It must be frustrating apologizing for doing something that is in the national interest of the country:
President Lee Myung-bak has apologized to the nation for the controversy over U.S. beef imports.
In a nationally televised statement on Thursday, the president said he feels sorry and humbly accepts criticism that his administration did not fully address public concerns about mad cow disease.
Lee admitted the government’s efforts to listen to and understand the public were insufficient as it sought to resume U.S. beef imports. He blamed himself for any policy confusion.
He went on to say he was frustrated when what he said were groundless fears of mad cow disease spread throughout society. He added it was heartbreaking to see young students join candlelight rallies to protest the U.S. beef import deal.
Stressing that public health cannot be traded for anything, he said the government stipulated Korea’s sovereign right to halt U.S. beef imports in the event of a health-threatening situation. He added that the nation’s overall food safety standards would be upgraded to the level of advanced countries.
The president urged the National Assembly to ratify the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, saying it would help create 300-thousand jobs and revitalize the Korean economy. [KBS Global]
It has to be additionally frustrating when the controversy you are apologizing over was caused by yellow journalism:
The MBC news program “PD Diary”, which broadcast the report on mad cow disease showing a staggering cow being dragged into a slaughterhouse and an American woman in her 20s said to have died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease — the human form of the bovine disease — has been ordered by the Press Arbitration Commission to air a statement saying the two key points made by the program are untrue. The report spread fear among the Korean public that consuming American beef causes CJD and triggered nationwide protests against imports of U.S. beef. The commission said it is no evidence of mad cow disease if cattle stagger, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the interim finding that the woman did not die from CJD.
“PD Diary”, which aired on April 29, consolidated the belief among Koreans both young and old that U.S. beef equals mad cow disease by showing horrific images and featuring shocking incidents for 10 straight minutes. The images broadcast by the program were fresh in the minds of people across the country who came out into the streets to take part in candlelight vigils. Now it turns out that the main points made by “PD Diary” were false. [Chosun Ilbo via TMH]
President Lee has said that next week US beef imports will continue so expect some serious comedy from the usual suspects next week that should as always provide for some great blogging material.
The MBC news program “PD Diary”, which broadcast the report on mad cow disease showing a staggering cow being dragged into a slaughterhouse and an American woman in her 20s said to have died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease -- the human form of the bovine disease -- has been ordered by the Press Arbitration Commission to air a statement saying the two key points made by the program are untrue. The report spread fear among the Korean public that consuming American beef causes CJD and triggered nationwide protests against imports of U.S. beef. The commission said it is no evidence of mad cow disease if cattle stagger, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the interim finding that the woman did not die from CJD.
“PD Diary”, which aired on April 29, consolidated the belief among Koreans both young and old that U.S. beef equals mad cow disease by showing horrific images and featuring shocking incidents for 10 straight minutes. The images broadcast by the program were fresh in the minds of people across the country who came out into the streets to take part in candlelight vigils. Now it turns out that the main points made by “PD Diary” were false.
The unscientific nature of “PD Diary” became a controversial topic immediately after the program was aired. Staggering and falling down, also known as “downer cow” symptoms, are not the main symptoms of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The symptoms can come from problems with metabolism, fractures, and weakness due to disease. But “PD Diary” inserted the caption “BSE-infected cow” as it showed a downer cow. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the woman’s death and interim findings showed the cause was not CJD, but “PD Diary” insisted it was the fatal human variant of mad cow disease that killed her. Another key claim made by the program was that Koreans were genetically more susceptible to CJD. But the scientist who conducted research on that subject denied that claim, saying it was difficult to state that a particular gene makes a person more prone to contracting CJD.
After it was cited numerous times for inaccuracy and was referred to the Press Arbitration Commission, “PD Diary” on May 13 belatedly and grudgingly acknowledged at the end of a follow-up program on U.S. beef that all downer cows were not infected with mad cow disease and aired the U.S. Agriculture Department’s announcement regarding the cause of the woman’s death. It’s as if MBC had virtually set the entire country on fire and was trying to hide the matches. Yet the network is refusing to abide by the decision of the commission, saying it had already aired the clarifications.
