Week2 - Thoughts on Wikipedia (Chaebin Park 박채빈)

 

1) Summary

This week, I learned how Wikipedia operates as an open knowledge platform and how it accumulates and maintains information. Wikipedia is a representative example of collective intelligence, as anyone can freely contribute. However, I also realized that maintaining accuracy, neutrality, and reliability requires consistent efforts from the community.



2) Interesting Points

One of the most interesting topics in this week’s class was the question of why Wikipedia is relatively less popular in South Korea compared to other countries. Upon reflection, I think this is largely due to the fact that Koreans tend to use Naver, a domestic search engine, rather than Google. Since Naver prioritizes Korean platforms like Namuwiki over Wikipedia in its search results, Namuwiki has become a more familiar and easily accessible platform for many users in Korea.

Additionally, Wikipedia and Namuwiki differ not only in terms of visibility and content volume, but also in style. Wikipedia uses a formal, objective tone, while Namuwiki adopts a more casual and humorous writing style, often incorporating pop culture references and internet memes. This makes Namuwiki feel more approachable to many users, whereas Wikipedia can come across as more formal and academic.

That said, Wikipedia has the advantage of offering a globally standardized format and structuring its content based on verifiable sources. If Namuwiki reflects popular interest and cultural familiarity, Wikipedia provides more trustworthy and official information.



3) Discussion

What small contributions can we make now to help enrich the Korean version of Wikipedia?




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