KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 22 -- Social media timelines have become a digital war zone between Southeast Asian (SEA) and South Korean users in recent weeks.

What began as a dispute over concert rules and etiquette quickly escalated into a hostile online space, filled with derogatory exchanges, creatively offensive memes and even calls for boycotts by fellow keyboard warriors.

The ongoing online skirmish with South Korean netizens, or "Knetz" for short, has also seen social media users from SEA countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia come together in a fresh show of solidarity.

This newly formed alliance has been dubbed "SEAblings" by online users.

The trigger point

The conflict stems from an incident at...