Search Results for: MacArthur statue

 This is how 9/11 is remembered in South Korea:

Useful Idiots out in force in Inchon protesting the MacArthur Statue.

Riot police playing king of the hill by holding the high ground against the hate group protesters wielding bamboo poles trying to tear down the MacArthur Statue.

This is the scene from yesterday’s anti-American hate fest in Inchon. Notice that the hate groups are using the same tactics they used in Pyongtaek, a frontal assault with bamboo poles and metal pipes. This is what the Chosun Ilbo had to say about the protest:

Dozens were injured when groups calling for the removal of a statue of U.S. general Douglas MacArthur clashed with police in Incheon’s Freedom Park on Sunday. The clashes came four days ahead of the 55th anniversary of the Incheon Landing of UN forces led by MacArthur that marked a turning point in the Korean War.

Some 4,000 members of progressive groups who had gathered in Sungeui Stadium in Incheon’s Nam-gu started marching on the park at 1 p.m. to demand the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Korea and the removal of the monument to the U.S. general from Freedom Park.

Here is my first point of contention with the Chosun article; they try to make it out that this protest was held on Sunday because the 15th is the 55th anniversary of the Inchon Landing. This is incorrect. The hate groups specifically held it on the anniversary of 9/11 to rub it in the USA’s face the terrorist attack that killed 3,000 Americans. My second point of contention is that the newspaper dignifies these people by calling them a “progressive group”. They are a hate group. If you exchanged the words they say about Americans to Koreans the media would have no qualms calling them a racist hate group. If tomorrow I had a protest demanding that every statue in tribute to Koreans in America should be torn down, my group would be labeled a hate group. These people are no different. Call them what they are, they hate Americans.

Here is another example of how out of hand this is getting. Some of you may remember this picture from July’s hate fest at Camp Humphreys:

At the Inchon protest, children were once again subject to violence:

Here is a quote I had to chuckle at when I read it:

The park resembled a battlefield littered with branches, dirt, eggs, torn-up paper and the blood of the wounded. Police had deployed no fewer than 38 companies of riot police — about 3,800 men — and 78 transport vehicles, but they were unable to stop the violence and earned complaints from protesters for hurling stones.

The protesters are complaining that the riot police threw stones at them when they are attacking the police with bamboo poles, metal pipes, and rocks? I guess they are just supposed to stand there and take a beating from these idiots.

Is this Inchon or New Orleans?

Overall though, this protest was unsuccessful in creating the huge anti-American movement they hoped to create. In fact now more pro-American Koreans are mobilizing against the hate groups:

From the Chosun:

Earlier, some 1,000 members of conservative groups rallied at Inseong Girls High School near the Park to defend the statue of a man they see as a hero of the Korean War. At 4 p.m., they too entered Freedom Park with the intent of burning North Korean flags, throwing stones and eggs, and stopping the progressive groups from entering the park, but were stopped by police.

From the Joong Ang Ilbo:

On Thursday, more than 10,000 conservative activists including former marines will gather for a rally to protect the statue. “After the rally, we will take a turn to guard the statue on our own,” a representative of the Marine Corps Veterans Association said.

In the coming days we will see what the pro-American groups do in response to the hate groups. However, the true show down will be in Pyongtaek when the land is forcibly removed from the last few farmers still holding out and preventing the USFK from relocating soldiers there from Yongsan and the DMZ areas. This was just another warm up for the upcoming hate fest Super Bowl coming up this winter. And finally I will pose the question of why these people of continually beat, assault, and injure Korean policemen are not in jail?
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Here is the first South Korean press report on today’s anti-American hate fest at Freedom Park in Inchon were hate groups vowed to tear down a symbol of Inchon the General MacArthur statue:

(ATTN: UPDATES with reports of injuries in clashes)
INCHEON, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) — Hundreds of anti-U.S. protesters clashed with riot police Sunday as they marched tried to march onto a public park in South Korea’s western port city of Incheon where a statue of U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur stands.

The protesters were part of 4,000 leftist activists who staged street demonstrations earlier in the day, demanding the removal of the statue which they argued hinders inter-Korean reconciliation and unification.

