On Naver, the Anti English Spectrum, and what's next

Source: The Korea Herald, as edited from the Anti-English Spectrum's website.

The K-blogosphere is fast. Really fast. I'm sometimes amazed at how blogs like Brian in Jeollanam-do, Gusts of Popular Feeling, and First-Level Korean (among many others) can put together a story in as much time as a reporter may have - at 0% of the paycheck. Great work guys - it makes my blogging life a lot easier :) Different takes of the same story are posted on the Korea Times or the Korea Herald, but it's the bloggers that can reverse some of the spin received during the treatment of the story.

The summary, for those too busy to keep up with umpteen blogs with umpteen versions of the same story: Andrea Vandom, with support from ATEK, wrote a letter to NHN (the parent company of Naver) demanding that they remove much of the text from the Anti-English Spectrum for being against Naver's community principles, as well as against Korean law and UN guidelines. Ms. Vandom specifically pointed out the AES's xenophobic and racist tendencies, along with vigilante-style stalking of suspected illegal actions. The response from Naver was less than helpful (from the Korea Times):
Naver has rejected a request by native English teachers to remove what they call derogatory and racial postings on a blog known as the “Anti-English Spectrum.”

NHN, the operator of Naver, told The Korea Times Thursday they had concluded that they don’t see anything in the blog that violates the standing regulations or its internal rules.

“Our monitoring team examined cases stipulated in the request and concluded that Andrea Vandom’s claim doesn’t merit any corrective action,” said Kim Hyun-chang, Naver’s PR official.
Apparently they either didn't look very closely or didn't understand Korean very well. Adam Walsh's article in the Korea Herald claims some of the most offensive content has been removed (see the last paragraph), yet discussions about stalking foreigners continue. An excerpt from that article:

An issue many have with Anti-English Spectrum is its past use of racist language, such as referring to foreigners as "Black pigs," saying that foreigners engage in "sexual molestation," and that they "target children."

Another AES action that has gone further than your friendly neighborhood watch involves them engaging in types of vigilantism. The group's administrator admits to stalking foreigners. "Whenever I have to prepare a policy report or embark on the pursuit of an illegal foreign lecturer, then I end up working until dawn because I throw myself into it, braving fire and water. Then because I have to be at work in the morning, I don't get any sleep, and therefore am physically very tired." They have also stored information and photographs on their website of non-Koreans they have followed.

As for charges of racism, Anti-English Spectrum's host Naver.com, said they have received no complaints. The PR department for Korea's biggest portal stated that even though the cafe is rather large -- having 17,000 members -- prior to being contacted by The Korea Herald a representative said she was unaware of the group. When asked about the "black pig" comment, the representative stated that "in this case 'black pig' is definitely a racist comment."

So why hasn't action been taken? Could it be because Naver doesn't want to stir up some 17,000 supposed members - some of which are the biggest netizens in the country? Or is ignorance of the group by Naver truly bliss? It's harder to take action against something if you don't personally feel affected by it - and foreigners that barely use their website isn't likely to force their hand.

It seems quite surprising that few people have tossed the 'L' word around yet. Yes, that 'L' word - Libel. Pick out almost dictionary definition you can find - damaging someone else's reputation through writing is the common thread. I know it sounds ironic for a foreigner to take a Korean to court for damaging our reputation - but look at one definition for yourself, as taken from an online business law glossary:
Libel: A libel case consists of published material with the following criteria: (1) The material is defamatory; (2) the written statements are about someone who is identifiable and living; (3) the material is distributed to someone other than the victim. A key in a libel case is that the victim's reputation must suffer as a result of these written words in order for the action to be actionable.
Have foreigners' reputations been damaged as a direct result of AES? Whether a Korean libel lawsuit would allow for multiple plantiffs or just a single one, Almost any decent lawyer could argue all three points as mentioned above.

Who is the guilty party, though? The AES as a whole? Naver, for not shutting down a website that is against the law / their own principles? The person / people whose posts are allowed to promote a racist / xenophobic agenda? The lawmakers who go on record with the same racist / xenophobic agenda? And how has a foreigner's reputation been damaged? Both of those things would have to be figured out before a libel case could go forward.

If it were just a 'hate group' of people who simply don't like foreigners, they might be easy enough to ignore. But these people have the ears of government officials - the ones in charge of making the rules allowing us to come to Korea.