MBC must learn the basics of common sense -- to be able to acknowledge what it needs to and to know how to apologize for its mistakes. _____________________________________________________________________________________ FROM THE MARMOT'S HOLE.........................................
The images broadcast by the program were fresh in the minds of people across the country who came out into the streets to take part in candlelight vigils. Now it turns out that the main points made by “PD [Notebook]” were false….
Staggering and falling down, also known as “downer cow” symptoms, are not the main symptoms of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The symptoms can come from problems with metabolism, fractures, and weakness due to disease. But “PD [Notebook]” inserted the caption “BSE-infected cow” as it showed a downer cow….
After it was cited numerous times for inaccuracy and was referred to the Press Arbitration Commission, “PD [Notebook]” on May 13 belatedly and grudgingly acknowledged at the end of a follow-up program on U.S. beef that all downer cows were not infected with mad cow disease… It’s as if MBC had virtually set the entire country on fire and was trying to hide the matches.
If you haven't heard it yet, go and listen to Seoul Podcast's hour-long interview with Stephanie White, the mother of Michael White, the 14-year-old boy who died last week in a Gyeongsan sauna. Forget everything you've ever heard about the incompetence, laziness, callousness, and stupidity endemic among Korean police and medical workers, because this will throw all that out the window. I would summarize things a little bit and include some excerpts, but I think our computers would explode. Or, you'd put your fist through the monitor.
I don't want to editorialize too much here because it's such a recent and sensitive issue, but this is absolutely ridiculous, and Jesus Fucking Christ, can we get the word spread to as many as possible and reach a Korean audience as well? I know that too many of the expats in Korea with influence and Korean-language skills are too indifferent, too jaded, too lazy, too aloof, or too self-absorbed to do much beyond shake their head and mutter something about being a shame, but how about paying attention, for a change, to what is truly important in our "community."
More updates on the Michael White story from his mother......................
Yesterday, I went to the police station to submit Corina' witness statement. Because the police didn't want to have an appt on the weekend, we had to arrange the statement in proper fashion, have a translations done, then have both papers sealed with thumbprints etc. Lots of fun let me tell you. Some more details were disclosed to me, but the essential part is that the police don't have any evidence that this was an accident/health issue and no witnesses to support a murder charge. They assured me they are pursuing this as a murder investigation first and an accident as secondary. Time will tell of course.
The police have told me I have have Michael prepared without closing the investigation. They only problem with that would be no second autopsy could be preformed if needed. I am now seeking a second autopsy because a sexually assault kit was not done at the hospital or the autopsy. It's definitely not something I want to have happened, yet no stone should be left unturned.
Again, there are lots of things happening out there... A steak dinner being planned in Cheonan area, A Motorbike ride being planned for the west coast... lets take a few minutes to post here so we can pool our energies & resources to make things smoother.
In humble thanks Steph
Katie & Barbara have been working on a fundraiser for Mike. Please give them all the help they need to make this a success for Mike.
Bring Michael White Home! Stephen Michael White tragically died in a sauna on May 10, 2008 in Gyoungsan Korea (just south - east of Daegu). His single mother, an English teacher at Yeungnam University, does not have the financial means to bring her son home. We would like collect donations to help her meet the extraordinary costs she faces. We are hosting a fundraiser on May 30, 2008 and we would appreciate all the support we can get.
Where: Thunderbirds Lounge - Daeguwww.thunderbirdlounge.org When: May 30, 2008 8 - 11pm What: Live music and door prizes Why: To help Stephanie White bring her son home Who: Everyone is invited to give their support, 10,000W tickets How: Come downtown and show your support
For those of you who are unable to join us on May 30th but would like to offer your support to Stephanie in her tragic time of need, we have set up an account where you can send donations.
S.Micheal White Fund (acct name, but it's really spelled Michael) Daegu Bank 080-10-004509
Stephanie is grateful for any support you can offer! Please forward this message to anyone who may be able to offer support or willing to join us downtown Daegu on May 30th.
