Category: Anti-American Crap

The Blue House claims the First Lady was just wearing a simple butterfly pin, but as Dr. Tara O points out, this butterfly had far more meaning to anti-US groups in South Korea:

President Trump arrived in South Korea on June 29, 2019 after the G-20 meeting in Japan.  The next day, he visited the DMZ and met with Kim Jong-un. On the 29th, the South Korean First Lady is spotted wearing a light blue butterfly brooch near President Trump.  The light blue butterfly is a symbol adopted by anti-THAAD, anti-U.S. groups in South Korea.

First Lady Kim Jung-sook (김정숙) also wore the light blue butterfly pin the day before on June 28, 2019 in Japan at the G-20 meeting during the group photo session and the dinner banquet.

East Asia Research

You can read more at the link, but the First Lady was not the only one to wear the pin, other ROK officials did so as well during Trump’s visit. The blue butterfly has been become the symbol for all the anti-THAAD protesters in recent months.

Probably the most offensive thing about the anti-THAAD protesters is that it is based on lies that the electromagnetic waves from the radar are going to cause cancer and kill crops.

If the residents want to go measure electromagnetic waves they can do it right now.  They can purchase their own detection device and stand at their homes or farms and see what electromagnetic waves they detect.  They are not going to detect anything though because a group of Korean reporters were invited to the THAAD site on Guam and have already measured electromagnetic waves and found nothing.

This is simply not in my backyard protests that have been coopted by the usual anti-US groups that have little to do with the merits of the THAAD system and the ROK First Lady is apparently supporting this nonsense.

Here is another example of an anti-US effort being promoted by the South Korean left:

The conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) on Friday criticized a decision by the Incheon city legislative council to compensate residents for damages incurred by the U.S.-led landing at the port city during the Korean War. 

The Incheon Metropolitan Council approved a municipal ordinance on March 15 that will offer subsidies to residents of Wolmi Island who suffered damages from the 1950 military operation or their descendants.

The surprise amphibious landing at Incheon resulted in a critical strategic reversal in favor of the U.S.-led United Nations troops and South Korea during the Korean War. The operation, which took place from Sept. 15 to 19, 1950, allowed the recapture of Seoul two weeks later. The operation, led by U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur, involved bombings of Incheon by UN forces. 

“The Incheon city council, where the Democratic Party [DP] controls the majority, created the compensation plan,” said Rep. Kim Jin-tae of the LKP. “Do they want to compensate the people for all past damages, such as those from Donghak Peasant Revolution [in 1894], the Qing invasion of Joseon [in 1636] and the Japanese invasions of Korea [from 1592 to 1598]?” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

Remember the leftist in Incheon are the same people that tried to tear down the General McArthur statue at Jayu Park in the middle of the city.

Here is the best quote from the article that explains what this is really all about:

Kim also said offering compensations to the residents would only satisfy Kim Il Sung, the late founder of the North who initiated the North’s invasion of the South in 1950.  (……..)

“If compensations are sought for the damages caused by the Incheon landing operation, they must ask for the money from the North, since it caused enormous damage by starting the Korean War,” said Rep. Jun Hee-kyung, spokeswoman of the LKP. “They are saying nothing to the North, but supporting the civic groups which demand compensation from the UN forces that helped the South. Is this what the Moon Jae-in administration refers to as justice?” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

Remember little issues like this are all about keeping the kettle of anti-Americanism simmering in South Korea before finding a major issue the South Korean left can sensationalize. We saw this happen prior to the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident that the Korean left used to create a huge anti-Americanism backlash.

We saw another huge anti-American backlash in 2008 with the anti-US Beef Riots that nearly toppled the newly elected conservative President Lee Myung-bak.

Activists convicted of crimes during anti-US protests over the 10 years of conservative rule in South Korea have been pardoned:

“We selected seven major conflicts of our society and pardoned those involved in the cases for the sake of social unity,” Minister Park said.

Of the 107 activists, 13 were convicted of holding demonstrations against the Lee government’s decision to resume imports of U.S. beef. Moon also pardoned 11 people who were convicted of participating in illegal protests to condemn the Park administration’s poor handling of the Sewol ferry’s sinking in 2014 and 22 convicted of holding illegal rallies to denounce a comfort women deal with Japan signed during her presidency. 

The ministry said Moon also pardoned 13 people convicted of holding illegal rallies over the Park government’s decision to allow the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) anti-missile system. Participants in rallies to both support and oppose the deployment were pardoned. 

Seven people convicted of holding illegal strikes at Ssangyong Motor in 2009 also received special pardons. 