How to respond? Kushibo recently posted an e-mail he sent to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (e-mail them yourself at [email protected] or [email protected]). There's also an online contact form to send in a complaints to that organization at http://www.humanrights.go.kr/english/guide/application_01.jsp (see this page for more information); you can also call them at 1331 from Seoul; 02-1331 outside of Seoul. If you want to make an appearance in person, their office is on Euljiro-1-ga - Kushibo has a map to it - copied and pasted from his blog:



I wonder how they might respond to a group of
hundreds of English teachers, showing up in their office at the same time, with the same complaint.

Readers: comments are open. Is there a libel case against the AES? How has your reputation been damaged by AES? Are they even to blame for the reputation of foreigners in Korea?

Creative Commons License © Chris Backe - 2009

 

Comments

Well, I agree that the anti

Well, I agree that the anti english spectrum is going way too far with some of their comments and actions, but I found the picture hilarious haha

... and actually (sadly enough) in many cases pretty close to reality.

 

You know, every single post, I mean every single post that comes from a foreigner (english teacher) talking about Korea, contains at least one or multiple derogative comments towards its people or the country, or are just sentences over sentences whinning about the country or talking about how they hate this or that side of Korea, or how they cannot understand the "why" of this and that.

Well I don't know about you, but if I was Korean, and I was reading constantly such things from the part of english teachers (who make more money than highly qualified and educated Koreans and who most of the time can barely speak/write Korean), it probably would not give me a great image of them.  Honestly, it's funny the amount of foreigners who barely can understand a few words of Korean but that because they have been living here for a year they think they know everything about the culture and so forth.

If there is a "hate" kind of movement in Korea against english teachers, we have to understand why it all started, and honestly it's not for no reasons. I do not frequent bars, but I'm sure if I would my esteem of foreigners in Korea would probably be even much lower. When you are not in your own country it's usually best to respect its people and its culture, and not constantly complain and insult the country at every occasion you get, especially over the internet. Yes some Korean do speak english and some of them do read foreigner's blog. This is how we can build a good image for ourselves.

korea

number 1 in suicides. number one in car accidents. number 1 in children dying due to car accidents. top 5 in both drinking and smoking...kinda hard to look into the mirror when you look like this. ignorance is not bliss-it is pain. i think it is good many of us are here so we can educate the ignorant mass-allagory of the caves. it is not to say people here are bad but the reality is most older koraens have been stuck on this little piece of land for a long time and this is all they know. cant blame them for that. we need to understand. and for us not to realize the score is us just being ignorant. papers here say stuff all the time about foreigners but the reality is it just makes them look bad. "be more concerned with your character and not your reputation as your character is who you truly are while your reputation is merely what others say you are." imagine going through life thinking (the diagram) like this and how painful that must be for them not to know the truth. to live scared and ignorant, that is worthy of compassion-not anger!

Well was I not right? Here is

Well was I not right? Here is another shining example of another ignorant Korea bashing foreigner. You know what? If Korea is so bad, why do you even live here? That might be because that MRI figure up there is partially true isn't it?

Foreigners like to talk about Korea with their dodgy statistics probably taken from a foreigner hater's blog or probably just from word to mouth or something. If I quickly look at sources like Wikipedia, it shows me that Korea is actually number 11 in suicide in the world, and not even that far at all from countries like Belgium and France. Oh and Japan, of course Japan is cool and trendy so foreigners usually don't tend to bash Japan about its even higher suicide rate than Korea.

Even more funny, when people go to let's say, Ireland, they laugh and they appreciate the fact that people drink a lot and so on. People make jokes about it, they like it, they go to bars, they drink a lot too actually. But when foreigners are talking about Korea, oh my! suddenly a high ratio of alcohol consumption is just another argument to pile up some loser arguments in oder to derogate the country. By the way, again, if I look at Wikipedia as a source, Korea is number 50 in the list of countries by alcohol consumption, and number 34 in the list of countries by beer consumption.

