Download A South Korean political podcast is one of the most popular downloads on iTunes.
It’s called Nanun Ggom Su Da, which translates to something like “I’m a petty minded creep”.
It’s a satire that pokes fun at President Lee Myung Bak.
But some critics say the program crosses the line between comedy and conspiracy.
And as reporter Jason Strother tells us, making jokes about political leaders in Korea will lead to consequences.
Baek Ji-min counts herself as one of Na Ggom Su’s biggest fans.
She says she’s addicted to the show and can’t wait for the next episode.
“So while I am waiting for the new episodes I just repeat the old episodes. Also when I am bored I listen to the old episodes again and again (laughs)”
Baek says she loves the show’s sarcasm. Every episode begins with a tongue in cheek introduction in English.
“This program praises our fabulous president and the name of our president is…. Robotic voice: Lee Myung Bak, Lee Myung Bak Lee Myung Bak,,,,Nanun Ggom Su Da.”
Almost every joke in each podcast is about current President Lee Myung Bak.
They often call the president ‘his highness’, the hosts make fun of Lee’s policies and play parody songs about him.
One of the hosts, Chung Bong-ju, says the two million fans that download every episode don’t love the podcast just for its humor, but because it provides news they can’t get anywhere else.
“In Korea there is no free media. So we’re just telling the truth and we believe the show’s popularity is the result of people’s wish to hear the truth.”
Chung says the government and big corporations have too much control over the media here.
He points to this year’s Freedom House press rankings, which demoted South Korea from free to “mostly free.”
He says Na Ggom Su revealed a shady real estate deal involving the President and how Lee and his family directly benefit from a free trade deal with the United States.
Observers say Na Ggom Su has tapped into a deep resentment toward the upper class that many young Koreans feel.
But some critics say the show goes too far, like when it insinuated that Lee fathered an illegitimate child.
Kim Young-chul is a politics professor at Busan National University.
“the Na Ggom Su program needs to make a more clear distinction between news and satire. Many people don’t get the joke and mistake their biased political accusations for the facts.”
And making accusations, even under the guise of satire, won’t protect you from Korea’s strict defamation laws.
British journalist Mike Breen knows. He was sued for 1 million dollars by Samsung after he poked fun at the conglomerate in his column for the Korea Times.
Charges were later dropped.
Breen says the Na Ggom Su guys may have found a clever way to get around the law.
“They are deliberately throwing out conspiracy theories, but covering themselves by saying this might not be true, but I heard and am laughing about it.”
But that tactic hasn’t always worked.
Some of the podcast’s hosts have been indicted for spreading rumors during October’s race for Seoul Mayor.
Another has had his passport application rejected due to an ongoing lawsuit brought on by Lee Myung Bak himself.
Creator of the show, Kim Ou-joon, says despite their legal problems, they won’t be intimidated.
But the show will not be around for ever,
“We will only be here for a moment, after the next presidential election we will just go away.”
Kim promises that until February 2013, when the President‘s term in office comes to an end, the jabs and jokes at Lee’s expense will continue.
LEARN ENGLISH
Vocabularies:
1) fabulous: menajubkan, luar biasa
2) tounge in cheek: bercanda
3) sarcasm: sarkasme, sindiran tajam
4) indicted: dituntut
5) resentment: kedendaman/kebencian
6) insinuated: menyindir
7) guise: samaran/kedok
8) defamation: pencemaran nama baik
9) poked fun: mengolok-olok
10) accusatations: tudingan
Questions:
1) What is Nanun Ggom Su Da and what does it mean?
2) What kinds of things do they talk about in the show and why are they doing it?
3) What is South Korean media like in general?
4) What happend to the hosts of the program and Brittish journalist Mike Breen?
5) What did Kim OU-joon say about their program's legal problems and how long will they keep on producing the show?