Moon also issued special pardons to 19 people who were convicted of holding illegal rallies against a government plan to build a naval base in Jeju. The plan was initiated by the Roh Moo-hyun administration in 2007, when Moon was serving as the presidential chief of staff. After the plan faced fierce protests from Jeju residents, Moon repeatedly expressed regret that the government failed to listen to their opinions at the initial stage.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but what President Moon has endorsed is that holding illegal rallies is okay.

So how would the Moon administration react if conservative activists made up a phony issue like the 2008 US beef protests, occupied and closed down central Seoul, and violently attacked police?

"Art" display in Seoul–#KimJongUn
with a gun pointed at Trump, who is on the floor. Is this "artist" Lim Young-sun on #MoonJaein admin's "white list," receiving #SouthKorean tax payers money? https://t.co/88G8uowoC3

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) December 22, 2018

Via a reader tip comes news that the Korean left has found another issue to criticizes the United States with:

The U.S. Embassy in South Korea has not paid rent for using its site since 1980, a ruling party lawmaker claimed Thursday, citing data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Rep. Shim Jae-kwon of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said the South Korean government owns the site of the U.S. Embassy in central Seoul.

The amount of rent over the past 38 years exceeds 90 billion won ($79 million).

The lawmaker insisted that operations of the United States Agency for International Development-Korea (USAID-Korea), and its predecessor United States Operations Mission (USOM) have long since come to an end, and this removes legal grounds for free use of the embassy building.

The foreign ministry stated in 2008 that it is discussing the matter with the U.S.

The lawmaker noted the countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2005 regarding the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, and signed an implementation agreement of the MOU in 2011, but no tangible efforts or progress have been made on the matter since.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but if the North Koreans establish an embassy in South Korea does anyone think they will pay rent?

All this criticism over the US embassy rent is about promoting anti-Americanism with the Korean public.  We saw these same type of criticism happen during the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations as well.  I would not be surprised if in the coming months we start seeing claims about out of control GI crime, unpaid parking tickets, and USFK environmental pollution which are all from the Korean lefts playbook of how to promote anti-Americanism.

This is just a preview of what will happen if the US signs a peace treaty to end the Korean War:

The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier was blocked entry to the Jeju Navy base by a group of kayak protesters on Thursday.

Some 200 civic activists in kayaks paddled out to the sea off the base to protest the 2018 International Fleet Review, interrupting the entry of the U.S. aircraft carrier.

The USS Ronald Reagan, one of the Navy’s largest warships participating in the naval event, has been rescheduled to enter Friday, according to a South Korean Navy official, Munhwa Ilbo reported.

The U.S. warship attended a nautical parade, as scheduled, which is a highlight of the fleet review that featured 40 ships and 24 aircraft demonstrating their naval prowess. The fleet review runs until Sunday. [UPI]

You can read more at the link, but the Korean left has long been unhappy about the Jeju naval base largely because it was pushed through by a prior conservative administration.  One of the main reasons for the base was because of the territorial claims that China was making towards Ieodo a submerged rock that is home to a Korean research station off the coast of Jeju.

If the US signs a peace treaty to end the Korean War these leftist protesters will be emboldened to do things like claiming that the US military presence is no longer needed because there is “peace”.  The Moon administration will do little to nothing to stop the protesters from disrupting US military operations much like what we are currently seeing with the THAAD site in Korea that is still blockaded by protesters.

With the is rise of the anti-American left in South Korea once again, the Sept. 11th anniversary is good time to remind readers of how blatant anti-Americanism once was in South Korea:

https://www.rokdrop.net/2005/09/911-hate-fest-in-south-korea-2/

“All the usual spots where I saw the anti-American posters along Kim Il Sung Square have been removed.”

Since the Democrats and neocons like @MaxBoot are themselves anti-American, they will blame this on Trump as well.https://t.co/UOKZPvJHg3

— King Baeksu (@KingBaeksu) June 21, 2018

As I have been saying for some time, if a peace treaty is agreed to with North Korea, the South Korean left will then challenge the relevancy of the US-ROK alliance:

Two progressive civic groups on Sunday called for a review of the character of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) in line with the two Koreas’ efforts for reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The ,  and Minbyun-Lawyers for a Democratic Society issued the call, with Seoul and Washington set to hold a third round of negotiations this week on sharing the cost for the upkeep of 28,500 American troops in the South.

