It went on for a few years after its initial release so it's still semi-current although now a days I doubt anyone would be buying that model.
I remember a 100ish page thread on hardforum documenting which panels lined up with what serial numbers. I actually played the roulette and bought one off a dude. I ended up getting an s-ips panel and I still use it as my second monitor. It's not 120hz but I don't game with it.
Here's the link to the thread: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1111100
I'm sure there were/are more cases but this was the most popular one because the s-ips version of this monitor was amazing for its time. It was my first LCD purchase.
More to the point, I'm a graphics programmer / researcher, so monitors with low Delta E are important for my work. The Dell U2711 combined with an i1Display Pro can be calibrated to exceptional color fidelity.
I'd say go for 24s or a 30; if you have the 27 you'll just wish you had the 30 :-p but definitely go IPS, they are fantastic. I haven't read much about the Korean monitors as they were nonexistent when I researched the market 4-5 years ago.
LCD manufacturers in general are really crooked. They have been accused and found guilty of price fixing on multiple occasions.
They also love to release monitors with high quality panels initially so they get good reviews and swap in garbage panels without letting consumers know and then sell it for the same price as the same model.