Rest in Peace, the Late 'Explorer'... CNN Calls Korean People's Humor "World-Class"

A memorial monument satirizing the end of service for Microsoft's (MS) web browser Internet Explorer (IE) has been erected on the rooftop of a cafe in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk.
[Photo by Online Community Capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Sumi Hwang] "He was a good tool for downloading other browsers."

This is a phrase engraved on a memorial stone created by a domestic developer to satirize the end of service of Microsoft's (MS) web browser, Internet Explorer (IE). Recently, the U.S. CNN introduced it as a "world-class joke," drawing attention.

On the 19th (local time), CNN released an interview with software developer Jeong Ki-yong. According to the report, Jeong erected a memorial stone with this phrase in English on the rooftop of a cafe in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk. The memorial stone also includes the IE "e" logo and the service period.

It is said to have been made to mourn the end of IE's service. Earlier, IE disappeared into history after 27 years since its first service in 1995, as MS ended support for most versions of the IE 11 browser on the 15th. Once holding a market share of 95%, IE sharply declined in the late 2000s. The spread of smartphones led to more people using the internet on mobile instead of PCs, and lightweight and fast alternative browsers like Google Chrome gained popularity.

Jeong explained that he expressed complex feelings about IE, which played a very significant role in his work career, on the memorial stone. He told CNN, "IE was a real headache but dominated an era," adding, "So I would call this feeling a 'love-hate relationship'." He also recalled, "Although working with websites or online apps was more difficult on IE compared to other browsers, customers always asked to make websites look good on IE."

Jeong said he was surprised that the memorial stone, created to bring laughter to people, became a hot topic online. He added, "Since IE allowed me to make a world-class joke, I should also thank IE for that," and "Now that IE is gone, I won't miss it."

Meanwhile, with MS ending technical support for IE, using IE services in the future will require the cumbersome process of setting 'IE mode' through the Edge browser and then reconnecting to websites. The IE mode setting in Edge also needs to be renewed every 30 days, causing inconvenience. Due to the complexity of the setup, it is expected to act as a barrier for digitally vulnerable groups.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.