“As (the two Koreas) are in the process of implementing the Panmunjom Declaration and establishing a peace regime, the character and size of the USFK, and the scope of its activities should be reviewed,” the two groups said in a joint statement.  [Yonhap]

The PSPD and Minbyun are both extreme left wing pro-Pyongyang organization that have long been anti-US.  For example PSPD is one of the groups behind the ongoing THAAD protests, blamed the US for Christian missionaries kidnapped by the Taliban, was a member of the Korean Alliance Against the Korea-U.S. FTA that even had one of their own set himself on fire outside one of the FTA meetings in Seoul.  PSPD was also one of the lead organizations against the relocation of US forces to Camp Humphreys.

Minbyun on the other hand are basically Kim Jong-un’s personal lawyers in South Korea.  They have long been used to legally attack North Korean defectors, one of the groups behind the US beef riots, and have long attacked the USFK relocation plan.

ROK President Moon Jae-in has said that after a peace treaty he wants US forces to stay.

Moon, however, has said that the USFK is a matter of the Seoul-Washington alliance and that it has “nothing to do with” a peace treaty that the two Koreas agreed to pursue to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended only with a truce.

Remember though that Moon is a very skilled politician that needs to keep the Korean right at bay and public anxiety down.  If he advocated openly for a USFK withdrawal that would give the South Korean right an issue to strongly attack him with and cause much public anxiety after decades of security guarantees provided by US forces.  That is why I think it is a possibility that the Moon administration may publicly say they support USFK, but will then have their surrogates do things to make life difficult for USFK such as what Minbyun is proposing:

Regarding the allies’ talks on the cost of American troops here, the civic groups called for more transparency in spending procedures, more parliamentary oversight and a ban on the use of money for supporting the deployment of U.S. strategic assets.

Possibly the future of USFK could look a lot like the current THAAD site in Seongju.  President Moon will say all the right things that he supports USFK, just like he supposedly supports the THAAD site, but will set conditions to make it difficult for its continued existence.  Minbyun and PSPD’s current efforts could just be the start of a larger strategy to make life more difficult for USFK if a peace treaty is signed.  All the while expect the Moon administration to say how much they support USFK.

I think retired Army officer Steve Tharp makes a fair point to be concerned about an increase in anti-Americanism during the upcoming Winter Olympics.  With that said I think the conditions are a bit different this time compared to the 2002 World Cup where this time I think the likelihood of a large increase in anti-Americanism is low:

What is unknown right now is how the Korean populace will react towards the United States and its athletes during the Olympics. In 1988, South Koreans were observed cheering wildly for the Soviet athletes during competitions against the Americans. In 2002, I watched on TV as the South Korean soccer team mimicked a speed skating maneuver in front of the American net after South Korea scored, which brought a very emotional reaction from their fans in the bar where I was watching the game. I found both events disconcerting.

A final factor will be the presence of the North Korean delegation. It has long been my contention that there is a zero-sum game in South Korea when it comes to sentiment for and against the U.S. and North Korea. When pro-North Korean sentiment increases, pro-U.S. sentiment goes down, and the converse is also true. A possible effect of the combined Korean delegation may be that some South Koreans view the U.S. and its athletes in a more negative manner.

I hope my concerns prove unfounded and that we don’t have another spike in anti-Americanism in the coming months. While there is never a good time for a wedge to be driven into the ROK-U.S. alliance, this seems an especially bad time given the current political and security situation. Let’s not repeat history but instead, as they say at the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, “Let’s Go Together!”  [Korea Times]

You can read the whole article at the link, but during the World Cup timeframe many Koreans felt differently about North Korea due to the implementation of the Sunshine Policy.  So when negative incidents involving Americans happened the ROK media, politicians, and public felt free to inflate their importance and bash the US.  The 2002 Armored Vehicle Incident is a perfect example of this; the media published lies, politicians demagogued, and the public relentlessly bashed the US over a tragic traffic accident that USFK was deeply remorseful for.

During this same timeframe the North Koreans deliberately launched an attack that killed six ROK sailors and the media and politicians made excuses while the ROK public paid little notice.  This is how strongly the Sunshine Policy altered the ROK public’s perceptions of the US and North Korea.

Since 2002, the Sunshine Policy has been revealed as a sham that gave the Kim regime billions of dollars to help develop their nuclear and ballistic missile programs.  Additionally the North Koreans have made many deadly provocations to include sinking a ROK naval ship killing 46 sailors and even shelling a South Korean island with artillery.  The change in perceptions of North Korea by the ROK public compared to 2002 is most evident by the relatively cool reception North Korean athletes are receiving that will attend the Winter Olympics.

With all these factors converging at the Winter Olympics I would not be surprised if US athletes receive cheers from the ROK public if they end up competing against a North Korean athlete.