Controversy Over Neodeolt's "0 Recruits" Announcement
Debate Ignites: "Common Sense" vs. "Disappointment"
An announcement posted in the community section of a popular comedy YouTube channel has unexpectedly sparked a controversy over reading comprehension.
On April 12, the YouTube channel Neodeolt posted a notice titled "2024 Neodeolt Actor Recruitment Guide" in its community section. The Neodeolt team stated, "We are holding auditions to try new and diverse theatrical genres this year." Neodeolt is an active comedy channel on YouTube, currently boasting 1.83 million subscribers.
According to the announcement, the recruitment targets are "people who want to showcase their acting skills and talent on Neodeolt, covering a variety of roles and all age groups." The application period runs from April 12 to April 30. There are no restrictions regarding gender or experience, but only subscribers who have followed the channel for more than three months are eligible to apply.
Casting notice for actors on the YouTube channel 'Neodeolt'. The number of recruits is specified as '0'. Photo by YouTube 'Neodeolt' capture
The issue arose over the number of recruits. Neodeolt specified the number of actors to be recruited as "0." However, this does not literally mean that zero people will be selected; rather, it indicates that only a single-digit number of people will be chosen. The actual number of hires will range from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 9. Nevertheless, many interpreted this as the literal number zero. If the announcement had stated "00," it would have meant that between 10 and 99 people would be recruited.
Online commenters who saw the announcement responded sharply, saying things like, "I used to like Neodeolt, but now I feel terrible," "Why does it say they're recruiting zero people? Is this a bait-and-switch?" "There should be some respect when recruiting people, but posting an announcement and saying '0' is disrespectful to viewers," and "Why post a notice if you're not hiring anyone?"
On the other hand, some commenters said, "What are these fools who really think it means zero?" "Do you really think they posted it intending to hire zero people?" "It's just common sense, but people are arguing, which is baffling," and "People's reading comprehension is getting worse and worse."
Meanwhile, there has been growing controversy in Korean society over declining literacy, where people can read text but fail to understand its meaning. In 2022, a controversy arose over a public apology posted on an online forum that used the phrase "simsimhan sagwa" (deep apology). The word "simsim" (甚深) means "very deep and earnest," but it was misinterpreted as "simsim" meaning "bored," bringing the issue of declining literacy to the forefront.
According to the results of the "2020 Adult Literacy Survey," conducted nationwide from October 2020 to January 2021 among 10,429 adults aged 18 and older, 20.2% of adults-approximately 8.9 million people-were found to require learning at the elementary or middle school level.
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