appraising_the_situation

A section of the police cadets who were put in place to block citizens from the presidential complex in the north of Seoul on June 28, 2008.

Since April, there have been constant rallies and vigils in Seoul and other South Korean cities as a result of a decision to renew imports of American beef. Korea and other countries stopped imports after mad-cow disease was confirmed among US cattle in 2003.

The new South Korean president, Lee Myung-Bak, had agreed to allow nearly unrestricted cuts of beef from the US while he met with George Bush in April. When word reached Korea, people went ape, asserting that they would be at risk of contracting Creuzfeldt-Jacob disease from potentially infected meat (the prions that cause the disease in cattle concentrate in certain parts of their bodies). Some of the reasoning/rumors behind these fears was exaggerated (if not outright false), but the sentiment inspired protests across the country. A general demand was that the Korean side had to renegotiate a new import deal, which the US initially refused to consider. Then between 100,000 and one million people marched in Seoul on June 10, and the two governments worked something out.

Now, however, many are still saying that the changes to the import deal aren't enough, and the actions in the street have taken a more confrontational (or outright violent) turn.

I was in Seoul this past weekend and just happened to come across this scene on my way to the Insadong shopping and gallery district. These cadets have been bearing the brunt of some of the horrendously aggressive action from some of the protestors. It's an open question as to whether people are taking action because of the beef import deal, a simmering resentment against an increasingly unpopular government, a general dislike for US policy and presence in Korea, or what. But it's really a shame that these guys -- who look all of 19 or 20 -- are being put on the line to hold these people back. In the main, they're not allowed to take aggressive action against protestors, and so lately there's been a lot of scandalous footage and imagery of these cadets being beaten, hosed down and otherwise attacked.

It's a mess.