not end the suicides of youngsters suffering from malicious comments. Therefore, Professor Min launched a national campaign in order to prevent teenagers from being exposed to malicious comments in the cyberspace. On May 23, 2007, he established the Sunfull HQ (www.sunfull.or.kr) along with Korean celebrities including Ahn Sung-ki, Yoo Dong-geun, and Kim Je-dong.

Since then, the Sunfull Movement has expanded nationwide as the general public realized the serious impact of malicious comments that had sacrificed the lives of celebrities.

The Sunfull Movement roots on the spirit of Chuimsae, which is to encourage the joy of the song by hitting the rhythm in traditional Korean music. With the same principle the Sunfull comments posted online shall boost positive energy on the Net.

In 2005 Professor Min Byoung-chul started the Sunfull Movement by promoting the use of thoughtful comments, and saying, “When my cousin buys a piece of land, I am happy for him,” which put a positive twist on the old Korean saying “One gets a sore stomach when one’s cousin buys a piece of land.” The movement sought from the outset to change the public’s perception of the rich and successful. Their message is essentially that, rather than expressing one’s envy, one should be happy for others and encourage them.

Chuimsae in traditional Korean music is when a drummer beats his drum to the rhythm of the song as he shouts out “eolssu (bravo)!” or “jota (nice)! to the beat. The Sunfull Movement resembles chuimsae in the sense that it encourages instead of cutting others down. The movement’s goal is to apply this way of thinking to the Internet.

The Sunfull Movement is about sending uplifting messages to the world instead of spiteful comments. One kind remark can trigger a synergy effect. The more people participate, the closer we get to a healthy online culture.

The Sunfull Movement is an online positive comment campaign whose purpose is to give encouragement and hope to those people suffering from malicious comments on the cyber bulletin boards. It is also aimed at informing internet users of the sufferings that groundless and malicious comments can cause victims; it hopes to change the face of cyberspace into a friendlier and more civilized public sphere. It is a public campaign to urge the public to value their own lives and those of other people; an online campaign to change the behavior and mindset of online users by encouraging them to write positive and cheerful messages on message boards.

Sunfull, which is the English pronunciation of the Korean term meaning good-reply, in English itself it represents a warmhearted cyber community like a place full of sunshine and that is why it uses a sunflower as the symbol of its purpose.

A single positive comment on a board riddled with slander and hateful remarks can:

A. Induce others to change their minds about a subject. People will start to agree with the positive comment, changing the board’s ambiance;
B. Lower the number of malicious comments dramatically;
C. Make netizens think again before they post a negative comment;
D. Help foster a healthy debate culture replacing the nasty and abusive comments online.

The first Friday of every November is Sunfull Day. The Sunfull HQ and the government worked together on the Sunfull National Relay Campaign, which succeeded in promoting awareness among the students who took participation in the event and in reducing the volume of abusive comments dramatically.

The Sunfull Movement has collaborated with school teachers to make the Sunfull Group, a group dedicated to raising awareness about the movement. They host campaigns, take part in contests, and other group activities to promote Sunfull. Students can take part in the movement by following these simple steps:

How to become part of the Sunfull Movement:

Make a ‘Sunfull Page’ at the school website and the teacher will instruct the students to:
1) Leave a thank-you comment to parents;
2) Leave a thank-you comment to teachers;
3) Leave an encouraging and up-lifting comment to classmates;
4) Leave an encouraging comment for people who are suffering from cyber-bullying or anyone who might need a positive comment.

Students who take their time to leave positive comments will be considered to have done volunteer work by the school. This will help them form a positive habit.

On November 6, 2009, the second Sunfull Day (the first Friday of every November) was celebrated. This day 304,761 people from 844 schools and organizations declared their participation promoting a nationwide attention to the Sunfull Movement. In May 2010, the Movement, which started off as a private organization, gained support from the Korean government. At each six province - the Seoul metropolitan, Gangwon (Chuncheon), Honam (Jeonju), Jeju, Chungcheong (Daejeon), and Yeongnam (Busan) areas, the Sunfull National Relay Campaign was held while near ten thousands of students and teachers have participated. In December 14, 2010 the number of positive comments, or so to say Sunfulls posted on the Sunfull HQ homepage exceeded one million.

Furthermore, in order to spread attention to Sunfull Movement and charity culture, Sunfull Donation Campaign (give.sunfull.or.kr) is carried out. Under the campaign principles each positive comment generates one cent (ten won in Korean currency) and this amount will be given by donators. The donation will be used as scholarship funds for youth on need base; also students from recognized Sunfull movement participating schools will be considered as well on merit base in terms of the student’s contribution to the Sunfull movement. This introduces a new kind of donation campaign that both encourages positive atmosphere on the Net and spread the spirit of sharing. The idea is receiving favorable response from participants while many teachers and parents are taking part.

Members of the Sunfull Group conducted a survey on 644 students who attended the campaign. According to its results (tolerance 95%, confidence level ± 3.6%) 25.2% of the students posted one or more abusive comments before the campaign, but only 3.1% did so after attending the campaign. 57.4% agreed that the Sunfull activities helped to nurture clean speech, and 38.2% replied that they helped a little. A total of 95.6% of the students acknowledged the campaign’s positive effects, which shows that the Sunfull Movement has successfully promoted clean speech on the Net.

Korea’s traditional pumasi (labor exchange) culture continues with its world-renowned rooting culture. Now, the Sunfull Movement has taken up the positive influence on the youth personality nurturing a healthy internet culture.

Communication in cyber space is an important feature of life in the 21st century, as the Internet has become the main means of communication. The healthy exchange of opinion is essential in the cyber world. Spreading groundless rumors and posting insulting comments can hurt someone beyond the computer screen. Things can get out of hand, and, in the worst case scenario, end in death.

The pumasi and rooting cultures are deeply embedded in Korean society, representing an irresistible urge to help those in need and cheer others on. When the country was hit by the Asian financial crisis, the whole nation donated their gold to the government. During World Cup games, everyone pours out into the streets to cheer for the national team together. The Sunfull Movement draws on these tendencies.

The Sunfull Movement is aware that teens are at the best age to build their personality. Taking part in this program helps them to form a good habit of encouraging others so they can play a part in establishing a sound Internet culture.

Leaving a positive comment makes the reader happy, but the writer feels even happier. We hope to see more teens take part in the Sunfull Movement, and thereby bridge the gap between individuals, groups, regions, and nations and resolve conflict in our global village.

For those who are interested in taking part in our movement, please send an application letter to sunfull@bcm.co.kr (Korean) or carl_pullein@mac.com (English). The official website is www.sunfull.or.kr. Contact us at +82-2-597-4776