- In order to stop the candle-wielding protesters from marching all the way to the Blue House (= presidential residence), the police set up a makeshift Great Wall of Containers on the road. Not only are they hilarious to look at, but also they are another sign that Lee Myong-Bak administration just does not get the idea that every action it does is a communication toward the people. Just imagine what kind of message a big freakin' wall on the way to the Blue House sends to the people.
- Many non-Koreans are quick to dismiss this phenomenon as an irrational mass hysteria. However, the Korean previously wrote that while the protesters may be (regrettably) ill-informed about Mad Cow Disease, the act of protest itself is orderly and rational. Live reports from the scene confirms the Korean. (Article in Korean.)
Especially focus on the news at 9:25 p.m. and 9:55 p.m. At 9:25 p.m., some of the protesters began to build a foam stairs alongside the containers, chanting "Climb over the containers and march to Blue House." However, they were stopped by a larger crowd, who chanted "nonviolence."
At 9:55 p.m., one man was seen trying to burn a blocking police bus by lighting a fire at its fuel tank, but was quickly stopped by the police. Remarkable thing was when the gas leaked out of the bus, protesters yelled "put out the candles" to prevent any fire.
These are examples of why the Korean believes that the protesters are not an unthinking mob. They are, in fact, anything but mindless; for such a large group, they are singularly focused on sending a clear message in a non-violent way.
This, in turn, means that the moment the protest heads towards a different message (broader anti-Americanism, for example,) or turns violent, majority of those people will simply go home. The so-called leaders of the protest actually do not lead anything; rather, it's more appropriate to say they are riding the wave of public opinion. All they can do is maneuver their own direction; they cannot manipulate the direction of the wave.
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CONTAINERS?? HAHAHA!! WE'RE NOW OFFICIALLY PLAYING LEMMINGS!!!
ReplyDeleteWow - I heard totally different numbers than that, somewhere in the 700,000 range.
ReplyDeleteKatie, the numbers game is played both by the government and the protestors, and they are both extremely unreliable. 700,000 is the number from the protest organizers, which is almost certain false. 200,000 is a bit conservative.
ReplyDeletei just found your site, but i've been catching up on some old blogs (i just got back from korea and have major jetlag). but i must say, the Korean, this is my favorite blog ever!
ReplyDeleteI've been going to these protests myself and the numbers provided by the police are far less accurate than the numbers provided by the protest "leaders" (although there actually aren't leaders, just people who bring out the equipment such as a stage for free speeches from anyone, microphone, and speakers).
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see that despite living abroad, you have a fairly good understanding of what really is going on in Korea.
However, you cannot trust Chosun, DongAh, and Joongang ilbos - they are master news twisters as proven by their sudden shift on their take on the mad cow disease threat and the government. One example, when Lee Myung Bak was elected president (what a shame) with 48.5 of the votes, Chosun said "he gains full support of all Koreans" while they said "[Rho Mu Hyun] doesn't even get half the support of the people" with his 48.9 percent. It's such a small matter, yes, but their twisting of facts is so widely known that many Koreans started boycotting companies who run ads in those three newspapers. It's completely legal in the States, however, people who posted the list of companies who run ads in the three papers are being prosecuted at this moment.
Living in Korea under this idiot of the president is hard to put in words. Everyday I intentionally ignore the new shocking abominations being caused by the as^h%$e Lee.