Battle of YouTube and KoreaBy Robert J DickeyYouTube makes news . Zany private videos , landmark deals with major film and TV producers , and a spirit of independence have gained YouTube fame , if not yet fortune . Media moguls who fought long and hard against the phenomenon have abandoned their own projects and joined YouTube . Competitors have found it impossible to compete . Now Korea has become the latest to discover that YouTube is hard to beat . In the process , Korea ' s National Brand has taken a beating . `` News '' is perception . `` Spin '' is everything , facts merely fill in the spaces . With technology , millions of new facts are at our fingertips , we need editors and `` spin doctors '' to select and interpret these for the masses . YouTube has demonstrated once again that it excels in this type of media management as well as in the handling of videos . Korea ' s national PR and branding efforts , on the other hand , once again have proven to be less than adequate . Recent internet regulation reforms in Korea now require a `` real name '' registration for postings on the internet . Local conditions appear to warrant such controls , as slander , mistruths , and outright falsification dominate in online communications here . The US , UK and all other countries all have their own laws on the media . However , in their refusal to accept Korean law , YouTube has gained still more converts , and made Korea look bad on the international stage . All without breaking the law . The new icon of the 21 st century media revolution , YouTube has found strength in their freedom - fighter role . Using the `` Privacy '' argument , YouTube argues that the real name registration system violates their corporate principles . So they ' ve disabled the upload and comments functions on their Korean site , knowing full well that Koreans can and do contribute on other YouTube sites ( and use Korean Hangeul while doing so ) , and still view these on the Korean site . `` Freedom of the media '' is always newsworthy . Korea ' s branding drive , which is based on the attractions of the land and culture , will never be front - page news outside of Korea . As they say in journalism school , `` Good news is not news . Bad news is front page . '' The peninsula ' s Free Enterprise Zones and other business attractions merit little notice outside of Korea except as paid advertising . YouTube is a global leader , and is `` defending freedom '' of the media . Guess who captures the attention of readers ? The New York Times , Wall Street Journal , and Washington Post have highlighted the YouTube assault on Korean law in glowing terms . Corporate America simply hears of one more case where `` over - regulation '' is `` infringing '' on business , and takes the matter to its obvious conclusion ― Korea is not favorable to business . The truth is irrelevant , because these `` facts '' are convenient . As expressed by numerous experts in the Korea Times and elsewhere , Branding Korea is more than paying for advertising , and more than showing the world Korea ' s natural and cultural beauties . A brand is less `` built '' than `` nurtured over time , '' and far easier to damage than to promote . We are growing a forest , not handing out roses . A single day of negative publicity such as this YouTube debacle can take years to surmount . The problem is more than just uploading videos . Branding crosses product lines , this hit will be felt far beyond the Internet and technology spheres . Potential tourists will ask ― is there freedom in Korea ? Perhaps I shouldn ' t visit . Korean products , too , could be tainted by concerns for freedom and justice . Both South Africa and China lost billions in income from `` Don ' t Buy '' campaigns . Perceptions of freedom are no small matter . The Korean government may find a way to satisfy YouTube ' s concerns and still address society ' s need to rein in the outrageous behavior that too often takes place in cyber - space . But in terms of Korea ' s image to the world , nothing can repair this damage , despite the acknowledged superiority of Korea ' s broadband network .