'Suicide' to Be Banned From Input on Internet (in Korea)

[ashiva.livejournal.com]

Keywords "suicide methods" and other words related to suicide will be, in principle, banned from input for online communities, blogs and other communal cyber spaces, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said Monday.

To counter growing group suicides in the nation, the ministry will join hands with police, telecommunication authorities, civic groups and portals to ban keywords related to suicide and block access to Web sites.

Among the banned words are "suicide", "suicide methods", "group suicide", and other terms pertaining to suicide.

Postings containing information about suicide will be deleted and the operators of online cafes on the subject could be prosecuted. The prosecution recently arrested a Web site operator of an online suicide information cafe.

Rental car dealers, charcoal brisket sellers as well as hotel and inn managers are encouraged to report any "suspicious groups of people" they notice to local police.

Those who report such activities will be rewarded. Newspapers and other media outlets are also requested to "refrain from describing the methods and locations of sites" to prevent further copycat suicides.

The move comes as the number of such crimes has increased dramatically since actor Ahn Jae-hwan reportedly killed himself using charcoal briquettes last September. More than 11 cases of "joint suicide" have been reported since then, killing 11 and leaving six in critical care.

Source

Comments

is that even gonna help?

[missyxcindy.livejournal.com]

um, if they wanna suicide...they can find ways themselves without looking it up. I don't think it'll help much.

Re: is that even gonna help?

[yourexsilly.livejournal.com]

that's my thought.
if you have enough intellect to understand what suicide is in order to want to commit it, then I'm pretty sure you know how

[dapdaphae.livejournal.com]

that's a step...

but it still doesn't help with the source of all these people's suicidal thoughts which is probably societal pressure to achieve and overachieve in any given field :\

[mustenentwined3.livejournal.com]

...at least they're trying, somehow. :l

[bulgocrazyi.livejournal.com]

The internet is not the source of the problem. Seriously.

[ficcy.livejournal.com]

THIS.

[poppytea.livejournal.com]

ditto

[orangeinsanity.livejournal.com]

this. I honestly don't think this will help much if at all.

[bulgocrazyi.livejournal.com]

I don't think so either.

[hoyah.livejournal.com]

iawtc

not to mention - banning the word will probably also affect sites for suicide prevention. :/ and that's problematic.

[bulgocrazyi.livejournal.com]

It is. besides if people want to kill themselves they will do it. They don't need the internet for that.

[kaylapoo.livejournal.com]

Wait so...this doesn't apply to the US though or anywhere else besides Korea? idgi wth is that going to do?

[yourexsilly.livejournal.com]

it just applies to Korea. it's because Korea has seen a large growth in suicide as opposed to other countries, where it's not growing at the rate that it is in Korea, if it's growing at all.
Plus, I've heard that in Korea, it's sometimes frowned upon if someone seeks mental health.

[no-genre.livejournal.com]

that is both sad and scary
banning it won't help ppl who want to kill themselves will find a way and do it one way or another

[walnuuut.livejournal.com]

Japan also, right?

[yourexsilly.livejournal.com]

the mental help thing? yeah.. most Asian countries.

[sojufever.livejournal.com]

I like how they're trying to help, but this can only do so much. Restricting suicide from the internet still won't be able to purge the thoughts already in one's head. It may be harder to find methods or people who may want to die with you, but the thought alone is a strong enough catalyst. Also, banning the word is a little excessive. What if someone's doing research on the topic or is actually looking up 'suicide help.' To what extent does the banning occur? I think instead of banning the word from input, they should be setting up more support websites and real-life facilities for people who are contemplating.

[orangeinsanity.livejournal.com]

This. They should set up some groups/communities where people can get free/anonymous help or something. I don't think banning how to commit suicide will do much.

[ficcy.livejournal.com]

There are worse things on the Internet than definitions of suicide or suicide techniques.
SRSLY. Kids don't need to be creative if they want to off themselves. They can just as easily hang themselves in their bedrooms or throw themselves off the balcony.
I suggest doing something more productive than banning the shit out of things. Say, work on preventing cyber-bullying (a MUCH larger cause of suicide than what they're banning), or actually acknowledge the fact that people CAN get depressed and they need medical attention/help.

[sojufever.livejournal.com]

I agree with everything you said. Cyber bullying is a huge problem. Actress Choi Jin-sil was (at least from what I read on a few news sites) increasingly depressed because of ruthless online defamation which later lead to her suicide. I'm sure she had other problems, but the insults on the internet were adding unnecessary fuel to the fire.

From one article: "Many Internet users, taking advantage of anonymity, have made a hobby of writing malicious messages on websites, accusing celebrities of sex scandals or (having) plastic surgery," Oh said.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/2007-02/12/content_807265.htm


And on the topic of acknowledging awareness:


"Koreans are very secretive about psychiatric problems," says Lee Myung Soo, a psychiatrist at the Seoul Metropolitan Mental Health Centre who agrees that one of the main reasons that people won't talk about it here is fear of losing one's job.


http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1847437,00.html

I hope they don't think this word banning is the end to their high suicide rates. There is a lot more to work on.