Thanks for your support!! ___________________________________________________________________
MORE UPDATES TO FOLLOW ON THIS VERY TRAGIC STORY...............................................
It seems like every spring Associated Press writer Charles Hanley comes up with some article to milk his prior No Gun Ri fame, which he undeservedly won a Pulitzer Prize for in 2001. In May 2006 he wrote an article about the “discovery” of the Muccio Letter then a year later in April 2007 he wrote a nearly identical article. Now this May he has another article out that was co-authored by Jae-soon Chang, which ROK Drop readers may remember I have called out before for his poor and sensational journalism as well.
The article they have written this time is about the killing of South Korean civilians by the Republic of Korea (ROK) government during the Korean War:
Grave by mass grave, South Korea is unearthing the skeletons and buried truths of a cold-blooded slaughter from early in the Korean War, when this nation’s U.S.-backed regime killed untold thousands of leftists and hapless peasants in a summer of terror in 1950.
With U.S. military officers sometimes present, and as North Korean invaders pushed down the peninsula, the southern army and police emptied South Korean prisons, lined up detainees and shot them in the head, dumping the bodies into hastily dug trenches. Others were thrown into abandoned mines or into the sea. Women and children were among those killed. Many victims never faced charges or trial.
The mass executions — intended to keep possible southern leftists from reinforcing the northerners — were carried out over mere weeks and were largely hidden from history for a half-century. They were “the most tragic and brutal chapter of the Korean War,” said historian Kim Dong-choon, a member of a 2-year-old government commission investigating the killings.
Just like with his prior articles, Hanley is trying to make old news new again. It has been well known for years that the ROK Army was responsible for killing thousands of civilians during the Korean War. Of course the truth isn’t as simple as the South Korean government lining up and killing hapless civilians. In fact before the Korean War even started, South Korea was faced with a North Korean backed communist insurgency. The South Korean government led by autocratic President Syngman Rhee allowed the ROK military to brutally suppress the insurgency, which led to a number of communist guerrillas and civilians being killed. With the intermingling of guerrillas and civilians it is impossible to determine the real number of each that were killed.
Taebak Mountains movie poster
In South Korea the tragedy of the communist guerrilla war has been well known for years with the publication of Cho Jeong-lae’s groundbreaking book “Taebaek Sanmaek” that in great detail describes the effects of the guerrilla war and the follow on Korean War on the civilians who lived in the small South Korean village of Beolgyo. The battle of ideology led to many indiscriminate killings by both the ROK government as well as by the communists. Cho’s book was eventually made into in my opinion the best Korean film ever made, “Taebaek Mountains” in 1994 starring Ahn Sung-kee and directed by award winning director Im Kwon-taek. Follow on Korean movies such as “Taeguki” clearly show how suspected South Korean communist sympathizers were executed by the ROK government. In other words, once again what Hanley published is nothing new.
Taeguki movie poster
This may not be anything new but it doesn’t stop Hanley from pulling out inflated body counts from his No Gun Ri bag of tricks to sensationalize what happened:
The mass executions — intended to keep possible southern leftists from reinforcing the northerners — were carried out over mere weeks and were largely hidden from history for a half-century. They were “the most tragic and brutal chapter of the Korean War,” said historian Kim Dong-choon, a member of a 2-year-old government commission investigating the killings.
Hundreds of sets of remains have been uncovered so far, but researchers say they are only a tiny fraction of the deaths. The commission estimates at least 100,000 people were executed, in a South Korean population of 20 million.
That estimate is based on projections from local surveys and is “very conservative,” said Kim. The true toll may be twice that or more, he told The Associated Press.
At least 100,000 and up to 200,000 dead; that is a lot of bodies which they have so far only been able to recover a few hundred. Heck I’m still waiting for them to find the 400 bodies Hanley says were killed at No Gun Ri much less the 200,000 being claimed now.