They think MacArthur’s statue hinders reunification? There idiot policy of providing nearly unmonitored food aid to North Korea that goes directly to the North Korean military has done more to hinder reunification than MacArthur’s statue. I guess they think if a Kim Il Sung statue sat there instead reunification will come quicker.

There are reports of injuries. Hopefully the injuries are not of the riot police that have to continuously put up with the violence from these hate groups. I’m sure there will be more updates on this in the morning.

In preperation for the anti-American hatefest tomorrow at Freedom Park in Inchon, anti-American Korean folk singer Park Seong-hwan has released his latest hate song:

The song blames MacArthur for the massacre of Korean civilians in Jeju Island on April 3, 1948 and the slaughter of civilians at Nogeun-ri during the Korean War. It joins calls for the statue to be pulled down.

“I released the song ahead of protests planned for Sunday calling for the statue to be removed,” singer Park Seong-hwan told the Chosun Ilbo on Friday. “I wanted to teach people about the side of MacArthur ordinary people don’t know about.”

Asked if the lyrics might be too radical, Park said, “MacArthur is a war criminal who directly ordered massacres of civilians… As UN commander at the time, there are things he must take responsibility for.”

Between verses two and three, Park adds his own narration. “Seize Seoul. There are girls and ladies there. For three days, Seoul will be yours — UN Commander Douglas MacArthur, September 1950.” Park says historical records confirm that this is an authentic quote by the maverick commander.

Of course it isn’t an actual quote but if you repeat the lie enough times people will believe it. You see that tactic used over and over again here in Korea in regards to rewriting history. If you blame America and in this case MacArthur for every bad thing that has happened in Korean history over and over it becomes imbedded in the minds of the citizens here.

It isn’t just the hate groups that do this either. The Korean government as well, are masters at this tactic led none other by the master history distorter Unification Minister Chung Dong-young.

The Korean media is also well versed in this tactic. A perfect example of this is that the Korean media continuously pushes the notion that GI’s that commit crimes in Korea and not prosecuted in Korean courts because of the SOFA agreement, even though there are plenty of GI’s sitting in Korean prisons today that were prosecuted and sentenced in Korean courts.

So the rewriting of history by useful idiots such as Park Seong-hwan continues to be a extremely effective tactic by the North Koreans and their sympathisers who are behind many of these hate groups that preach anti-Americanism.

Here are some more good links to check out about the current General MacArthur controversy:

One Free Korea

Korea Sojourner

About Joel

A Navy honor guard marches down a road in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Dec. 2, 2015, part of a parade celebrating the naming of the 1.75 km road as “The MacArthur Road.” The local office of the conservative Korea Freedom Federation both petitioned to name the road beginning from a statue of late U.S. General Douglas MacArthur at the city’s Freedom Park and organized the parade. Around 500 people participated in the parade in honor of the general, who turned the tide of the 1950-53 Korean War by successfully leading the Incheon Landing Operation on Sept. 15, 1950 against invading North Korean forces. (Yonhap)

Here is an interesting article about an ex-State Senator trying to get memorials that represent Korea’s modern history built in Oregon:

As a young boy during the Korean War, John Lim witnessed his father being forcibly conscripted by the North Korean People’s Army.

The incident was only the beginning of a series of greater tragedies. Branded as a communist, his father, who was a fire captain in his hometown of Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, was shot dead by South Korean authorities after the three-year conflict. The entire family was destroyed, and Lim himself nearly died from tuberculosis.

His brushes with death, however, did not kill his dreams. In 1966, a penniless Lim took a flight to the U.S. and pursued religious studies while working as a janitor, painter and gardener. He then ventured into business, boasting acumen in retail, health food and real estate, among other areas.

In 1992, Lim set a milestone in Korean-American history, becoming a state senator in Oregon. After serving five straight terms, he is now seeking to “set up memorials dedicated to U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur and former South Korean presidents who contributed to the country’s economic and political development, such as Park Chung-hee and Kim Dae-jung.   [Korea Herald]

Here is something else I found of interest in the article, Lim’s group tried to take over the MacArthur statue in Incheon after hate groups wanted to tear it down:

The five-year project was initiated after some liberal civic groups called for the demolition of a MacArthur sculpture at a public park in Incheon last year.

