The poster, who went by the ID of "Bawoo," said Koreans might feel a sort of sentimental distance from Japan, but it's still Korea's neighbor, and he wanted to help at least a little. As of 11 a.m. Sunday, some 900 people had signed and 8 million won had been collected.

Since a powerful earthquake rocked the Japanese northeast on Friday, there has been an outpouring of sympathy and condolences for the victims on Korean Internet bulletin boards and Twitter sites. It appears the massive disaster in Japan is narrowing the distance in relations between Korea and Japan, which are often called "distant nations despite geographical proximity."

On Agora, a netizen by the ID of "Jjinggeuri" encouraged people to give, saying Koreans naturally needed to help if such a terrible thing happens in a neighboring country. Another netizen by the ID of "morip" said regardless of how you feel about a certain country, it hurts to see so many people dead, injured or missing.

At Naver.com's donation site "Happy Bean," too, a relief collection for the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami started by the Korean Red Cross is getting an enthusiastic response. About 5,000 people have participated in just a single day. In a supporting post, a netizen by the ID of "Angmasonyeo" said Korea and Japan clearly have a complicated relationship historically, it's man's duty to help his fellow man.

Messages of sympathy and support flooded Twitter, too. One Twitter user by the ID of "@haya******" said the situation might be frightening and terrible, but now was the time for people to rely on one another to gain strength.

Celebrities, too, expressed their grief with the suffering of their neighbors. Novelist Eun Hee-gyeong expressed her sadness through Twitter, saying that it seemed like a scene from somebody's nightmare watching Aomori Prefecture, the home of late Japanese novelist Dazai Osamu, being rocked by earthquakes and tsunamis.

Actor Park Jung-hun posted on Twitter that the Korean film "Haeundae" was predicated on an earthquake of over eight in magnitude, but the earthquake in Japan was much worse than in the film. He said he hoped Japan would overcome this disaster and that his heart was with them.

Most netizens consoled and mourned for the Japanese, but posters in some quarters came under fire for saying things like "They're being punished. I feel good" and "It serves the Japanese right for not believing in God" based on anti-Japanese feelings and religious logic.

About these posters, netizens wrote that Japanese, too, are people just like us, and that we shouldn't criticize them with mistaken thoughts; instead, we must mourn the victims and hope for a quick recovery.