Can Anyone Tell Me What This Was About?

I had a really weird experience today. At about 1330 I had to run to my apartment and pick up something I forgot at my apartment and then hustled back to my camp where I work. I got to an intersection near the front gate of my camp where I have to cross the road to get to my camp.

I got to the crosswalk and I saw these ajushis in tan uniforms with yellow arm bands with whistles. There was about eight of them standing out in the intersection blocking traffic. The crosswalk light turned green and some people began to move but the uniformed ajushis began blowing their whistles and yelling. So nobody moved.

More cars and pedestrians began piling up at the busy intersection. I sure the heck didn’t know what was going on. I think the Korean nationals didn’t know what was going on either because I kept looking around at the other people and they to kept looking around seeming like they didn’t know what was going on either.

We stood there for 10 minutes before finally an ajumma got fed and started walking across the crosswalk. A uniformed ajushis came over and began yelling at her and blowing his whistle. Then another guy on a motorcycle took off through the light and some other uniformed guys tried to block him but he jumped on to the sidewalk and took off down the sidewalk.

With the uniformed people momentarily distracted by the motorcycle the ajumma took off along with about five more ajummas who followed her lead. They began blowing their whistles and chasing the ajummas. More people began running across the road. I decided screw it, I’m going to and sprinted across the road. At that time some cars were trying to move and the uniformed people quit all efforts to stop the pedestrians and focused on stopping the cars.

I got to the front of my camp and looked back and they were still blocking the cars. I asked the Korean security guard at my camp who are those guys and he did not know. It was really weird. I don’t who those guys were because they were not wearing a policemen or a ROK Army uniform. Is there any special police in Korea with tan uniforms that look like something John Wayne would wear in a 1950’s movie?

This was one of the weirdest experiences I have had in Korea. It ranks right up there with when Pinocchio showed up to protest at my camp last winter and he flipped me off. So if anyone knows who these guys in the tan uniforms are, please feel free to comment, because I sure the heck don’t.