[JoongAng Ilbo, National, Social affairs, October 10 2008] Jjirasi suffering a spotty reputation

The gossip publication known as jjirasi - implicated in the recent suicide of actress Choi Jin-sil - covers news not printed by regular media on topics ranging from politics to the economy, the stock market and the entertainment industry.

Nobody knows for sure, but it’s widely believed that the first jjirasi was created in the mid-1980s as the military regime at the time tried to muzzle circulation of unauthorized information.

Jjirasi, a Japanese word widely used in Korea, means a paper news sheet made for mass circulation. In Korea, jjirasi is delivered both online and off.