The first question that comes to mind when developing this body count, is how were these surveys done to come up with such high numbers? We don’t know because Hanley doesn’t say. The wording of the survey is important because how do you confirm that up to 200,000 people were killed by the ROK government when the people that are missing could have been killed by the communist guerrillas, the North Korean Army, or even forcibly conscripted into the ROK Army like many young men were at the time and died during the war. Just because someone’s family member is missing doesn’t mean that the person was killed by the ROK government as Hanley wants readers to believe.
Plus you have to take a look at the people doing the surveying. These comments by a leader of the Korean Truth & Reconciliation Committee Father Song Ki-in should give everyone a good idea of the motives of the people doing the investigation:
If you look at history to now, (US assistance to Korea) has been out of US national interests, theyve never really helped us in actual fact If just dialogue with Pyongyang goes well, all the United States needs to leave here is a team of advisers. In a 2005 interview with the Weekly JoongAng, he said, North and South Korea, Seoul and Pyongyang first need to join hands to [get the] US military to withdraw. North and South Korea must closely stick together, even if kept secret from the United States. Hes called the US a barrier to Korean reunification, and has blamed the US for the division of Korea, saying, If you look at the old Katsura-Taft Agreement, doesnt it clearly reveal has the United States has treated our nation? Actually, many US troops were killed during the Korean War, but the 38th parallel was drawn by the Americans, and they provided the cause for drawing the parallel.
Let’s take a look at the person Hanley quoted in the article, Kim Dong-choon. Mr. Kim is a Professor at Sungkonghoe University. By reading his prior publications it is clear he is a Charles Hanley cheerleader and a North Korea apologist from the Bruce Cumings school of historical revisionism:
On the basis of newly released information and uncovered stories, the Korean War should be viewed differently and be eventually renamed, taking three points into consideration. First, the Korean War originated from an internal conflict on the Korean peninsula. 25 June 1950 was not a point when the war suddenly broke out; rather it was a turning point when regional guerrilla conflicts that had been going since 1948 became an all-out war (Cumings 1990). calling it as “June 25″ conceals this crucial aspect because it presupposes that belligerent North Korea abruptly invaded a peaceful South Korea.
Kim is trying to spin the narrative that many leftist revisionists have been trying to claim, that Kim Il-sung launched the invasion not out of aggression but to help guerrillas uprising against Syngman Rhee’s autocratic regime. If the US would not have intervened Kim Il-sung could have consolidated the peninsula into one country and everyone would be singing kumbayah with the toppling of Syngman Rhee.
Kim goes on to blame US business interests (where have I heard this before?) for America’s involvement in the war:
Second, the Korean War from the perspective of Westerners was not so much a confrontation between the communists and the liberals as it was “a substitute for World War III” (Stueck 1995).Contrary to the official line towed by Korea’s ruling class, Korea’s urgent need for U.S. involvement was to defend Japan and the East Asian capitalist frontline more than save South Korea and Syngman Rhee.
Kim Il-sung’s invasion of South Korea was authorized by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin because he felt the US would not defend South Korea. This ended up being an incorrect assumption and Truman decided that Korea was going to be the place that the free world was going to take a stand against communist expansionism. It had nothing to do with business interests and more to do with sending a message to Stalin that the US would not allow aggressive communist expansionism. It was best to make this stand in Korea before Stalin was encouraged to try to conduct aggressive communist expansion in Europe. For a good read about the politics and decision making of this time I highly recommend reading David Halberstam’s excellent Korean War history The Coldest Winter.
Finally Professor Kim then goes on to incredibly say that North Korea should not be to blame for starting the war:
Third, the tragedies of the war should not be exclusively attributed to North Korea, but also to the seeming lack of readiness, U.S. indifference as well as quick collapse of ROK forces.So the US Army was ill prepared to fight off a North Korean invasion means that the North Koreans are not to blame for starting the war? The illogic of this statement is mind boggling.
Something of further interest about Kim’s essay is that it is sourced primarily from the writings of North Korea apologist Bruce Cumings, Hanley’s own No Gun Ri book (which has no endnotes), North Korean news reports, and from the anti-US website Kimsoft. Not exactly what I would call a well sourced essay that Hanley decided to copy in order to write his AP article with, but considering his poor sourcing for his prior No Gun Ri work it is not surprising.
