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Internet Discourse 253

both conformity to the dominant values of the society and at the same
time resistance against the authority of the older generation.
On the one hand, the Internet is taken to be the sign of the most
advanced information technology, a technology that will lead to
prosperity and convenience in the society of the future. Korean
youngsters follow this maintream idea—one that is consistently rep-
resented in Korean journalism—as Table 1 shows.
On the other hand, for Korean young people the Internet is also
a symbol of youth and resistance. They experience new authority by
using the Internet. This research will uncover these diverse mean-
ings of the Internet for Korean young people. It portrays the habi-
tus that contains both structural conformity and diverse forms of
resistance.
I have conducted an ethnographic study examining the habitus
of the Internet users. I interviewed sixteen students in elementary,
middle, and high schools in 1996 (see table 4).
I conducted participatory observation of these students in their
homes and schools. I had individual interviews with each of them,
and group discussions with the students according to level—i.e.,
grade, middle and high school students. Both individual and group
interviews were tape-recorded and then transcribed immediately.

Table 4
List of Interviewees
Computer Use
School Name Age Gender (hours)*
High C 16 F 3 (0)
J 16 F 1/2 (4)
H 16 M 1/2 (3)
O 16 M 1/2 (3)
Y 16 M 1 (3)
L 16 M 1/2 (2)
A 17 M 1/3 (2)
Junior High G 15 M 1 (4)
E 15 M 2 (8)
S 15 M 1 (3)
K 15 M 1 (3)
Elementary B 12 M 1/3 (1)
C 11 M 1/3 (1.5)
X 11 M 1/2 (1.5)
M 12 F 1/2 (1)
N 11 F 1/2 (2)
* Average computer and the Internet use hours during academic year. 8