The Lim-led Korean War Memorial Foundation of Oregon initially sought to take over the statue, but then decided to have a new one made. In 2000, it established a 5-acre memorial park within a city park of Wilsonville near Portland to commemorate the war and U.S. veterans, with the support of the Seoul government, the city and South Korean businesses there.

Long time ROK Heads may remember how in 2005 huge riots broke out in Incheon as ROK veterans groups defended the MacArthur statue from the anti-US leftist hate groups that had vowed to tear it down.

Fortunately the anti-US hate groups failed to tear down the castle after the Braveheart style battle to defend the hill.  For those that haven’t been there before Jayu Park in Incheon where the MacArthur statue stands is well worth checking out as well as taking a walk through Chinatown below the hill.

British Ambassador to Korea, Warwick Morris has now spoken out in regards to the current General MacArthur statue controversy in Inchon by sending this letter to the Chosun Ilbo:

“I have been saddened to read that a group of protestors attacked and called for the removal of the statue of the U.S. general MacArthur in Incheon. The statue was erected to commemorate the Incheon Landing, which he led, and which was one of the most decisive interventions of the Korean War. British naval vessels were among those involved. By attacking his statue and his memory, these protestors are also denigrating ALL those foreign soldiers under the UN command, who came to fight alongside South Korea in that war. There were men and women from more than 20 nations involved, including my own. Tens of thousands of them gave their lives so that South Korea should remain free and independent. Without the fierce allied fighting that followed there was a real chance that South Korea, by then pinned down to Busan, would have been overrun.

“None of us can change our country’s history. What happened, happened, and we should respect the right for people to demonstrate peacefully, but these protestors risk alienating more than just American friends. I am glad there have been some firmly-worded editorials, and that a number of leading figures, including Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, have spoken up. They need to, and strongly, if good friends of Korea and war veterans from many countries are not to feel insulted.”

The good ambassador is absolutely right about this. These protesters shame all the soldiers from all the countries involved in the UN force that came to the aid of South Korea during the Korean War. Notice however in his letter he only mentioned Foreign Minister Ban speaking out strongly against the hate groups. He did not mention President Roh Moo-hyun. President Roh has only spoken out vaguely against the protesters and it appears Ambassador Morris may be hinting that the President should take a tougher stand against these hate groups. I would be surprised if President Roh did that however, because these hate groups form part of his political base. It would be like Howard Dean speaking out against Moveon.org, PETA, and the evironmental wacko groups. It would be political suicide for him.

It may be political suicide for President Roh anyway because these hate groups may have made a big error in going after the MacArthur statue. Average Koreans are embarrassed and getting fed up with the actions of these hate groups. Look what some Koreans had to say in this LA Times article reprinted on Newsmax:

The imposing statue was erected in 1957 in Freedom Park atop a pedestal with the inscription, “A man to hold eternally in honored memory.”

Freedom Park is not a usual venue for protests; it is a place where retirees play mah-jongg and toddlers chase pigeons.

“These protesters are just stupid kids who don’t know what happened during the Korean War. Because of them, our park is full of riot police,” said a 51-year-old hairdresser, Lee Jong Sun, who wandered off muttering under her breath: “Crazy! Idiots!”

Jeon Gap Su, a 72-year-old retired military officer, recalled being among the onlookers on Sept. 15, 1957, when the statue was dedicated.

“Back then, if anybody had protested they would have been shot instantly. It would have been clean and easy,” Jeon said. “It was clean and easy in those days.”

I don’t advocate shooting the hate groups and actually don’t care if they protest. What they shouldn’t have the right to do is assault policemen and destroy property. These people should be jailed and given stiff fines. Why this is not happening I can only ponder is because of political reasons.

It is definitely not clean and easy anymore.

The Korean government has responded to the MacArthur statue controversy in Inchon:

South Korea’s presidential office expressed “serious concern” over a violent protest by anti-American activists seeking to demolish a statue of US war hero Douglas MacArthur.

“We express serious concern at violence yesterday over the statue of General MacArthur,” the office said in a statement.

“Such an illegal attempt to demolish the statue is not good for friendly relations between South Korea and the United States.”