My favorite quote of all from Kim Dong-choon comes from one of my favorite journalists Donald Kirk, when he interviewed Kim back in 2006:
Kim Dong Choon, another standing commissioner and author of a lengthy study on killing of civilians during the Korean War, acknowledges “divisions in our society about North Korea” but says, “I have no idea about violations in North Korea.” [Christian Science Monitor]
He has “no idea” about human rights violations in North Korea? It sounds like Kim may be spending to much time hanging out with former Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung. Maybe Professor Kim should spend more time listening to people like this and then maybe he can gain some idea about the tragedy going on in North Korea every single day:
How can someone have the creditability to determine what happened decades ago before and during the Korean War when he has “no idea” about human rights violations going on in North Korea today?
So does anyone still think that Kim Dong-choon’s Korean Truth & Reconciliation Committee has any interest in providing a balanced view of what really happened during the Korean War after reading all this? I have already shown their sloppy historical revisionism before and the sloppy work of this committee is sure to continue. I am all for a proper accounting of incidents that happened during the Korean War, but as I have shown, the Korean Truth & Reconciliation Commission, clearly has an agenda and writing an accurate history of what really transpired during the Korean War is not part of it.
The current South Korean leftists operating the Truth & Reconciliation Committee are just as bad as the South Korean right wingers they so despise in their historical revisionism. Is it any wonder why South Korean students are failing their annual history exams with people like this writing their textbooks?
Something else I found interesting is the majority of Hanley’s article is that it is just a re-worded version of an essay that Kim Dong-choon wrote for the Korea Journal back in 2002. Read Hanley’s article and then read Kim’s essay and you can clearly see the link between the two writings. Hanley might as well as had Professor Kim write the AP article for him.
In the article Hanley likes to make sure he links the US military to killings of South Korean civilians by the ROK Army, but he makes no mention of the number of American soldiers stationed in Korea before and during the early stages of the war. Hanley infers to readers that the US military is allowing the ROK government to conduct these executions when the US military withdrew from Korea in 1949 and left 472 advisors known as the Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG) to help train the ROK Army.
With only 472 servicemembers in the country there was no way were there enough advisor's to imbed with every single ROK military unit to monitor everything that was going on. These advisors also had no command authority over the ROK Army so it isn’t like they could have stopped the executions from happening even if they wanted to. The advisers that did witness executions documented them and sent the information to higher, which is why pictures and information about the killings exist today. However, these advisers were in no position to stop the executions from happening like Hanley leads readers to believe in his article.
Hanley would do well to learn from International Herald Tribune journalist Choe Sang-hun who wrote a article last year about the same killings Hanley wrote about in his article without the anti-US military bias in it. However, that just wouldn’t be a typical Charles Hanley article then would it?
I have to wonder what Hanley is going write about next year? Here is a suggestion, he could write about the killing of civilians on Cheju Island. Another well documented killing of South Korean civilians that few people in America know about that he can demagogue to claim he has uncovered yet another hidden tragedy caused by the US military. Hanley can show a few pictures, get some inflated body count numbers from his buddy Kim Dong-choon, a few more vague references of American involvement from Bruce Cumings & Kimsoft, and suddenly he will have another US backed atrocity to demagogue and make international headlines with.
Despite writing this article about something that is already well documented, Hanley was able to get the reaction I’m sure he was hoping for. If you type in “Korean War + executions” into Google you will see many mainstream news outlets are running with Hanley’s article. I’m sure Hanley probably must have a lot of self satisfaction with his latest piece of professional atrocity mongering. At least this time he chose a topic where he could actually find some bodies to sensationalize, unlike No Gun Ri.
