Somebody Had To Say It
Somebody in the Korean media has finally said it, that the violent protests needed to be stopped:
How could such an incident happen and be allowed in what should be a lawful country?
Thousands of riot police troops and dozens of police buses sealed the vicinity of the unionists’ demonstrations to prevent possible accidents. Yet, the state police power seemed to have no authority and looked helpless in applying the legal provisions to the workers who were causing citizens pain just in order to act toward their selfish goals.
The unionized workers who take to the streets in pursuit of their own interests seem more concerned about harassing others than talking constructively about their demands.
Interestingly enough it took the thug protesters to inconvenience the lives of the elites here in Seoul before someone in the Korean media has finally come out and denounced the protesters illegal activities. The author even shows concern for the Korean riot police:
They do not have the slightest right to harass other people and nothing can justify their illegal actions. It is disgusting that they care nothing for how their actions affect their fellow citizens.
Even once did the militant union workers think of the pain our young drafted police troops suffered due to their illegal, violent protests under the scorching sun?
So it took this labor union protest in Seoul to get the Korea Times to show at least a little bit of concern for these young riot police draftees? How about the violent protest at Camp Humphreys that the police fought the protesters in epic Braveheart fashion? Why didn’t the Korea Times show some concern for those riot police getting bashed with poles by the thug protesters then? That is because the protesters were inconveniencing no one other than USFK, so nobody cared. Once the elites in Seoul are inconvenienced then it is time to do something. This is what the Korea Times recommends:
The law enforcement authorities should adopt a tougher policy against illegal demonstrators. Demonstrations should be allowed only in specific areas to prevent the participants from harassing ordinary citizens intentionally or unintentionally. Otherwise the illegal practices must be severely dealt with according to law for the street is the place where people coexist.
Order in the streets is the very barometer of a developed, democratic society and is essential for social and national order.
I have been preaching this since the day I started this blog that the police need to enforce the law and arrest these violent thug protesters and just now the Korea Times is coming on board? Where have you been? This is not a new issue. USFK installations have been subject to much more harassment than what happened in Seoul.
The last part of that quote I also find very interesting. If you really want to offend a Korean, tell them that something about Korea reminds them of a third world country. Koreans absolutely hate being compared to a third world country considering how hard they worked to overcome the poverty and famine that has plagued this country in the recent past. However, from the outside looking in, these violent protests create a third world image of Korea when these thugs are allowed to beat policemen with metal pipes and create such a huge show of public disorder over and over again with no repercussions. This shows very little public order to outsiders looking in, which gives Korea the perception of being a third world country.
Though these violent means of protesting would not have been condemned if it only remained directed at USFK installations I still have to give props to the Korea Times for at least coming out and condemning the protesters actions in Seoul. It is at least a start. I still haven’t seen any Korean news media be critical about what happened at Camp Humphreys though. I could be wrong and if so feel free to point it out to me in my comments section but I haven’t seen anything.
You don’t have to be pro-USFK to condemn the protesters actions at Camp Humphreys. I would think any reasonable person even those who do not like the presence of USFK in Korea could at least agree that severely beating the riot police and destroying private property should not be allowed at a protest. However this protest culture will never end until reasonable people within Korean society speak out against it. Or is there any reasonable people left? I sure hope so.
Yes. Listen to the silence on the base protests. I can't read Korean well enough to track the story in the Korean langauge press, but the English versions were oddly quiet about the base protests.
I am somewhat thankful, because in the past, the press has used such protests, and a liberal quoting of the protest leaders, to convince more of the average Koreans to feel angry about what the protesters are promoting.
But why are the Korean papers so quiet about a pretty big rally with typical violence? We get a couple of short, matter of fact reports, but only a couple. Then silence…
GI,
Korean society has known what is right and wrong for a long time. This Asian society, however, is run by the principle of Korean tribalism which waxes righteously indignant — only when it's in the Korean self-interest.
To your question: Yes, Korea is filled with many reasonable people — all of them cowards lacking honor.