Ha, and of course Korea is terrible, people are bad drivers! Well you know what? I still prefer that rather than USA who has the highest crime and murder rate in the world, and that has over 2.3 million persons in jail. Beautiful! But of course, there are all the reasons in the world to say that Korea is terrible and unbelievable. But you know what? I like Korea. I like the culture, the food, the choice you get everywhere you go, the general education of the population, the movies, the cities, the people, the language, I like all that and much more. There is only one thing I really hate: Foreigners who think they know it all, who keep complaining about the country where they live and who are best described with the MRI figure we see at the top of this post.

wakold. Do you really know

wakold. Do you really know what you are saying? The picture above is supposedly relating to illegal teachers. If this was the case, then i would tend to agree with it........and even see the funny side. However, the people that wrote this have a much deeper agenda. Their main purpose is to spread hate about all foreigners in Korea, not just illegal English teachers.

Everone has different experiences in Korea.......some bad some good. Some people slate Korea........some love it. It all depends on what happens to you while you are here. You must have been lucky. If you were the canadian girl who got slapped in the face by an ajosshi on the subway a week ago because he thought she was Russian, then you may have a negative opinion. If you are fired before your contract is up, or ripped off in someway then u may think negatively about Korea

I hate people saying negative things about Korea but i also hate people like you who preach how great it is.........and use your" i can speak Korean card" to explain how you know everything about Korea. That isn't the key to understanding Korea....just part.........You say "i like the music".......you probably just listen to Lee Hyo Ri.......and claim you like Korean music. This kind of Korean music has western roots. Half the vocals are in english. If you said i listen to Korean folk music, then that is taking an interest in Korea.

Have you ever lived with a Korean family? Have you ever tried to get loans here? Have you ever tried to live a family life here? Then you have absolutely no idea about real Korean life as a foreigner.Are you from a non-white background when you don't get treated as a hero? probably not....judging by all your positive experiences.

I'm sure if you had to work in a factory 12 hours a day as some south asianpeople. Put in a slum for a house and paid less than 1 million. maybe you would be heading back to wherever you are from faster than your little legs would carry you. Give it a try for a month i dare you. Because as such you are treated specially, Have lots of free-time and make good money you think Korea is a paradise.

Think about all the different groups of people living here. Then you might get a different picture.

Then you may also get an idea of why hate groups are bad for foreigners and will lead to only bad things for Korea as a country.

 

 

 

Hey buddy, you seem to have

Hey buddy, you seem to have somewhat misinterpreted my comments.. I am in no way saying Korea is a paradise and it is a beautiful country where everything is nice and shiny. If I did say that, I would be happy that you quote that part for me.

Every single country in the world has its problems and its share of annoying things, and nowhere in the world there are some ''paradise" where everything is fine, nowhere. not here, not over there, nowhere. What I am saying, in case you read my posts well enough, is that I am tired of uneducated and simple thinking foreigners who think they know it all about Korea and who keep bashing this country. I don't feel that I am using my "I can speak Korean card" at all. You see, while I am taking a strong interest in this country and in its language, I myself am far from being fluent in Korean, and this puts me in the same position as everyone else: I cannot pretend to understand every sociological aspect of this country. Nor did I complete a master degree in East Asian studies. And it's not by throwing a few retarded statistics that someone can make his points. I lived in Australia for 2 years, and you cannot imagine the numbers of things I could complain about, seriously. But that doesn't mean I spend my time complaining about this country, and that doesn't mean I don't like this country. It's just a fact, everywhere in the world you go, some things sucks. Get used to it. But again, it's always easier to see the bad side of the world, and to be negative, and to judge of course. That is ALWAYS very easy to do.

You know how many immigrants there are in, let's say, Canada? If every single person (immigrant or not) who had been robbed, beaten up, lost his job, been treated unfairly, and the list goes on, would complain about "Canada", how do you think we Canadians would think about them? If everytime they would speak about Canada they would throw in their stupid statistics. "Canada sucks dude, did you know that they are one of the top 5 country in the world with obeses?". I mean think about it, from the other point of view. Yes life is unfair, wow, what a surprise. These south-east asian workers have a hard life, that's for sure, but they earn a better salary then they would in their own country, hence that's why they come here. I heard that even many of these illegal workers end up earning quite some money because they don't even pay taxes. Who knows.

Ah, by the way, I did not say anywhere in my post "I like Korean music", actually I had been careful not to write that. Please make sure you read well my comments. I do like some Korean music, older music especially, 김동률  just to throw in an example, but I absolutely abhor nowadays crap mainstream music that you hear everywhere you go, whether it's Korean or not. And no, I do not like Lee Hyori by the way. And yes, I do like Korean folk music and Korean folk interpretations.