Those paintings were on display at various places on Chungjang-no and in front of the Old Provincial Office on May 17th and 18th as part of a huge street festival commemorating the Gwangju Massacre. The one of the tank running over the Korean flag is called "Han," and the large mural of soldiers aiming at children is likely meant to depict Americans, given the soldiers' large noses and the painting's location next to these others. I have to question the sanity of those who constantly invoke this incident, as it's not used to preserve the memory of those two girls, but rather to encapsulate a victimization complex that is so vital to the national psyche. Obviously the intention is not to foster pathos or sympathy, but to provoke anger, anger so important to the current struggle against American beef. After all, if the artists were looking to depict sorrow, or to trigger feelings of helplessness and terror, and if the festival organizers were truly aiming toward that end, they could have chosen pieces that represented the Gwangju Massacre, the reason, like, the street festival was happening in the first place. There were a few others in the series, including two of a mother weeping over her daughter killed in 2002.
Granted, I've cherrypicked this display out of others on, for example, the tornado in Burma, but the paintings were prominently displayed and did occupy spots next to a series of much larger anti-FTA posters. Likewise, this was not at some county fair in Gangjin, or a get-together in some unremarkable corner of the country, these were on display at a massive rally hosted by "The 28th Memorial Commemorative Committee for the May 18 Democratic Uprising." A common refrain heard among Koreans is the need for self-determination by retaking their own country from overbearing foreign influences, and in this the FTA, the 2002 tank incident, and certainrepresentations of the 1980 Massacre are united. While I don't understand much Korean, and may be wrong, I suspect this is how the American beef protests and the anti-American displays were introduced to commemoration of a domestic massacre. I suspect invoking "the spirit of the 1980 democratic movement" is how that all worked out.
I didn't really know what to expect from this particular rally, but went because it was on a weekend and because I know next to nothing about the Massacre. The program talked about events happening all day along Chungjang-no and in Democracy Square. I've attached a scan of the program, which I stole off this 518 International Solidarity Program post:
I did my best to cover the events of that day and evening, in the hopes of at least getting a few photos. I watched the parade, I went to the candlelight vigil, and I listened to an hour of speeches on Amerian beef. When they brought out the kindergarten children to sing songs about Mad Cow Disease, though, I left and went somewhere else. The candles were distributed during one of the speeches, and when they were lit the lights were dropped and they showed scenes from the Massacre intercut with a few shots of Lee Myung-bak. Playing over the pictures and videos of beatings and corpses was Wanger's "Ride of the Valkyries." After a few minutes of that the music switched to that "Pilsung Korea" song and the videos switched from the Massacre to Mad Cow Disease. Plenty of videos of Lee Myung-bak, Noh Moo-hyun, and George Bush, and plenty of clips of cows being dragged by the neck, cows in pens, and cows staggering around. That went on for several minutes, too, and the MC returned to make more speeches and to direct the audience to do the wave with their candles. Then, a little while later a group of children came out to sing and dance about Mad Cow Disease, and I left. I have no idea what transpired in the hour or so that remained---the program said there would be some songs and a torch parade---it was clear that as little mind was paid to the Massacre's victims as possible. Unless you consider juxtaposing a week of terror with Lee Myung-bak and diseased cows to be mindful.
Here are a few more pictures of the parade which made its way down Chungjang-no and terminated at the Old Provincial Hall. My apologies for the quality, I had to rely on my cellphone.
The truck full of soldiers led the parade and were on their way to Democracy Square to recreate a battle.
The drummers all had messages about the FTA printed on red cloth tied to their drums.
The back of the truck had several bags of water balloons, which people of all ages could throw at two angry American bulls on either side and at Lee Myung-bak as a bull on the back.
Mother and daughter bonding.
This guy was standing in front of me and I was pissed that he wouldn't move so the strap would expose the swastika. Finally heaven smiled down on me.
Like I said, I didn't know what to expect from the May 17th events, though I guess I hoped for a little more solemnity and a little bit more information on the Massacre itself. Had I checked the papers on May 17th, though, I probably wouldn't have been so surprised. From theHankyoreh:
It is also expected that unions, students and farmers will hold a series of rallies against the resumption of U.S. beef imports, the cross-country waterway and mistreatment of irregular workers. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the country’s two major umbrella labor groups, and Hanchongyeon, a umbrella organization for university student unions, will participate in a national convention designed to recapture the spirit of the Gwangju Uprising to be held in front of the former provincial office building on May 18 following rallies at Gwangju Station and Chosun University on the previous day. The two groups will issue a “May statement” to protest the importation of U.S. beef and the ROK-U.S. free trade agreement.
