tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post5246193763718827768..comments2024-02-23T23:53:54.842+09:00Comments on Gusts Of Popular Feeling: Burning Yongsanmatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10296009437690229938noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-90506672289293323412009-02-02T01:34:00.000+09:002009-02-02T01:34:00.000+09:00"What happened in Yongsan, Seoul, South Korea Janu..."What happened in Yongsan, Seoul, South Korea January 19-20":<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_P__vMOKZsKing Baeksuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15106210206814275410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-57811381564842260432009-01-29T11:34:00.000+09:002009-01-29T11:34:00.000+09:00I was looking at some of the NGOs and civic groups...I was looking at some of the NGOs and civic groups involved in the mad-cow protests last night, and quite a few of them have the Yongsan fire plastered all over the home page of their Web sites. Apparently the 5 guys who died are major heroes now on the left; I also noticed that a number of "ch'ulgomin" groups were registered as members of the umbrella mad-cow association.<BR/><BR/>Funny that none of these groups seemed to care that my historic neighborhood in Ch'ongjin-dong was being flattened by developers last year right around the time of the mad-cow demos -- and literally a hundred meters from the epicenter of their gatherings. They managed to throw in every single issue they could into their protests EXCEPT development, in fact.King Baeksuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15106210206814275410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-61198563831930857522009-01-28T21:48:00.000+09:002009-01-28T21:48:00.000+09:00Hi there. Your blog was nominated for an award fo...Hi there. Your blog was nominated for an award for the best Korea blogs of 2008, at The Hub Of Sparkle. Go check it out if you like.<BR/><BR/>http://www.koreasparkle.com/2009/01/the-golden-klog-awards-survey-is-up-go-vote/#contentRoboseyohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00181024152755004336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-58567791167680734842009-01-23T12:46:00.000+09:002009-01-23T12:46:00.000+09:00You are correct, I visited that area in November, ...You are correct, I visited that area in November, and that is the exact location. I was actually just trying to get a taxi from Yongsan Station in the rain and kept wandering farther and farther until I found myself in front of exactly that building. <BR/><BR/>The reason I have more sympathy for these people than most comes from my visit back then. The area had been razed by gangsters, who'd left behind graffiti more cruel--and unnecessary--than any other site I'd visited: drawings of lynchings, castrations, decapitations, dismemberments, and Popeye. It was clear that these tenants were up against some sick fucks and I'm not surprised they went to this extreme a few months later. <BR/><BR/>The compensation issue is complex. I know people--renters, even--who were handsomely compensated. I also know there are certain people who move into districts rumoured to be going down and wait for the payoff. When it goes bad and when people start physically fighting, I can't predict. I have seen plenty of "If you come here, you will die" graffiti and "We will fight to the death for our homes" graffiti, but nothing quite as bad as this area. One difference might be that this area was mainly commercial and I think a lot of the people were business owners rather than residents.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-25516212210523063162009-01-22T12:26:00.000+09:002009-01-22T12:26:00.000+09:00"What were the protesters really trying to achieve..."What were the protesters really trying to achieve?"<BR/><BR/>The standard m.o. for many die-hard protesters in Korea seems to go like this:<BR/><BR/>1. Provoke the police violently.<BR/><BR/>2. The police respond, since that is their job and who really likes having Molotov cocktails thrown at them, for example?<BR/><BR/>3. The protesters, who were actually the instigators of the violence, are now victims of "police brutality." Of course they deny all responsibility for their share of any of the violence which ensued.<BR/><BR/>4. The "progressive" lawmakers and media then proceed to make extravagant political hay out of the incident, and in the case of LMB, the current president, they demand that he step down, people in his administration resign, etc. etc. Of course, the oppo lawmakers themselves are often too corrupt and the progressive media too lazy to have actually tried to investigate the root problems beforehand, and generally take a belated, reactive approach to these controversial issues. But that is really beside the point, since the main intention in such situations is merely to increase one's own political capital and promote one's political agenda, rather than taking a more proactive approach to examining and solving the fundamental problems of this society.<BR/><BR/>5. Rinse, dry and repeat.King Baeksuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15106210206814275410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-90631837365558267992009-01-22T11:26:00.000+09:002009-01-22T11:26:00.000+09:00Perhaps the reason the Seoul police are so keen on...Perhaps the reason the Seoul police are so keen on shipping containers these days (cf 명박산성) is that Korea's exports have fallen off the cliff and there are loads more unused ones lying around. Never mind globalisation, world trade is actually declining for the first time in 25 years according to the World Bank.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-19156740198452370772009-01-22T02:34:00.000+09:002009-01-22T02:34:00.000+09:00What were the protestors really trying to achieve?...What were the protestors really trying to achieve? There was violence in the national assembly, too, right? <BR/><BR/>I also read about this man like a month ago who crashed a car to a factory because the general manager would not meet him to hear his complaints.dokebihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02772061504112738758noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-5213462462644167712009-01-21T23:52:00.000+09:002009-01-21T23:52:00.000+09:00Has anyone seen any decent research about how much...Has anyone seen any decent research about how much people get for relocation when their neighborhoods get redeveloped? The few people I know who have been through this were compensated quite handsomely. But anecdotal evidence does not mean much... <BR/><BR/>Until I can find some decent research about how compensation is determined and distributed, I will probably remain pretty ambivalent about the subject. I really do not trust either side to explain clearly, fully, or honestly on the subject.Mark Russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04471178281396296314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12946845.post-25742714501691636942009-01-21T13:05:00.000+09:002009-01-21T13:05:00.000+09:00I like how the police used shipping containers, a ...I like how the police used shipping containers, a symbol of globalization. to storm the rooftop.<BR/><BR/>The shipping containers, in turn, were briefly engulfed in flames, set off by those resisting development of the area.<BR/><BR/>As development and globalization continue their relentless assault, a few burnt dead bodies remind us dramatically of the stakes involved, but hardly seem able to slow or stop an inevitable process. <BR/><BR/> The flames of the local dragon have been quickly and effectively doused. It was never a match for the shipping containers' steely, iron-clad invasion.King Baeksuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15106210206814275410noreply@blogger.com