The pro-Kim regime lackeysin the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions were able to mobilize a pretty impressive number of people to protest the decision to implement state approved history textbooks and passing regulations allowing companies to more easily lay off older workers to help younger workers find jobs. The protest was the largest since the anti-US beef protests in 2008. These history books have not even been written yet, but I would not be surprised if like the anti-US beef craziness of 2008 that these textbooks end up being much to do about nothing. However, it gives the leftists in the KCTU reason to mobilize and bash the Park government:
Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators marched in Seoul on Saturday in what police believed was the largest protest in the South Korean capital in nearly a decade.
About 80,000 people were expected to turn up for the downtown rallies that were to stretch into the evening, according to an official at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who didn’t want to be named, citing office rules.
The marches, organized by an umbrella labor union and civic groups, brought together protesters with a diverse set of grievances against the government of conservative President Park Geun-hye, including her business-friendly labor policies and a decision to require middle and high schools to use only state-issued history textbooks in classes from 2017.
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions briefly clashed with police who unsuccessfully tried to detain KCTU President Han Sang-goon during a news conference, but there were no immediate reports of injuries. A Seoul court had issued an arrest warrant for Han over a failed court appearance, after he was indicted for his involvement in organizing a May protest that turned violent.
Demonstrators, many of them wearing masks and carrying banners, occupied a major downtown street and began marching between tight perimeters created by police buses, intended to block them from entering large roads leading to the presidential Blue House. A large number of police, many wearing helmets and body armor, move swiftly to flank the demonstrators.
This was probably the largest crowd seen in a demonstration in Seoul since 2008, when people poured onto the streets to protest the government’s decision to resume U.S. beef imports amid lingering mad cow fears, said the Seoul police official. [Korea Times]
The Mayor of Seoul is defending the city’s new slogan I.Seoul.U by claiming that since it make no sense that it could mean anything:
The Seoul Metropolitan Government will stick to its new slogan, “I.Seoul.U,” Mayor Park Won-soon said Monday.
“Many slogans of cities around the world receive negative feedback at first,” he said during a luncheon with reporters at City Hall. “After a while, I expect the negative reactions will change.”
“Even if we start all over again and come up with a new slogan, it will face some sort of criticism. That cannot be avoided.”
This is the first time that the mayor expressed his opinion about the slogan.
“I.Seoul.U” was selected as the capital city’s slogan on Oct. 28, after beating two other finalists ― “Seoulmate” and “SEOULing.”
“I had expected the slogan would be received positively, but it wasn’t,” Park said.
“I nonetheless believe that the process of selecting the slogan was meaningful because it allowed citizens to participate.”
Addressing the criticism that the slogan is nonsensical and unclear, Park said he believes it is better to leave the interpretation open to the public rather than try to define the meaning.
For example, he noted, the slogan “Incredible India” is a great one, but because its meaning is unchangeable, it can only be used for a short time.
“On the other hand, ‘I.Seoul.U’ can mean anything,” Park said. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but the city spent $700,000 on something the mayor admits has no meaning.
It will be interesting to see if this statue does become an iconic symbol for Gangnam:
The signature horse-riding dance move by South Korean rap sensation Psy will be made into a landmark in front of a large shopping complex in southern Seoul, the local district office said Friday.
The sculpture will consist of two fists positioned in the wrist movement of the dance routine from the 2012 music video for the hit “Gangnam Style,” according to the Gangnam District Office. From above, it will look like two hands wrapping around the Earth.
The office plans to place the sculpture near the COEX shopping and exhibition center before the end of the year, aiming to build a landmark symbolic of the area, such as London’s Piccadilly Circus and Chicago’s Cloud Gate.
It will be designed by Hwang Man-seok, an artist belonging to the Visual Information Design Association of Korea. [Yonhap]
I wonder if the Korean National Police requested this or is something USFK has been pushing to do? Regardless I am always uneasy with pushing personnel in uniform to patrol Korean neighborhoods, especially a college district. It just helps to legitimize all the leftist propaganda in South Korea about USFK being an occupying force:
U.S. Forces Korea and Seoul police began joint patrols of the popular Hongdae neighborhood over the Halloween weekend and will continue them through the end of the year, officials said Wednesday.