Now, let's not leave our initial subject. If foreigners want to make a good image of themselves, they should behave decently, respect the law, try to learn or to understand, even as little as possible, the culture and its people, and finally stop bashing and complaining about everything and think they know everything. These are some very basics things to do when you live, work and earn money in a totally different country from your own. If there are many english teacher "hate movements" nowadays, believe me, it's for a reason. Maybe I'm off the line and I don't know what I'm talking about, but that's how I think.

check your facts wakold! Other post is right!

Out of all 30 OECD countries, Korea is number 1 in suicides. It is number 1 in chledren dying via car accidents and car accidents. Number 1 in divorces. Top 5 in drinking and smoking. It goes on and on. Look it up!

 

And the imagine is exactly what was explained-a way to spread hate of foreigners. How long have you lived here "Protector of Korea"? When the Korean born citizen killed 32 peeps in America, the papers here said, "be careful of a backlash from Americans!" The papers stirred up fear of Americans. Look it up. When the army accidently killed 2 youngsters a few years back, Amercians were attacked on the streets/stabbed. Look it up. The papers called for all Americans to leave. It goes on and on. And this is the "news"paper. So do not say just because people have opinions of Korea they should leave. The fact is there are many problems here. We are not talking about how beautiful the flowers are. The post was started by a funny yet ignorant picture. My Korean wife was not pleased with it but many Koreans hate foreigners. That is the topic-not we are bashing. It was comments based on this crazy brain that printed for all Koreans to see. And if you go on Korean websites there is all kinds of anti foreigner stuff. I was even told once by a banker she hated foreigners. I said what did you say (i knew)? I called the manager over and he kinda laughed. Imagine doing that back home-FIRED!!! So put the white cape away and do your homework. Korea is like any other country-run by a few and the few here loves the idea of Koreans fearing the unknown because then they continue to buy Korean good and the cycle keeps on being repeated-the next generation of rih get to stay rich.

Hey dude, first could you

Hey dude, first could you start by writing proper built sentences? At times it's hard to understand what you are actually trying to say. Are you really an english teacher or something? Maybe my arguments about uneducated foreigners aren't that false... Concerning your statistics, could you give me a (reliable) link to prove your saying? That would be great, because I keep hearing the stuff, but nothing to back it up.

Also, the first guy said Korea is number 1 in suicide, etc. That implies number 1 in the world, am I right? Number 1 in OECD countries and number 1 in the world is also a big difference, it's kind of important to make the distinction.

About the Americans that killed 2 young school students, this was more than enough to make a whole nation angry! They did not even receive any kind of punishment! They only returned back to America! Of course Koreans can become very sensitive with that kind of situation, especially it can bring up the whole question of why on earth are there still American army bases in Korea. Not to mention, out of subject, that Korea is seperated (and suffered war) because of the US and former USSR...

Your simplistic reasonings are really funny! Just like a five years old! Are you really serious when you say "the few that rule this country want the population to fear the unknown so they continue to buy Korean goods"? haha seriously that is one of the funniest one I've heard in years! How old are you? Did you even completed high school?

If Samsung is the biggest conglomerate in the world with number 1 sales in America on many of their electronic products, it's probably for a bloody good reason: they are one of the most technologically advanced company in the world and they have a good reputation for making high quality goods. Why would Koreans buy crap like HP and Acer when they can get for the same price Samsung products that are of much better quality? In case you didn't know, Korean companies after service is pretty good, pretty much anything broken even after years is either free of charge or only a few bucks to repair. There are service centers spread out everywhere in the country, which is not the case for other companies. And besides, why not encourage their own companies that create thousands of jobs and in the end bring much more money to the country than any other companies?

And who said I'm the "Protector of Korea"? I'm simply against dumb people who make easy judgments and who keep complaning about this country at every single occasion they get. And you know what? Following the responses I got, I have been pretty right so far! The only thing I got as answers is: "number 1 in suicide", "number 1 in car accident", "huh uh duh Korea have to be criticized y'know muh they are racists hhuhh highest suicide rate huhh lots of problems". Hey, go back to school, learn how to write a proper sentence, learn about Korean history and sociology, and why not, try to speak a few words too I'm sure you are lacking that too.

lol-yet again

Oh Weakfold. Picking on poor typing and unedited posts-weak! I just go. If you want to get into a battle of ideas you will lose. If you want to avoid you being wrong by attacking grammar-whatever, no problem. If it makes you happier I will edit my work. Then, we would have nothing to talk about though as you are wrong with regards to your position on the above post. Have a good one.

