On the afternoon of February 4th, a “Knowledge iN” button suddenly appeared on the Naver profile pages of some well-known figures, allowing users to view their past anonymous answer histories. Shortly after, online communities were flooded with screenshots allegedly showing Knowledge iN responses written by actors, comedians, celebrity chefs, and influencers, quickly turning the issue into a hot topic overnight.

As the controversy grew, the button was removed from public profiles. According to Channel A, Naver explained that “an error occurred during a service update process, resulting in the exposure of some individuals’ activity histories,” adding that “the issue has now been fully corrected and restored to its original state.”

It was reported that when Naver’s celebrity profile information is registered with direct participation from the individual, Knowledge iN activity may become linked to the profile. Compared to idols whose profiles are typically managed by agencies from debut, figures such as actors, announcers, and chefs who often experienced long periods of obscurity and managed their own profiles early in their careers were reportedly more likely to have their past records exposed.

Even after the button was removed, online communities continued to “dig up” celebrity answers dating back as far as 10 years. However, many of the revealed posts despite being anonymous were described as warm, sincere, and mundane, prompting reactions such as “it’s more ordinary than expected” and “the conclusion is that people are kinder than we thought.”

Alongside comments appreciating the fresh sense of humanity revealed through these old answers, criticism has also followed, with concerns raised over privacy breaches and the exposure of personal history without consent.

Sources: Nate