The debate on ＂footnotes＂ in Korean online communities ha

Recently, a heated debate surrounding the term "footnote" in Korean online communities has brought the issue of reading comprehension ability among Korean adults to the forefront of public opinion, triggering widespread attention from Korean media. According to a report by the South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo on February 20th, a netizen posted a confusing post on an online platform, asking what "footnote" really means and attaching a screenshot of a comment below a YouTube video. Originally, video publishers intentionally annotated certain pronunciations in the form of "footnotes" to help viewers better understand subtitle content.

From the screenshot, it can be seen that netizen A finds the practice of adding footnotes to YouTube subtitles very funny. He commented, "Adding footnotes to YouTube subtitles is too strange!" while netizen B claimed that he had lived for 38 years and had heard the word "footnote" for the first time. This message instantly exploded on the internet, triggering intense discussions among many netizens. Many people have questioned B's statement, sharply commenting, "Have you never read a book in your whole life? You don't even know footnotes?" Faced with questioning, netizen B responded, "I really haven't seen footnotes in textbooks. Which book would have them?" At the same time, some netizens also agreed with B's viewpoint, sighing, "I think I have read many books in my daily life, but the word 'footnotes' is really the first time I have heard of it

However, there are also many netizens who have come forward to retaliate against those who do not know what footnotes are. They said, "Footnotes often appear even in comic books, how could they not have seen them before?" Some people analyzed rationally, "If a person works in a non office work environment for a long time and has limited exposure to written materials, it is indeed possible that they are not clear what footnotes are. But this is not a big deal, and there is no need for everyone to react so strongly

SBS TV in South Korea conducted an in-depth report on this matter under the title "What is a footnote?" (Is the literacy level of adults in South Korea at this level?), pointing out that this seemingly ordinary online debate has once again exposed the issue of reading comprehension ability of South Korean adults to the public. According to the results of the International Adult Competence Survey released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last year, the average language proficiency score of Korean adults was only 249 points, significantly lower than the OECD average level (260 points), and a decrease of 24 points compared to 273 points in the first survey in 2011-2012. Not only that, an official survey conducted in South Korea last year also raised concerns that nearly 60% of adults had not read a book in the past year. In order to improve this situation, the South Korean Ministry of Education stated that starting from February this year, the website of the literacy education center will officially launch an "online basic reading comprehension ability self diagnosis test" for adults over 18 years old, aiming to help adults improve their reading comprehension ability and thus enhance the overall cultural literacy of the nation.