Beef protests in Seoul

[shanshanchua]

I've been reading quite a few articles recently in the papers on the protests about US beef imports and how they've turned violent. Those who are living in Seoul - is it a really big thing over there? Has it had any impact on your daily lives?

[ddong_gae]

It has not directly effected me but it is a big deal. It has finally started to settle but it is long from over for some.

You have to understand it is not so much about the import of beef, it is more about President Lee not listening to the Korean citizens.

Just a little history. President Lee's nickname is "The Bulldozer" because he has a "do it" attitude. When he was the mayor of Seoul he instated a construction project to beautify a stream that runs through Seoul. He basically said "Make it happen!" and it was done, but in the process some historical landmarks were destroyed.

During the recent election he received 48% of the votes. I think he misunderstood that to mean "go and do." He went ahead with the signing of the beef trade with the U.S. but failed to listen to the people. They had expressed that they do not trust meat from cattle older than 30 months due to the fact they are more likely to contract mad cow disease.

President Lee has renegotiated the deal with the U.S. and many of the people who were protesting (close to 1million) have stopped but there are still many people (about 15000) who are still not happy with President Lee, nor will they ever be.

Last week Condoleezza Rice visited Korea and all hell broke loose with a nasty riot in front of the Blue House.

The participants of the vigils that are still going on will be there until President Lee is removed form office. I believe the beef was just a catalyst.

Keep an eye out about a canal President Lee has proposed. He and many big companies are for it but the majority of the Korean people appose it. If he just goes ahead and starts the project all hell will break loose!

EDIT:
austinfd thank you for pointing out my errors. Wow, I called him President Park in the first half and President Lee in the second. Yes 48% not over 70%. Perhaps some of the people I have spoken to have distorted the facts.

[usakorjb03]

It seems to me that Lee (to hell with calling him president) is more like a dictator. if he continues to ignore the koran people i wouldn't be surprised if someone tried to kill him. the way things seem to be going, he needs to be removed from office. Is there some kind of "Impeachement" policy the S. Korean government has? maybe something slimilar to what the US has?

[austinfd]

I'm working on a video to share some scenes from one of the protests and the signs I have collected... stay tuned...!

As you have mentioned President Lee (not Park! - that was another President with a similar strong-arm history) seems to be ignoring what the people want.

He was elected with 48% of the vote, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Kore ... on%2C_2007) but turnout was also historically low, so that raises some other questions about who is protesting, why they might have voted for him, or not voted at all.

The history is really important here. Democracy as we know it in the West isn't even one whole generation old. Nearly 30 years ago, the army was ordered to fire on citizens who were protesting then-president 전두환 who had installed a military government. Just prior to that 정정희 had held power for nearly 15 years. Both men are famous for their authoritarian rule and tight grip on free speech.

Koreans in their 40s and up remember this history really well. They lived it.

[ddong_gae]

Democracy as we know it in the West isn't even one whole generation old.

That is a great point. As an American I can say I am a bit jaded. When I look at the political situation in the U.S. I say to myself, "That's Washington, business as usual" change the channel and wait for the next election. Also the U.S. is huge in comparison to Korea, I know there are many people who would love to rally and protest in Washington D.C. but it might be a damn long way to get there.

However Korea's democracy is still new and Korea is small. I think many Koreans saw the news, got pissed and walked or jumped on the subway to join the vigils.

I'm curious to see if the change of cabinet members will put people at ease.

[shanshanchua]

Austin, I'm looking forward to that video!

I thought the stream that runs through Seoul was widely praised as a project that revitalised the urban jungle?

And the other canal that he's proposing - I read somewhere that he has backed down on it. He would be very unwise to press on with it in light of the current sentiments against him.

I was puzzled about how popular sentiment seemed to change so quickly about this president. When he was elected, he was championed as someone who could deliver results, who could get things done, which would be a change from the previous president. But as Austin pointed out, voter turnout was low, so perhaps the election results weren't as representative as could be.

[austinfd]

As promised...

http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=5LBM1MradT8

Here's the video I made of one rally/march from last month. Sorry for the lack of subtitles, my subtitling program wonked out on me. Perhaps I'll try again...

[shanshanchua]

Amazing video!! Would have been nice to understand what they were chanting and singing. Please do the subtitles again if you have time!

Was it ok for you, obviously a foreigner, to hold a camera at those rallies and film away like you did?

[steved]

There has been US beef in Korea for a long time. As I understand it, the big issue with US beef under this new president is that he made a deal that basically let US beef be imported into Korea without any inspection, hence all of the "미친소" (mad cow) concerns. Sure, as far as I know, mad cow hasn't been an issue in the US but that doesn't mean that a country such as Korea has to blindly accept that.

Nice video Austin. That protest was very well mannered compared to some of the protests I have seen in front of universities. Nothing quite like the smell of tear gas.