Tag: Incheon

 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.

The controversy over the MacArthur statue located in Jayu Park in Inchon first raised it’s ugly head last December.

This Kim Su-nam character appeared last week promoting last weekends protest at Jayu Park:

The group’s chairman Kim Su-nam said rectifying “the vestiges of colonialism and our distorted history must begin with removing the MacArthur statue, which is a symbol of imperialism.” He said the group would form a coalition with other groups from Inchon to bring down the statue.

So originally he says that removing the statue is an effort to correct distorted history. I don’t know what is so distorted about MacArthur saving the Korean nation twice, once from the Japanese and once from the North Koreans. Heck you could even say he helped save them from the Chinese too. Anyway this guy had a different story to say during last weekend’s protest:

“The statue is part of our humiliating history,” said Kim Su-Nam, a 65-year-old activist wearing a yellow jacket inscribed with anti-US slogans.

“By dismantling the statue, we want to stoke an anti-US movement aimed at expelling US troops from the peninsula,” Kim said.

Using a loudspeaker, he rebuked the pro-US demonstrators as “followers of the US colonial master”.

Well at least Kim is now showing his true motives. He could care less about whatever history MacArthur has in regards to Korea. His real motive is to create images on American TV screens of the MacArthur statue being toppled ala Saddam Hussein, to create a strong anti-Korean backlash in the United States. He is absolutely right. If that statue gets torn down and that is broadcast across America, the US-ROK alliance is over and South Korea might as well put up this statue in MacArthur’s place:

The pro-US protesters that Mr. Kim spoke of actually greatly outnumbered his small 50 person protest group:

“We will never forget what he did for us. He is a hero who stopped the communization of the Korean peninsula,” said Lee Jin-Ho, a 74-year-old veteran who fought alongside US soldiers during the war.

But forget is exactly what some South Koreans want to do.

After laying a wreath at the memorial, Lee joined hundreds of other pro-US demonstrators, including war veterans in their 60s and 70s, who gathered in the park on Sunday to block about 50 anti-US activists intent on pulling down the statue.

Here is the money quote of the protest here:

“Instead of quibbling, they should pay attention to North Korea’s human rights situation and the dictatorship of its Kim Jong-Il regime,” Lee Phil-Han, a 56-year-old businessman in Incheon, said.

“We owe a lot to the United States which played a key role in our economic development. My notion is being supported by a silent majority of South Koreans.”

I cannot imagine the people of Inchon tearing down that statue. I have spent a lot of time in Inchon which is evident by my Focus on Inchon series of articles, and feel pretty confident when I say that Inchon is not a center of anti-US sentiment in Korea. If anything the city has always felt pro-US to me maybe due to the city’s connection with the Inchon landing and it’s long history of trade with the US and this feeling is supported by the strong counter-protest against Kim Su-Nam and his other pro-North Korean lackeys at Jayu Park last weekend. I would like to thank the people who showed up at the park and supported keeping the MacArthur statue.

Now my next question is, where is the Korean media on this? I’m getting the majority of the information on this event from Yahoo. We get wall to wall coverage of an idiot jumping on a taxi cab but very little coverage of this protest. In fact the only analysis I have seen of this protest was in the Korea Times of all places, which supported keeping the statue. Maybe the media just couldn’t bring themselves to run images like these I pulled off the Katolic Shinja site:

These pictures run counter to the anti-USFK tone the media likes to trump into the collective Korean consciousness here. Feel free to comment with links to any other Korean news analyis of this event I may have missed because I would like to read it.

Anyway, I tend to agree with the Katolic Shinja on this final quote here:

The best quote from the article above comes from former South Korean U.N. Ambassador Park Keun: “Not even dogs forget their benefactors.”

My final installment of my Focus on Incheon series is about the historical Wolmi-do island. Wolmi-do island was made famous due to General MacArthur’s Incheon Landing Operation during the Korean War. Wolmi-do is where the first American Marines landed at Green Beach on Wolmi-do to begin the critical operation to liberate the port city of Incheon from the North Korean communist agressors. Today Wolmi-do is not even an island due to land reclamation that has now connected the island to Incheon proper. You can in fact take a bus now to reach the “island”.

Wolmi-do island is viewable from just about anywhere in Incheon due to the large round hill that rises from the island. Radar Hill due to the large naval radar located on the top of the hill is a popular place for locals to hike up and get some fresh air and views of the island and the Incheon harbor below.

