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. Continue reading →