Here is more from the Chosun:

The meeting chaired by presidential Chief of Staff Lee Byung-wan expressed concern that calls to take down the statue have turned violent. “An illegal attempt to pull the statue down would not only be of no help to the Korea-U.S. relationship, but would run counter to a mature historical understanding in our society,” spokesman Choi In-ho said. “President Roh Moo-hyun recently said the statue must not be pulled down, and to do so would not reflect the wisdom needed to live in the modern world.”

President Roh says one thing and then a member of his political party says this:

Ruling party lawmakers were split. Uri Party standing committee member Chang Young-dal told a meeting of legislators the people calling for the removal of the statue revealed a “deep ethnic purity” and warned the party to watch out for “ultra-rightists” latching on to the statue issue to band together and ratchet up tensions.

What the heck is a “deep ethnic purity”? Is he suggesting that foreigners should not be welcomed in Korea? Is there any doubt that these groups protesting and causing violence are in fact hate groups when you read statements like “deep ethnic purity”. It almost sounds like something Hitler would of said.

The Korean government is not the only ones responding to the MacArthur controversy:

The confrontation is, however, expected to last for a while because a conservative group is scheduled to hold a “Great Meeting for a Resolution to Keep National Security and the Statue of MacArthur,” on September 15. Up to 20,000 members are expected to attend.

(…)

Yu, president of the Hwanghaedo Society, said, “The statue of MacArthur was built by the donations of Incheon people who wanted to remember the Incheon landings that preempted North Korea’s greedy intention to communize the entire Korean Peninsula,” adding, “The R.O.K Marine Corps Veterans Association’s 16 local offices will protect the statue until the end of this year.”

That would be quite impressive if the pro-American groups can turn out 20,000 people. Also I got a word of advice for those hate groups out there; I wouldn’t mess with the ROK Marines guarding the statue.

Here are the statements of the leadership of Inchon:

Rep. Han Kwang-won, whose constituency includes Freedom Park, said, “The statue was erected with donations from Incheon residents… If you are truly progressive, you must think about why MacArthur is a hero in the hearts of your elders and why he’s become a symbol of Incheon.”

(…)

Incheon mayor Ahn Sang-soo told a press conference pulling the statue down or moving it elsewhere would not help the interests of the city or the nation. He also urged “outsiders” to stop making trouble in his city.

The good mayor is absolutely right. Outsiders are the ones causing the trouble in Inchon. The people of Inchon actually take pride in the MacArthur statue. I have spent a considerable amount of time in Inchon for various reasons and I feel confident in saying that the people of Inchon are not anti-American. So these hate groups should not reflect poorly on the citizens of Inchon because they are generally very welcoming of foreigners due to their long history as a city of international trade.

If the people of the city approve of the statue and the local government supports it as well then what business do these hate groups have in causing violence and smearing the good name of the city of Inchon? The easy answer is that the police need to arrest these people and lock them up and hand out stiff fines. These idiots will continue conducting these attacks as long as they are not arrested.

This is amazing that a statement like this came from the Korea Times:

It is impossible to imagine that we can enjoy the freedom of life as we do now if the South were communized by the North aided by China and the former Soviet Union. Even though we lived under suppression from authoritarian rulers of the past, it was no worse than what the people in the North have been suffering since the division of the peninsula. Nobody can deny that the North is one of the most severe violators of human rights, starving many of its people to death despite enormous food aid from the international community.

The Korea Times actually gets it right. Anyone that thinks that Korea would be better off today if the North Koreans and Chinese won the Korean War is out of their minds.

The South Korean Defense Minister defends the MacArthur statue in Incheon:

On his one-year anniversary as the head of the Defense Ministry, Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung publicly opposed yesterday the removal of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur’s statue from Incheon’s Freedom Park.

He also worried over certain civic groups’ “unreasonable and inappropriate” rallies to remove the statue. “The statue of General Douglas MacArthur was erected with money donated by the residents of Incheon to commemorate the general’s feat during the Korean War,” Mr. Yoon said at a gathering of the ministry’s top-level officers. “The request for removal of the statue will cause confusion to the values Koreans share and will scar professional soldiers in Korea.”