Although Seoul police haven’t released reports of significant incidents involving USFK personnel recently, Hongdae has been the scene of multiple, high-profile arrests over the past decade.
The neighborhood includes a large college student population and several bars and clubs.
Most personnel in South Korea are law-abiding, but such patrols are an additional prevention measure against misconduct, USFK officials said. [Stars & Stripes]
An excavator dismantles facilities on the roof of the former Japanese Embassy, built in 1976, in Seoul on Nov. 2, 2015, as the embassy has implemented a project to rebuild its building, scheduled for completion by 2020. The embassy has been running operations at a nearby building since July 2015. (Yonhap)
Cattle and farming equipment are paraded on downtown Seoul streets on Oct. 28, 2015, ahead of Farmers’ Day on Nov. 11. The parade is also a ritual to wish for the advancement of the agricultural industry. (Yonhap)
Noted Korea historian and a ROK Drop favorite, Robert Neff has an article published in the Korea Times that discusses Seoul’s haunted past:
Korean woman circa 1900-1910 / Courtesy of Robert Neff collection
According to many, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Seoul was haunted. Homes deserted after murders and lynchings had occurred during times of unrest were natural sites for haunting but not all ghosts were content with remaining at one site ― some roamed about the streets.
At a well near Cheonggye Stream and the Jeongdong area, women were afraid to go there by themselves ― especially at night ― for fear of being accosted by the spirit of a decapitated man who had been executed for some unknown transgression. Apparently the ghost wandered about seeking a drink to quench his everlasting thirst but was unable to do so because he had no head.
The area surrounding the Independence Arch was avoided at night because it was said to be plagued by restless spirits and tokgabi (goblins). Tokgabi were generally mischievous but could be extremely dangerous if angered. They assumed many shapes and often began as simple mundane items that had been corrupted when blood ― especially women’s ― was splattered upon them. Thus, it is no wonder they were often found near execution grounds, battle-fields and sites where murders or accidents had occurred. The tokgabi often roamed in legions and could cause whole neighborhoods or villages to become deserted. [Korea Times]
I guess a slogan making sense in English was not high on the priority list for Seoul’s new slogan to market the city with:
“I.Seoul.You” has been selected as the capital city’s new slogan.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that “I.Seoul.You” beat the two other candidates ― “Seoulmate” and “SEOULing” ― to replace its current slogan “Hi Seoul.”
“Seoulmate” won slightly more votes than “I.Seoul.You” in an online poll. However, in an on-the-spot poll held in the evening at Seoul Plaza, all nine experts and 682 out of a total 1,140 citizens voted for “I.Seoul.You,” which beat “Seoulmate” with only 232 votes.
Lee Ha-rin, a Korean student who studies philosophy in college, is the winner of the slogan contest, in which more than 16,000 people participated.
Prof. Kim Yoo-kyung of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, marketing company Playground CEO Kim Hong-tak and Prof. Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University were among the experts.
“It was very meaningful that Seoul citizens participated in the whole process from making to selecting the new slogan,” Seo said.
Kim Min-ki, who was in charge of the project, said that the new slogan will be used to rebrand the city globally. [Korea Times]
You can read the rest at the link, but many critics have already weighed in on how non-sensical this slogan is. Maybe the Seoul government thinks English gibberish will market well in China to get tourists from there?
For an English slogan for a city this has to be the worst I have heard. Can anyone think of any city with a worse slogan?
A boy wearing a taekwondo uniform poses for a photo in front of a 13-meter figure of “Robot Taekwon V,” a robot from a popular animation of the same title, during a ceremony in Seoul on Oct. 14, 2015, for the opening of the robot animation-themed museum. “Robot Taekwon V,” the nation’s first science fiction-themed animation released in 1976, was very popular among teens and children. (Yonhap)