the korean government asked them

 pretty sure the reason the united states army is still here is because the korean government asked them to stay.  do you read the papers or news at all?  as much as i am not a fan of wars or killing, most likely where we we all live would be either japanese controlled or the land of kim jon ill (i'm sooo wonely) and busan would not be the bustling port city that it is.  that however is only my opinion.  also, OECD statistics are the only ones that really apply given the fact that those thirty (or so) countries use some kind of uniform way to gather their numbers.  you might be very surprised at where korea ranks on a number of things.  i find the sexual statistics quite interesting.  korean wives are not a happy or satisfied bunch.  you want a link?  just do an internet search on said things.  then again, maybe the korean herald and korea times lied.  highly doubt it.  by the way, thanks to whoever pointed out the fact that the OECD is from where the statistics originate.  was too uninterested to do it myself, but waiting for someone to do it.  by the way, all that talk about key money not being some kind of gift is a load of crap.  (you mentioned it previously).  if the government only backs it to 17 million, then it is a gift.  people get burned on key money and that is a fact.  therefore, that makes it a crazy system.  in japan, unless things have changed in the past five years or my friends are insane, they simply treat it as a gift and that is that.  yes, i just tied two threads together.  

"And the imagine is exactly

"And the imagine is exactly what was explained-a way to spread hate of foreigners."

To me that's not a typing mistake, it's just some electric circuits that are touching inside your brain. But editing your work would sure be great yes, that way maybe I can at least understand what you are trying to say.

By the way, you did not answer any of my questions. I would love to see some links to back up all your stats, I'm not saying you are lying, I am just expecting you got these statistics from a reliable source to be so sure about them.

Good job with the play on words with my name, I almost laughed. But I am still laughing at your 5 years old reasoning about Korean being scared of the unknown to buy more of their own products. haha

Weakfold VS Vander

Love the chatter, people.

 

Weakfold, as much as you have denied being a Korean, you are -don't bullshit us.  Vander may have made a few typos, but as good as your education must have been, there are several weird syntactic errors that keep cropping up in your sentences.

 

I can understand that, as Korean, the majority of which are rather nationalistic, you love to come on here and defend your nation.  Fair enough -but no one is really attacking it.  Forums of any kind are exactly that, a place for people to ask questions and air grievances.  If you go to a 'Living in China forum', or 'Working in Japan forum', or even a 'Working Holiday Visa Forum for Australia', people NOT from the country in question WILL invariably criticize the nation they're in.  Why?  Because it is DIFFERENT and differences are often difficult to grasp or deal with, especially given the culture shock most go through.

 

And, for the record, I'm 27, Australian, 한국말을 공부 하고있습니다, have been here for 2 years, was engaged to a Korean -BUT HER FATHER said he didn't want his daughter to marry a foreigner.  A few friends have had similar stories.

 

Moreover, the Korean government has REQUESTED the American's STAY here (military, that is).  The current military 'contract' (post Korean war) expires 2012, however the Korean goverment petitioned the US to keep bases, men, etc., here.  Why?  Because of the North, of course.

 

Finally, Wakofold -do you mind if we refer to you as 'Wako' for short?- I noticed you referenced wikipedia.  Well, here is a 'reliable' link, to Wikipedia, showing Korean as NUMBER 1for SUICIDE!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_OECD_countries_by_suicide_rate

 

And, yes, those horrible, ugly wayyygookins were wrong -Korea, and I'm sorry Wako, is NOT #1 for divorce....YOU ARE NUMBER 2 :D

Sources of Misery:

Unemployment rates are notably low in South Korea, with only four percent of the job-seeking population out of work. Wages are fairly high: the country’s GDP is estimated to amount to $20,400 per capita. Combined with South Korea’s long disease-adjusted life expectancy, this would suggest that the ‘miserable minority’ in the country is fairly small. There is one exception, however: South Korea has the second-highest divorce rate in the Prosperity Index, better only than Zimbabwe and worse than the notoriously divorce-prone US: almost four percent of married couples divorce in any given year (3.9 percent). Research indicates that one of the most powerful forces producing misery is the severing of social bonds, whether through unemployment or divorce.

http://humanscience.wikia.com/wiki/Prosperity_of_South_Korea

hu-wa-i-ting!

