President Bush to Arrive in Korea Soon for APEC Meeting

President Bush will be arriving in Korea shortly to attend the APEC meeting in Pusan. USA Today has a run down of his Asian trip itinerary. The paper believes President Bush may run into protests similar to his South American trip:

There is broad opposition to the Iraq war in South Korea, and Roh says he will propose ways to address the “social injustice” that results from globalization. Those factors could prompt protests like those that marred Bush’s visit to Argentina this month.

I seriously doubt you will see violent protests in Pusan similar to what happened in Argentina. The Korean government is very image concious and will do everything to crush any protests before they begin in order to maintain the focus of the APEC meeting on Korea instead of violent protesters

However, something else I noticed was that President Bush intends to tour Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju. Beautiful temple by the way for those who haven’t been there. I think it is good that the President is getting out and seeing something other than the customary trip to Seoul and photo-op with the troops at the JSA and back to America that most past presidents have done. All he needs to do next to improve his image in Korea is say Korean kimchee is better than Chinese kimchee and every ajumma in Korea will be chanting long live Bush.