Good to see Minister Yoon defend the statue. Now if only President Roh would do the same.

Some retired Korean generals are also defending the statue:

… around 120 retired generals rallied yesterday in front of the statue at Freedom Park, saying they will take any measure to protect the statue of General MacArthur.

I have always maintained that the Korean and US militaries have always gotten along well, it is at the political level where all the problems in the ROK-US alliance reside. The MacArthur statue controversy tends to reinforce that belief because the ROK military has taken a stand on this issue yet the leading politicians have yet to weigh in. Where is the leadership in this country?

One of my commenters fortunately pointed out this article in the Christian Science Monitor about the controversy surrounding the General MacArthur statue in Incheon. The article talks about the generational gap between older Koreans who respect the US-ROK alliance and younger protesters who want to end it. Here is an excerpt of some of the usual propaganda put out by the anti-American crowd:

“General MacArthur is a maniac for war,” says one professor, Kang Jeong Ku, whose comments are handed out in fliers at demonstrations.

That remark has the full support of the quasi-governmental National Human Rights Commission, which fueled the protest with a statement condemning MacArthur as “a war criminal who massacred numerous civilians.”

Indeed, the commission adds, “To induce or force children to respect such a person by erecting a statue of him and teaching them that he is a great figure is a national disgrace and greatly injures the dignity of our people.”

If this National Human Rights Commission is connected to the government it seems that President Roh has an obligation to comment on policy being put out by this government agency. However, President Roh is continuing to keep quiet on this issue:

Leftists deny disloyalty to South Korean leaders as the South pursues reconciliation with the North. In fact, they say the protest against the statue supports government policy – and view it as a symbol of much more strenuous demands for US troops to leave South Korea altogether.

Neither Roh nor local authorities have publicly opposed the campaign against the statue, but policemen guard it round the clock with reinforcements ready to rush in when protests get unruly.

Both the protesters and a government affiliated agency are claiming they are supporting national government policy and President Roh or anyone else has yet to comment on this issue.

The Mayor of Incheon has at least released a statement:

Inchon’s mayor, Ahn Sang Soo, who recently visited North Korea promoting Incheon’s role as a regional hub serving both Koreas, prefers not to speak out, but a spokesman says, “We’re going to keep the statue as it has historical meaning.”

It is still kind of cowardly to not come out and speak for yourself about an issue that is having such an impact on the city, but at least a representative gave a statement. Why hasn’t a spokesman for President Roh released a statement yet?

The US Embassy here should be demanding a comment from the Korean government about the policy regarding the General MacArthur statue. With so many other people making claim they are supporting government policy the Korean government should at least speak up and let people know where they stand on this. The US Embassy should make an official request demanding answers to if the official Korean government policy is that General MacArthur is a war criminal and responsible for many massacres. The US government should put them on the spot for a change.

There was a quote in the article from the legendary Korean War General Paik Sun Yup I liked:

For Korean War veterans, any affront to the statue is a national disgrace, stirring the passions of patriotism that match the leftist convictions in intensity. Retired General Paik Sun Yup, who rallied, organized and led fledgling South Korean troops in some of the toughest fighting of the Korean War, talks about MacArthur’s legacy as a hero in his own time and an example for the future.

“We have to preserve the statue for peace in our country,” he says, reminding veterans that the statue was erected in 1957 with funds collected by a Korean committee. “Many people in the United States and our country were worried about the Inchon landing. The tide was very severe, and the landing seemed impossible, but General MacArthur made one of the greatest decisions in world history. As communism was in danger of taking our country, he rescued us.”

I have actually met General Paik before, he speaks English, has a sharp memory, and is a real hero who played a key role in saving this country from communism. He is also a strong supporter of the US-ROK alliance. It is good to see him speak up for the General MacArthur statue. Anyone know if General Paik is being quoted in the Korean language press? He is the type of person that can sway public opinion for USFK.

With the Korean government still trying to buy the land near Pyongtaek for the Yongsan and 2ID move there, expect these protests and the highlighting of all the GI crimes in the Korean media to continue. The anti-American crowd’s agenda is to have the general population in Pyongtaek to turn against the US forces moving there.