 

Have I missed anything, fellas?  You know, Wako, as a disgusting foreinger, it occurs to my drug-addled brain that if you are a female, why don't we discuss this over dinner? ^.~  I make a great breakfast!

 

You know nothing of what you type, "Wakold"

"I still prefer that to the USA who has the highest crime and murder rate in the world..."

Horseshit.  Where are you getting your information from?  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you just made it up.

The USA doesn't even rank in the top twenty countries for murder rates, which is topped by Honduras, South Africa, and Jamaica, just to name a few.  Again for crime rates, which are off the charts in many Carribbean, Central/South American, and African countries.  Do any search on the net and the basic results will be the same. 

I've heard other people bandy this claim about that the USA has the highest murder/crime rate in the world, which is light years from the truth.  This sort of verbal tripe is usual spread by anti-American Europeans and dopey Canucks.

Been watching too many Hollywood movies, I suppose.

In any case, I would suggest that you actually include FACTS in your claims if you want at all to be taken seriously.

key money and other stuff

great stats guys.

 

As for key money, under law 14mil is guaranteed. after that it is a crap shooot. if your land person does not have the money, good luck. it is a long legal battle that could take years.

 

even workers here are not guaranteed their wage. if the school does not pay you, you go to the labor board. you win in court but if they refuse to pay you, they pay a fine to the government. same with other contracts.

 

so again, it is not like people are not taking time to smell the flowers, the reality is there are many problems here. why do you think (this was in the paper as well) korea was voted one of the worst places to do do business in. just look at what happened to the KEB. it was owned by lone star-a texas holding group i believe, and when they tried to sell it, they got hand cuffed by the government.

 

and as for things happening due to economics, bro, if you do not believe that you are so naive-or korean. the korean clan-jaebeol clan, are so protective of the market here, it is more closed than china.  man, you need to open your eyes-korean or not. this is econimcs 101. without koreans primarily buying korean, the market collapses. it is self perpetuating. and lets not even get into the farmers here. do your homework waco because you have no idea what you are talking about.

 

bye the way

and for the record, i live in korea. i have been here for years. i like it here. my life is good. but that does not make the truth about here different. people who are over sensitive should not get into debates. this was never personal. this all started with the english spectrum illegal teachers brain and some people pointing other "facts" out. why that brings out  such defensiveness in people is beyond me. talk bad about canada-who cares! i was born there but i am not canadian-i am a person. county stats and so on does not make me-i make me so who cares. to say foreigners are bashing korea after they comment on some stats is crazy. are japanese people bad? no, but in the past the government there was not good (korean occupation). is this not correct? but to say during those times all japanses people were bad is ignorant and wrong. but to say things about suicide, divorce rates and so on is not. it is not attacking a person, it is looking at the present culture. sometimes the truth hurts but it should not be taken personal. most koreans i have met are great. some are not. same as everywhere. anyway, next...

here here

i wholeheartedly agree with Vander.

reply to pieceofmeat

Maybe not highest in the world, but some statistics are still shocking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States

Crime in the United States is characterized by extremely high levels of violence and homicide compared to nearly all other developed countries.

"Compared with other countries, the United States has among the highest incarceration rates in the world. As of 2006, a record 7 million people were behind bars, on probation or on parole, of which 2.2 million were incarcerated. The People's Republic of China ranks second with 1.5 million. The United States has 5% of the world's population and 25% of the world's incarcerated population."

Since 1964, the U.S. crime rate has increased by as much as 350%, and over 11 million crimes were reported in the year 2007 alone

There were 17,034 murders in the United States in 2006[35] (666,160 murders from 1960 to 1996).[

Nearly 90,000 people reported being raped in the United States of America in 2008.

The proportion of Americans killed by firearms per year is more than seven and a half times greater than the comparable proportion of residents in the 10 developed countries with the next highest rates of firearm homicides

One in every 31 American adults, or 7.3 million Americans, are in prison, on parole or probation. Approximately one in every 18 men in the United States is behind bars or being monitored. A significantly greater percentage of the American population is in some form of correctional control even though crime rates have declined by about 25 percent from 1988-2008

 

And to ahyland saying I am Korean, I'm not. I'm from Canada and my skin color is white, born from canadian parents. Could you point out my several weird syntactic errors? By the way, English is not my first language, so I guess I'm still not that bad for somebody who started learning english in high school.