I am sure these Chinese students realize they can beat down Koreans with no consequences like we saw during the Olympic Torch protests back in 2008. Back in 2008 the Chinese Embassy in Seoul actually directed the protests which makes me wonder if they are encouraging the behavior of these Chinese students as well?:

Tensions are escalating on university campuses here between Korean students supporting the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and Chinese students studying here who oppose them, citing Beijing’s “One China” doctrine.

There is concerns that the conflict could lead to emotional responses by both sides, with some students seriously worrying about physical clashes. School authorities are also paying close attention to the tension as Chinese students account for the largest portion of foreign students at colleges in Korea.

On Wednesday, dozens of Korean and Chinese students at Hanyang University in Seoul scuffled over the setting up of a “Lennon wall” and posting of messages supporting the Hong Kong protests by the former.

Fifty Chinese exchange students and 10 Korean students clashed. The exchange students said the Korean students were “interfering with domestic affairs,” and the Hong Kong protests were “nothing to do with Koreans.” The Koreans refuted this, saying that they had the right to freedom of speech on the issue, according to witnesses.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but can you imagine what the reaction would be if Japanese students did something like this? There would be mass protests and hate directed towards Japan, yet once again you don’t see this happen with China.

Joe Biden for whatever reason has drawn the ire of North Korea:

“Anyone who dare slanders the dignity of the supreme leadership of the D.P.R.K, can never spare the D.P.R.K’s merciless punishment whoever and wherever,” said the North Korean statement, referring to the country by its formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“Rabid dogs like Baiden can hurt lots of people if they are allowed to run about. They must be beaten to death with a stick, before it is too late,” it said.

It wasn’t immediately clear which of Biden’s comments provoked North Korea’s anger. The Democrat has accused Trump of cozying up to “dictators and tyrants” and has been highly critical of his summitry with Kim, calling the meetings “three made-for-TV summits.”

Associated Press

You can read more at the link.

As I have been saying the Moon administration needs an issue to run on in Parliamentary elections coming up early next year and really the only thing they got is the anti-Japan issue. From their point of view there is currently no reason to resolve this issue:

Washington is putting pressure on Seoul to renew the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Tokyo ahead of the Nov. 22 notification deadline to terminate the pact, which was signed at the U.S. initiative in 2016. Washington has sent key defense officials to Seoul this week ahead of the deadline. 

President Moon Jae-in will meet U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper this afternoon, according to Cheong Wa Dae. During the meeting, Moon is expected to explain the need to terminate the pact owing to Japan’s unchanged position on its trade restrictions against Korean companies. He is also expected to reiterate “equitable” cost-sharing for U.S. troops stationed in Korea amid ongoing negotiations on this issue. 

With the GSOMIA termination deadline only days away, there is intense media attention particularly on whether Cheong Wa Dae, which has adamantly called on Japan to reverse its trade restrictions first, may shift its stance, given the escalating pressure from the United States to maintain the agreement for the sake of “trilateral security cooperation.” 

However, it is unlikely that the presidential office will reverse its decision in light of Japan’s ongoing trade restrictions and its relentless stance on historical disagreements between the two countries, according to sources. During a Nov. 10 press conference, Chung Eui-yong, chief of the National Security Office (NSO), reiterated that Japan should make the first move and justified Korea’s decision to end the pact. “From our point of view, the recent difficulties in Korea-Japan relations were fundamentally caused by Japan,” Chung said. “I believe the Korean people understand that we could not extend the GSOMIA after Japan said that it carried out the trade restrictions because bilateral trust for security cooperation had been harmed.” 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the Moon administration is blaming Japan for the trade dispute when it was the Moon administration that threatened to seize the assets of Japanese companies to pay World War II forced laborers even though an agreement was signed in 1965 that settled this issue and normalized relations between the two countries.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out:

The nation’s human rights watchdog has recommended a nightclub to stop denying entrance to foreigners based on their race or skin color. The owners of the facility, however, refused to accept the recommendation, saying they have had numerous “problems” involving foreign customers.

According to the National Human Rights Commission Korea (NHRCK), Wednesday, an Indian American filed a petition last year after he was barred from entering the nightclub due to being a foreigner while his Korean American friend was not.

The NHRCK said it concluded that the club’s rejection of his entry was clear discrimination based on the petitioner’s race and skin color, as the staff of the club did not check ID cards showing nationalities and allowed the entry of the Korean American.

In July, the commission recommended the club stop deciding customers’ entry based on their race and skin color.

However, the club said it would not follow the recommendation.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The U.S. Defense Secretary during his visit to South Korea emphasized that USFK will continue to do its part to help diplomacy with North Korea:

 U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday that he is open to altering military activity in South Korea if it helps diplomatic efforts to denuclearize North Korea.

Esper made the remark to reporters flying with him to Seoul, where he is due to hold annual defense talks with Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo.

“We will adjust our exercise posture, either more or less, depending on what diplomacy may require,” Esper said, according to a transcript provided by the Pentagon, referring to South Korea-U.S. combined military exercises that North Korea condemns as an invasion rehearsal.

“I think we have to be open to all those things that empower and enable our diplomats to sit down with the North Koreans, alongside with our South Korean partners, and move the ball forward to a negotiated settlement of the issues that we put on the table,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

In General Abrams’ remarks he say that he believed the GSOMIA showed that Japan and the ROK had put aside their historical differences. I think it is more accurate to say that the Korean right under the prior Park Geun-hye administration were able to put aside the historical differences, but the Korean left never did. They fought this and other political arrangements with Japan from the beginning. It was clear that when ever they regained power they would reverse all gains made politically with Japan which is what they are doing. The GSOMIA is just the latest change they are making:

The looming termination of the military information-sharing pact between South Korea and Japan, if realized, could send the wrong message that the U.S. and its two Asian allies are not strong enough to ensure security in the region, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Robert Abrams said.

The General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) is set to expire on Nov. 23, following South Korea’s decision in August to terminate it after Japan imposed export curbs on Seoul in a row over wartime forced labor.

“The fundamental principle of the information-sharing agreement was a clear message to the region that the ROK and Japan put aside perhaps the historical differences and put at the forefront stability and security of the region,” Abrams said in a press interview held on Tuesday to mark his first year in office. ROK is the acronym of South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea. 

“Together, we are much stronger for providing for stable and secure Northeast Asia. And without that, there is a risk of sending the wrong message that perhaps we are not as strong,” he said during the interview held at his office at Camp Humphreys, a sprawling U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the real people benefitting from the end of GSOMIA is China and North Korea.