'NunuTV' Shutdown Sparks Memorial Site Launch
"Thank You for Protecting Our Thin Wallets... Hoping for Revival"
"Illegal Viewing of Paid Content Must Be Eradicated" Criticism Also Raised
Recently, the illegal video streaming site 'NunuTV' has shut down its service, but controversy arose as users created a memorial site for 'NunuTV.'
'NunuTV' was an illegal streaming site established in 2021 with servers located in the Dominican Republic. The site illegally streamed paid online video service (OTT) content from both domestic and international sources and is estimated to have generated over 33.3 billion KRW in revenue through advertisements for online gambling sites, causing significant issues.
The government and the Video Copyright Protection Council took measures to regulate the site, and the 'NunuTV' operators announced the closure on the 13th, stating, "Due to uncontrollable traffic fees and comprehensive pressure on the site, we are terminating the service."
Then, on the 23rd, a user of 'NunuTV' opened a memorial site, saying that NunuTV "protected my thin wallet and created a sense of solidarity." Other users left comments on the memorial site such as "Day 1 of hoping for NunuTV's revival" and "I will find other sites somehow and watch."
As this situation became known, some netizens criticized it with comments like, "They have no shame using paid content for free," and "I didn't even know such a site existed."
The issue of illegal distribution is not limited to OTT content. Online content that can be easily copied, such as webtoons and web novels, has been distributed through illegal sites for years, causing headaches for those involved in the industry. On March 20, Kakao Entertainment announced that its global webtoon illegal distribution response task force, the P.CoK team, blocked 15,607 illegal items distributed in the Indonesian market last year.
This problem appears to stem from users' lack of awareness regarding copyright. Many users consume content without feeling any caution, even though they know the content is illegally distributed.
Meanwhile, on March 28, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched an inter-ministerial consultative body involving the Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Korea Communications Commission, and the National Police Agency to eradicate illegal distribution of K-content. Im Seong-hwan, Director of the Copyright Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "Through this consultative body, we plan to establish proactive and innovative comprehensive measures to protect K-content copyrights and maintain the growth of the content industry."
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