Wolmi-do is also popular for the nice upscale boardwalk that is built exactly where the Marines landed that day in 1950. The boardwalk includes many trendy coffee shops and seafood restaurants. Outside on the weekends there is usually a cultural event of some kind taking place, plus fortune tellers and artists who will service you for a price. For the adventurous there is always the amusement park on the island to check out. It has many high flying rides and games to try. If that isn’t enough you can just sit and watch the sunset and the boats going by. You can also catch a boat at the ferry terminal to tour the numerous islands located in the Incheon Bay. They even have special tour packages to view some of the island made famous in Korean dramas and movies such as Silmi-do island. All tours can be arranged through the tour information office located outside the Incheon train station.

No trip to Incheon would be complete without a stop over at Wolmi-do. Hiking up radar hill, eating seafood at one of the restaurants, and watching the sunset from the pier is enough to fill anyone’s afternoon. Definitely worth checking out.

Basic Information

• Name: Incheon Landing Operation Memorial Hall (인천상륙작전기념관)
• Where: Incheon, Gyeongi Province
• Cost: Free
• Hours: 0900-1800 (Closed for holidays)
• More Info: Visit Korea website

Narrative

For those who want to learn more about the Incheon landing operation or about the Korean War in general I recommend you visit the Incheon Landing Memorial Monument Hall in the Songdo area of Incheon. The memorial is fairly new and houses a nice collection of artifacts and memorabilia from the landing operation and the Korean War. The best part is that admission into the museum is free.

The entrance to the memorial features a large archway adorned with the flags of the 16 countries that participated in the Korean War. Climbing up the stairs to the second outside level of the memorial you can see a static display of aircraft and equipment used during the Korean War. Most notably the landing crafts used during the invasion.

The third level of the memorial houses a large statue that honors the soldiers that fought at Incheon Harbor on September 15, 1950. The statue is detailed and quite impressive. Near the statue is a bronze plaque in tribute of the 1st Marine Division that spearheaded the Incheon Landing Operation. Like the Marine heroes in action at Incheon that fateful day, today’s 1st Marine Division was called on to lead the November 2004 successful assault to retake the terrorist held city of Fallujah in Iraq.

From here head back down to the first level of the memorial to enter the museum. The museum is actually put together quite nicely with events of the Korean War and the Incheon Landing Operation presented in chronological order complete with explanations of the exhibits presented in Korean, English, and Japanese by the push of a button.

Conclusion

If in Incheon make sure you visit the Incheon Landing Memorial. It is free and really well put together and worthy of a visit. It is open on Tues-Sun from 9:30-18:30. To reach it just get off at the Incheon train station and have a taxi taking you to Songdo where the Memorial is located.

A place I always visit every time I go to Incheon is the beautiful Jayu Park. The park is built on a hill in central Incheon near the train station over looking Chinatown and provides a great view of the Incheon harbor.  This park has a long and colorful history. The park was the first built in 1888 by western immigrants mainly Chinese, Russians, and Americans, and was named Manguk Park (park of many countries) and is credited with being the first western style park in Korea.

The park’s name changed to Jayu Park (Freedom Park) after the Korean War and a large statue of American General Douglas MacArthur was constructed at the summit of the park. The MacArthur statue is widely considered Incheon’s most famous tourist site.

However, recently the statue has been a point of some contention in Korea.

Civic groups in Incheon have complained that local police are wasting manpower in guarding a statue of General Douglas MacArthur, who successfully led the amphibious counter-attack by U.S.-led UN troops here during the Korean War.

Since 2002, Incheon police have been guarding the statue in the city’s Freedom Park for fear of vandalism. Anti-U.S. demonstrations took place in the the park in 2002 and 2003, according to the police.

Three officers have been detailed to guard the statue around the clock. No actual damage has been reported.

Civic groups in Incheon want the statue to be moved to another location so police will not waste time and energy on the mission.

Conservatives in Incheon disagreed. Incheon should feel proud having the statue here, said Han Il-tae, 75.

I don’t think the people in Incheon will ever move that statue. Generally people seem pretty happy to have it there because every time I have been to the park it has been filled with people hanging out, having a good time, and taking pictures of the statue.