While I guess some would claim I unfairly portrayed the day's events by posting those few paintings up top, nobody could seriously argue that I've misrepresented the day's theme, which was to demonstrate against the FTA and American beef.
I planned to visit the May 18th National Cemetery for the first time on May 18th, and happened across the aptly-numbered city bus 518 which made lots of stops downtown and which would hit both the new cemetary and the old one. Unlike the event last night and the rallies last week, which drew lots of families and young people, respectively, this bus was full of old people, people who obviously were adults in 1980. While I was on the bus to the cemetery I started thinking about the previous night and about what exactly I was doing and why I was "expecting" a certain mood. I thought back to all the stuff surrounding the Namdaemun fire---anybody remember that?---and the articles on "dark tourism" that called the arson the emotional equivalent of 9/11 and likened tourism to the charred gate to seeing Auschwitz or visiting the Cambodian Killing Fields. Moreso than Namdaemun, the cemetery and all of the many other spots in Gwangju represent far better examples of "dark tourism," because the Massacre actually had human victims. And this sentence doesn't fit, but I recall the furor over a few pictures of Japanese tourists happily posing in front of the ruins of Namdaemun, while Korean tourists both on 5/18 and at other times find no fault with enjoying themselves in a graveyard, all of which really reminds us how hard lots of people were trying to create some emotional attachment to the fallen gate. Anyway, here's what the plaque in front of the cemetery says:
Here in the National Cemetery for the May 18th Democratic Uprising lie the meritorious persons who fought and sacrificed themselves during the Gwangju Uprising of 1980 and those laudable victims who died in the aftermath of the physical or mental injuries they sustained. The bodies of the victims were carried in garbage trucks and carts and buried without official recognition in the Old May 18 Cemetery (the 3rd graveyard of the Municipal Cemetery). With the completion of a 3-year consecration project (1994-1997), all bodies were movied and reburied together in this new cemetery. In accordance with the Act on the Honorable Treatment for Meritorious Persons of the May 18th Uprising, this cemetery, which had een managed by the Gwangju Municipal Administration, was promoted and renamed as the National Cemetery for the May 18th Democratic Uprising on July 27, 2002 by the Korean state. This cemetery will function as an education center, promoting the conviction that injustice and dictatorships hould never return to this country, so that the spirit of May 18th may be engraved in the hearts of all people making this a sacred place for democracy forever.
There's some perspective for you. It's not my place to try and pretend to tell people what they should remember and how they ought to remember it, but I just found it strange to see how the memory of the massacre was being trumped by the imagined fears of Mad Cow Disease. While I understand---but disagree with---the symbolism attributed to beef and the FTA, and that it's becoming as much an issue of national survival as it is personal, I cannot consider further politicizing these 200-some deaths as anything but bad taste. Ironic that a quote-unquote democratic movement is being invoked to squash an open market. And as I wandered among the graves and rows of tombs filled with teenagers, it struck me that students today are imbibed with the same furor over beef that the young people buried here had for their causes. It's well beyond my means to examine the true motives of all those who faught, who were caught up in fighting, who witnessed the fighting, and were killed, but the irony of the scene was palpable. There can be no mistake that the fight against beef was being cast to resemble the fight against military rule, especially when we consider the video shown the night before and political cartoons like this.
I got there around 10:30, just as the President and other dignitaries were leaving. There were thousands of police in riot gear, thousands of other uniformed cops, and rows of bodyguards, all of whom thinned out after the motorcade left. The mood when I arrived was more solemn than the night before, likely because "more than 3,000 family members of the victims and social representatives were expected to attend," according to that Hankyoreh article. The next day the Chosun Ilbo put that figure at 2,500, and quoted President Lee as saying:
"I'm lowering my head to pray for the repose of the souls of those who fell during the 1980 movement for freedom and democracy 28 years ago today. The spirit of the 1980 democratic movement is a valuable asset in itself. But we must develop it as a spiritual pillar with which we can build a top-notch, advanced nation."
