I write about Korean entertainment, and it’s almost always glossy and with excitement. Of course the reality is nowhere near the veneer of Hallyu fervor that is fed to us. I neither discount that the underbelly of entertainment in any country can be pretty seedy, nor do I have to devote my writings to exposing the dirt rather than celebrating the successes. But sometimes the two converge and become personal. Over a year ago, a young, hot, and successful rap star in Korea by the stage name of Tablo, nee Daniel Lee, came under anonymous netizen attacks on his credentials. What credentials would a rap star need, you may ask? None really, except Tablo just happened to be a bona fide Stanford University graduate (class of ’02) with both a BA and a MA in English (courtesy of the Stanford co-term program).
The anonymous netizens grew and grew, and the attacks on Tablo’s credibility about his schooling reached an unprecedented level of vitriol and shocking level of hate. A year’s worth of fighting these cyberspace attackers nearly destroyed Tablo, and this month’s Stanford Magazine recounts his ordeal and the attacks in details. It’s absolutely horrifying to read. I let my Stanford Magazine sit on my nightstand for a few weeks until a few college friends emailed me asking if I read this month’s article on Tablo. After reading it I started to cry, because no one can justify what they did to him, and no one deserves to suffer such mental anguish for doing absolutely nothing other than something worth being commended for. I really urge everyone to read the article, and perhaps gain a better understanding of the power of the anonymous pen, and how to wield it with justifiable dignity.
Daniel Lee went back to Stanford last August with a MBC film crew in tow to document his visit to his alma mater. Only then did the attacks on him finally stop. But the toll it took on him and his family can never be erased. Click here to read “The Persecution of Daniel Lee”.
A few quotes really stand out for me:
The conspiracy theorists online dismissed all this as simply part of the conspiracy. They argued that the reporter had been paid to defend Lee and didn’t believe that the error in David’s résumé was accidental. Lee’s efforts to answer their questions were turned into evidence of how far he was willing to go to defend his false identity.
Lee was vindicated, but all he could feel was numbness. “The people who are doing this to me will never stop,” he said. “They just won’t believe me no matter what I do.”
He’s still afraid to go out in public and doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to perform for an audience again. This May, he returned to Stanford to give a speech to the Asian American Students’ Association. It was his first public appearance since the controversy erupted and even though it was a friendly crowd, Lee was paralyzed by stage fright, something he’d never experienced before. He felt nauseated throughout the talk and periodically had to pause to catch his breath. It reinforced his fear that he’d never be able to dominate a stage as he once did. “Honestly, I’m damaged,” he says. “And I don’t know if I’ll ever be better.”
It’s easy to join a lynch mob when you can hide behind the shield of online anonymity. It takes a strong man to fight to clear his name the way Daniel Lee did. I applaud him, as his college sunbae, and as a fellow human being. I hope time heals his wounds, and that we’ll once again be gifted with his talented song-writing inspirations once more.
[Credit: picture and quotes from Stanford Magazine]
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I am appalled at the way he was accused over and over again, when if he had fabricated his credentials, it would have been discovered almost immediately. My heart broke to read that he was afraid to go out in public, what would happen to his family and that he couldn't do the thing he loved to do - perform. I hope that the accusers in question have real action taken against them so this never ever happens to anyone else. Best wishes for him and his family.
That's actually the problem. Legal actions cannot be taken because those accusers are 'anonymous'. So sad.
sometimes korean people are really crazy......I love Korea but sincerely some of them are very strange people......ony crazy people do this things
Netizens are cowards. They simply sit behind a computer and make ignorant and prejudice remarks without regard for another person's feelings. Not just Tablo's ordeal, but I thought the whole situation with JaeBum(formerly of 2PM) was way overblown and once again, that can be credited to netizens.
Omg, I wasn't aware of that story. I am socked. I read the whole article, and I am shocked.
Are those people crazy? Even if he was lying, what the fack are they doing? Threaten someone's life over that?
In Greece (my country) lately we have a ''scandal'' about a singer, lying about her heritage (says she is part Mexican when she is Albanian).
People just bashing her about being a liar, sometimes mock her (online or in TV) about lying, but that's the end. She still sings and is popular, and noone's threatening.
I mean, if you don't like something that a celebrities does or says, just don't bother yourself.
I feel sorry for that guy, Tablo. And I feel so much anger for those online losers.