[sincronia.livejournal.com]

It's a good measure... To an extent. Like, the fact that they're recognizing it further, I guess. I'm not a suicidal person (never really was), but I'm sure and have read stories where suicide can come pretty easy to some people. :\ I guess they're reaching out to the internet 'cause netizens can go pretty nuts on the net, if anywhere.

[sincronia.livejournal.com]

ETA: I seriously wish they'd find/get some psychologists and therapists... Not that it'd help that much, but hey, it's just another thought from my braaaain~

[missklutz16.livejournal.com]

by blocking searches for the word suicide, wouldn't they be banning searches on suicide help lines and stuff by association? that's a bit counter-intiutive don't you think?

[crypticbluerose.livejournal.com]

this

[shinjukudolls.livejournal.com]

THIS

[thenylonkid.livejournal.com]

I was going to comment on this, but you've summed it up.

WTF, Korea.

[orangeinsanity.livejournal.com]

Oh I'm sorry to hear that. How are you and your family? :(

[-ochre.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear that. :(

[bulgocrazyi.livejournal.com]

I know how you feel my aunt committed suicide as well. Which is why I think this is retarded.

[sojufever.livejournal.com]

I agree wholly with your comment.

I'm sorry for your loss. How are you coping?

I've lost a close adoptive relative to suicide, had numerous friends that have attempted it, and god knows how many times I've contemplated doing it myself. Banning words really wont help shit.

[hp-groupie.livejournal.com]

YES...ugh.

[crypticbluerose.livejournal.com]

well good for them.*sarcasm*

but it'll hardly solve the problem.

[moriganmadison.livejournal.com]

one of the dumbest things I've read today and that's cause I haven't been to ONTD yet

irl LOL

[orangeinsanity.livejournal.com]

me too haha

[wildcosmos.livejournal.com]

...this will help how??

[uberinscrutable.livejournal.com]

...people already KNOW how to commit suicide.

Eliminating internet discourse about it is not going to solve anything. They need to take steps on EDUCATING people about it, and telling them that it's OK to get help. Then tell people how to get help, and make it available. Maybe work on removing some of the social stigma associated with it?

[cloud-honey.livejournal.com]

as if they had to search on internet comfortable ways to commit suicide. please!

[shinjukudolls.livejournal.com]

silly Korea, censorship just makes things worse :D

[liime-arix.livejournal.com]

I don't see how this will help at all. I think cyber-bullying is the bigger cause of suicide. People on the internet can be so cruel and a lot of the victims probably never had anyone to turn to.
Depressing ain't it, the government isn't all that helpful...

[sojufever.livejournal.com]

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=390145

This whole article is spot on, imo


Last Paragraph:

"In order for there to be a positive difference made in the suicide rate in South Korea, two things need to happen. First, mental illness needs to be acknowledged, the stigma surrounding it decreased and more measures put in place to treat it, making it accessible to the public. Second, the various socio-cultural factors behind the ten percent of suicides which are generally not related to mental illness but more to societal pressure and conflict, need to be considered and change take place. People need to become more accepting of sexual difference. Those officials who set the standards for entrance into university need to learn that teenagers are human beings, not machines. Of course, the causes of mental illness need to be considered as well. Although a complex issue, the tragic suicides of Lee Hye-ryeon and Lee Eun-joo, most likely due to severe depression, beg the question: what causes depression in the first place? Society needs to recover its humanity so that these potential victims of suicide can find theirs, before it's too late."

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

what ever they will just find another way to spell suicide. THEY DID IT WITH PORN. pr0nz. Hello~

[xradiostatic.livejournal.com]

wtf is this going to do?! there are other ways to look up suicide. you can easily type "how to kill yourself" or something. most people don't really have to search online to learn how to commit suicide either.

either way, banning the word isn't going to lower the cases of suicides. what needs to be done is cyber bullying prevention and for people to recognize that mental illnesses are conditions that need to be treated and not ignored (the stigma needs to be broken down).

[orangeinsanity.livejournal.com]

Also, people could always look to movies/dramas that feature suicide. It's not like their going to ban those as well.

[shanny-w.livejournal.com]

So if someone types in suicide prevention they wont be able to go to any sites?

[haights.livejournal.com]

...because the internet is responsible for all those suicides? :/

So blind. It's sad. Truly sad.

[brailleun.livejournal.com]

Oh so those people think that banning the word means they're banning the whole thing and no one will ever never commit suicide because they can't google it anymore? Somebodies need realitychecks.

Out of google, out of word? Or something. If it only was that easy o/.

[izabera.livejournal.com]

Children who have never been online have killed themselves, mostly by hanging. A friend attempted suicide in primary school because of bullying.
If someone wants to commit suicide, they'll find a way.