To do that the protestors want to revise history to stoke Korean pride and anger such is the case with the MacArthur statue and the Nogun-ri controversy, plus continue to beat the image of thug GIs, followed by blaming the US for anything else like the failure of the six party talks to whatever else comes up. It will continue to pile up until a decision is made to buy the land.

The anti-American crowd actually want the land to be bought because when it is bought and the people have to be forcibly removed, trust me this will be when all hell breaks loose down there and we will see if the anti-American crowds efforts now at stoking the passions of the general Korean population come to fruition.

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By the way if you haven’t read General Paik’s book from Pusan to Panmunjom you should. This is the only English language book I have read that gives a description of the Korean War from the Korean perspective. I developed a new appreciation of what the ROK Army did during the Korean War from reading this book. Highly recommended.

The Korean media is slowly but surely starting to speak out against removing the General MacArthur statue in Incheon. Here is the latest editorial from the Korea Herald that condemns the removal of the statue:

Professor Kang at Seoul’s Dongkuk University, who stirred a controversy by eulogizing the late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung on the guest book at his birthplace during his visit to Pyongyang in 2001, said in an article he contributed to an Internet newspaper that U.S. forces were responsible for the 4 million deaths during the Korean War and Gen. MacArthur should be condemned as their commander.

(…)

Thus, Kang helped the anti-MacArthur demonstrators articulate their cause. They regret that the Republic of Korea was saved from being communized through the North Korean invasion and its liberal democratic system was preserved by the American-led U.N. Forces. His idea, epitomized as “unification over everything,” does not deserve any more space in this newspaper, but the problem is that he must be trying to indoctrinate his students with this gross historical distortion. Or, should we not be worried too much because our young, sensitive students must know better?

(…)

Whether they like the American general or not the statue is part of history, a memorial of a war that saved tens of millions from sharing the misery which befell their brothers and sisters now in the North.

I think the author is naive to think that Korean students know better than to listen to the crap these professors put out because a lot of them do. However, it is good to see at least some in the Korean media are at least speaking out against these revisionist leftists.

The left in the US continues to make the claim that President Park Geun-hye is becoming a dictator like her father.  They rhetoric is clearly meant to be inflammatory and draw a response and the Korean consulate in New York City was stupid enough to take the bait:

The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy on Monday demanded the government offer an apology for a claim by a U.S. weekly that the South Korean consul general in New York protested an article criticizing President Park Geun-hye.

The newspaper, the New York-based Nation, ran a story last week lambasting the Park administration’s crackdown on antigovernment protesters, likening her approach to the authoritarian rule of her deceased father and late strongman, Park Chung-hee.

The writer, Tim Shorrock, since wrote a post on his Facebook account on a “spate of phone calls” that he received from his editor about a complaint lodged by the consulate general, saying officials there wanted to have a meeting “to discuss” his article.

“What a disgraceful self-portrait of Korea. I have to question if they are trying to export a Korean-style censorship to the U.S.,” NPAD floor leader Rep. Jun Byung-hun said at a senior members’ meeting. “As it is not a matter borne out of the consulate general, I demand a proper explanation and grave apology from the government.”

NPAD lawmaker Jung Cheong-rae also said: “It’s a shame that the reporter exposed via Facebook that the consulate general officials called the newsroom to complain about the story and requested a meeting with the editor. We’re urging a probe into the consulate general officials.”  [Korea Herald]

You can read the rest at the link, but how stupid can you be to take the troll bait coming from a publication like The Nation?  Anyone that follows the news in the US knows not to expect any unbiased reporting in The Nation.  This is like complaining to Sean Hannity about not having unbiased reporting on President Obama.  Anyway here is the link to the article in the Nation by Tim Shorrock which continues the leftist claims of South Korea becoming a dictatorship again which as I have explained before is absolutely ridiculous.

I sure don’t remember the left complaining that South Korea was becoming a dictatorship when President Roh Moo-hyun was busy putting down protests around Camp Humphreys or in Incheon around the MacArthur Statue which featured Braveheart style battles.  The claim is as stupid as the people who claim President Obama is setting himself up to be a dictator.  It is just propaganda best left to echo chamber media and not taken seriously.