I am a long time fan of Epik High, and I can remember when this all started, and Tablo was active on twitter. You could see it all spiraling out of control. The whole thing was insane - the conspiracy theories were simply vicious. I will never understand the need some people have to hate.
I hope Tablo's family and friends stay strong and keep supporting him. With time and grace, we'll be blessed with his talents some more.
Miss koala
Thank you for sharing this story. I have to admit, I cried towards the end of the article when Tablo arrived in Stanford for the MBC filming and was hugged by Judy Candell, and later when Black verified his credentials - finally he was with people who supported him. This story made me feel so sad that an innocent human being was "destroyed" emotionally and mentally because of this inhuman online attack.
I have read about this news in passing, but did not really know who Tablo was nor the detailed content. This article gave a human face to the whole story. I am glad I read it, because Tablo's story should be told too all so that same horrible attack do not happen again.
It's appalls me that netizens in Korea has such insane "power" to bring a public figure down. And from what I see, the attacks seem to stem from jealousy due to Tablo's seemingly easy success in life (studies, career, family). Not sure if I am correct, but it seems to be things like this happens a lot more in Korean e-circle than others (eg. Mainland, HK or Taiwan) as I have read quite a number of news where Korean artistes are driven to despair and even suicide due to netizens attacks. Hope and pray this will change....
I also pray that Tablo (and his family) will eventually recover from this and stand on stage proudly again.
Did this MBC news finally clear Tablo's reputation in Korea? Did it get enough coverage in other media too?
I also wonder, will it be good to publish this article in other sites (eg. Asianfanatics)? This news should be spread to as many people as possible, esp among netizens with interest in entertainment, as it's good learning for all. If you don't mind, I would like to post it at Asianfanatics news section.
sytwo
sytwo,
Please feel free to repost my article, or the Stanford article directly, or anything else you want, to allow people to understand the truth of what happened to Tablo.
OK, thanks! Will post the Stanford article in the news section at Asianfanatics.
Idk if anyone will read this but Tablo got some due justice the korean netziens got punished all with jail time and permanent records ev'ry will know the crime and pain they inflicted on Tablo & his family. It's sad that his father passed away before he could see justice for his son. The criminals got their judgements this past spring 2012. Tablo 'fighting'!
Thanks Koola for posting this. I heard briefly about Tablo's Controversy, but I never really read into it. It's horrifying reading about all the things he and his family had to go through. Its unbelievable how hateful and cruel people can be on the internet. It really breaks my heart to even scroll up and look at Tablo's photo. He looks so hurt and worn out from everything. I'm glad the truth finally came out and I just hope that everything goes well for him and his family. God Bless.
I sincerely love Koreans but news like this, I feel a little dumb for admiring them. Why is it that netizens are always like this to their countrymen? They are most of the times judgemental of someone's looks, weight, education, wealth, etc. It almost makes me want to knock their full of air heads off. Wouldn't it be better if we don't ruin another person's life because of nonsense made-up gossips?
Thanks Koala! I had heard about this when it was happening and I was just appalled. It just seems like a rapper would have NO reason to lie about something like that. I can't believe those people wouldn't think it's true. It's just really crazy the type of people out there. I totally believe that these people are out there and even me, a complete nobody, has been accused of a few conspiracies myself by none other than my sister's ridiculous irrational and insane in laws. These people must be really crazy to accuse Tablo. The fact that Koreans, and asians in general in the US, are super smart and can do a lot of things is not unusual at all. I hardly think it's shocking that he went to a top US school. I think it's super amazing and wonderful that he went to Stanford and graduate with those degrees :) Good for him.
I really hope that he can recover from the emotional turmoil, especially being a dad and stuff. I hope he can show them all that he's better than that and these haters - screw them. He deserves so much better. While I didn't go to Stanford, I hope he can be a proud alumni. Btw - I don't attend or participate in all those alumni activities at my alma mater but I don't think that in any way makes me any less of a proud alumni and graduate. And also - don't those alumni groups have you on some sort of hundreds of listservs and what not - couldn't it have been quite easy to confirm if he was an alumni (I mean for the alumni association to confirm it)? I know I get tons of emails from my alma mater and it's associated alumni associations. I don't know... I think the Stanford alumni group should have helped out a fellow alumnus. But ultimately, it's not their fault, it's the crazy netizens. Don't people have a heart?
:( I can't imagine how he felt during the attack, me a bystander, felts so much rage, anguish, sadness for him... And to top it off the attacker escaped with nothing??!! Jealous people are scary bunch....