Being something of a government minimalist, I agree with Shaun's assessment of the situation:
As an aside, I love how the Korean Constitution says Korea grants freedom of speech unless what is being said "undermines public morals or social ethics." [Article 21] Hypocrites.
Read my ass cheeks:
Government-- is-- not-- a-- panacea. It's more like a penis in ya'.*
Then again, I suppose the Korean government might counterargue that a given ISP is within its rights to conduct business however it sees fit. The somewhat vague relationship between the South Korean government and individual ISPs was the subject of a good deal of spirited discussion and debate during the blog censorship following the Kim Seon-il beheading. Some bloggers noted that the government's Ministry of Information and Communication, or MIC, ordered-- or strongly suggested-- that ISPs should block the major blog domains (and some other websites as well).
I hope this doesn't signal the return of the bad old days. Like Shaun, I occasionally use YouTube in my English classes, an idea I stole from an inventive colleague who has half his students watch a short video, then relate what they saw on the video to the other half of the class.
I was watching some Star Wars fight clips on YouTube earlier on Saturday; my ancient Mac doesn't handle video very well, so it was a clunky, jittery experience. At least I know I'm not blocked here at home, and I assume I'm not blocked at the office. Will check at Smoo on Sunday morning.
*By the way, the above maxim is now copyrighted to my big behind!! I looked it up on Google, and it ain't there!!
© Kevin Kim, 2006, shortly a slogan on some new CafePress products--
Government is not a panacea; it's more like a penis in ya'.
_
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