Korean Web junkies get sent to boot camp

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South Korea can boast that it’s the most wired nation in the world, but that sort of accolade comes at an expense. You now have a country full of Net junkies who have lost all sense of reality. Whoa. That might not be entirely true, but I think you know where I’m going with this. An Internet addiction can you lead you down many paths: p0rn, MMOs, gambling, etc. It’s pretty easy considering the fact that 90 percent of homes in SK are wired into high-speed broadband at dirt cheap prices. But is there a place where you can go to get help without severing the line?

In S. Korea you apparently can. The Jump Up Internet Rescue School is the first of its kind in SK and probably the world. It’s a mashup between a boot camp and rehab center. You know there’s a problem when students are skipping out on school to keep playing games or whatever especially in Korea where school is your #1 and only priority. The JUIRS’s occupants are put through military-style exercises mixed in with traditional rehab center-style treatments like group discussions and an arts and crafts time. It’s ironic that the country who pretty much pioneered the Internet age is now pioneering the way we can curb our addictions.

Maybe I need to attend this camp. Biggs, will you send me?

In Korea, a Boot Camp Cure for Web Obsession [NYT]