Also located inside of Jayu Park is the Centennial Monument that commemorates the Amity and Trade Treaty signed between Korea and the U.S. on May 22, 1882. The monument was built one hundred years later in 1982. America actually has the longest continuous friendly relations with Korea since 1882. Longer than any other country.

Another thing I like about the park is that there always seems to be something going on there. Recently the park had their annual Cherry Blossom Festival. The festival included many traditional Korean music groups, plays, Turkish belly dancers (yeah I thought that was a weird thing to for a cherry blossom festival), a North Korean dance troupe, and a fire works display.

If in Incheon definitely stop by and check out this park and appreciate the great views from the summit. From the park you can see the bustling Incheon harbor right below you, in the distance you can see the bridge running across the bay to the new Incheon International Airport, Wolmi-do Island, and other scattered islands out in the Incheon Bay. Last but not least make sure you visit and pay your respects at the Big Mac statue; if it is still there that is.

Just across the street from the Incheon train station is Korea’s only Chinatown. This Chinatown does not compare to Chinatowns in cities like San Francisco, New York, or Vancouver, but it is still interesting place to spend an afternoon visiting for those who live here in Korea.

The Chinatown in Incheon was officially established in 1884 in an agreement between the Korean King and the Chinese Qing Dynasty emperor in the Seonlin-dong hillside in Incheon to create a free trade zone for Chinese merchants. Incheon was chosen as the site for this free trade zone due to the port city’s proximity to the Korean capitol of Seoul. This hill side sits on prime real estate in central Incheon located between the Incheon train station and Jayu Park.

Before the Korean War the Chinese community in Incheon and Korea in general flourished. In 1942 Korea had 80,000 registered Chinese immigrants. After the Korean War the nation wide distrust of the Chinese due to their invasion of Korea during the war plus the post war policies of then South Korean President Park Chung Hee forbidding the Chinese to own businesses and moving them out of Seoul to help Korean business owners, led to a mass reduction in the amount of Chinese people living in Korea. Currently the public’s attitude toward the Chinese has improved but there is still only 30,000 registered Chinese residents in Korea and only 500 of them live in Chinatown. Even today racism may be alive and well against the Chinese who do live in Chinatown according to this Korea Herald piece that includes an interview of a Chinatown family.

Although the days of the Chinese not being allowed to own businesses are over, racial discrimination is still a reality, some Korean-born Chinese say.

“The reason why there is no Chinatown here is because Koreans don’t like foreigners,” says Irene Chu, 32, the Korean-born Chinese owner of Chinese Fusion Restaurant in Incheon. “They don’t even like Chinese people working for them. The Koreans are very protective (of their culture).”

As Chu gets up to take an order, her 60-year-old grandfather breathes a long sigh and pipes in.

“They mistreated us, looked down upon us and saw us as foreigners. I am Chinese. I don’t consider myself Korean. Things have improved now, but what does it matter anymore? I’m an old man,” says the grandfather, who came to Korea when he was 5.

In fact when was in Chinatown I saw very few Chinese at all. Many of the street vendors were all Koreans selling Chinese junk. I went to a large, newer looking Chinese restaurant to eat. I asked the waitress dressed in a traditional Chinese dress if the people in the restaurant were Chinese because they all looked like Koreans to me. She told me that the only Chinese that worked in the restaurant were the cooks that prepared the meals. Everyone else was Korean.

The last time I went to Chinatown was four years ago before the current development of the area and then I actually met more Chinese people then I did now. The area has been greatly developed since then and that has probably brought in more Korean businesses to cash in on the increased tourism.

The development of the area has caused Chinatown to look much nicer but it all seems kind of fake after a while because all the decorations are not authenic, like many of the people, and are just cheap plastic displays. If this artist’s rendition of the new Chinatown to be built in Ilsan is any indication of things to come, Korea will soon have the equivalent of a Chinese theme park filled with more cheap plastic decorations and wannabe Chinese people than Incheon’s Chinatown could ever possibly have.

Never the less Chinatown is still a great place to spend some time checking out. Grab a bite to eat at one of the local restaurants before heading up to Jayu Park. The food is one of the few authentic Chinese experiences you can have in Chinatown. For 20,000 won I stuffed myself with a huge meal that included sweet and sour pork, fish, clams, oysters, etc. Even with its quirks Chinatown should be part of any travel itinerary for those spending time in Incheon. It gets a GI thumbs up.