Other parts of the morning were not as solemn. In the first picture there is a woman in white weeping over the grave of, presumably, a child, as photographers gathered around her. The same scene was repeated anytime a woman, always in white, would sit beside a grave and weep.
In the second picture, this man crouches between two plots to take a photo of an old woman to my left. After I was in the park for a little while the crowd became younger. All day long students crowded around this tomb to pay their respects. In the photo below a group had just finished singing a song and were being directed and subsequently interviewed by a man in the foreground.
Other students had come to complete a homework assignment and bowed in front of each grave. Others were, I'm sure, just doing the same thing as me. But the groups that stood out were those under the literal and figurative banners. Lots of these university students brought their anti-FTA cards and t-shirts with them as they followed their guide around the park. Others, like in the last picture, marched under the banner of Che Guevara.
I'll finish this off by quoting from another plaque at the cemetery's entrance. Entitled "The Meaning of the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising" the English part of the bilingual plaque reads (emphasis mine):
The May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising was a civil uprising against a military dictatorship conspiring to seize political power illegally, in which citizens demanded a true democracy in Korea. It was an eruption of the people's strong desire to declare themselves as masters of their own history and to defend their rights. The May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising provided the momentum for other democratic movements in Korea and confirmed that the people, once awakend (sic), are the driving force in the development of a democratic society. The Uprising was a legitimate and just struggle against injustice and dictatorship. In addition, the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising played an important role in unveiling the immorality of the military regime of the Fifth Republic. Furthermore, it was a decisive moment which eventually brought an end to the illegitimate political system and gave birth to a truly democratic government, when for the first time in its history a peaceful turnover of political power from the government party to an opposition party occurred in February 1998. The Gwangju Democratic Uprising will be remembered as a people's struggle, which not only inherited the tradition of independence, democracy and reunification that had manifested itself in past historical struggles for human rights but also introduced a new indestructible determination for justice in the modern history of Korea.
Edit: I forgot to mention this, but anyone interested in reading some interesting perspectives on the Gwangju Uprising ought to browse through the posts in Gusts of Popular Feeling's Kwangju Uprising category. He hits on a number of issues I've been thinking about these past couple days, and I've found this post particularly interesting. Who knew that the Gwangju Massacre had its own cartoon mascot?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Bring Michael White Home!
14 year old Stephen Michael White tragically died in a sauna on May 10, 2008 in Gyoungsan Korea (just south - east of Daegu), under circumstances which are still not clear.
His single American mother, an English Professor at Yeungnam University, does not have the financial means to take her son home for burial. We would like collect donations to help her meet the extraordinary costs she faces. Her friends are hosting a fundraiser on May 30, 2008 and we would appreciate all the support we can get.
Where: Thunderbirds Lounge - Daeguwww.thunderbirdlounge.org When: May 30, 2008 8 - 11pm What: Live music and door prizes Why: To help Stephanie White bring her son home Who: Everyone is invited to give their support How: Come downtown and show your support
For those of you who are unable to join us on May 30th but would like to offer your support to Stephanie in her tragic time of need, we have set up an account where you can send donations.
S.Micheal White Fund (acct name, but it's really spelled Michael) Daegu Bank 080-10-004509
Stephanie is grateful for any support you can offer! Please forward this message to anyone who may be able to offer support or willing to join us downtown Daegu on May 30th.
May 18th Update: The Sauna vigil went very well. We managed to get more Korean exposure as many families stopped by to see what was going on. Thanks to a previous coworker, Martine, many Korean mothers now know what mystery I'm facing in seeking answers for my son.
There was also a reporter from one of the Korean dailies, so we should expect to see a story published sometime this week. A TV program has also been seeking an interview, and the time for that will be arranged tomorrow.
I'm also bringing in a police statement by Corina Fransen to repudiate the Sauna's claim that they made emergency announcement over the intercom system. (Her daughter is also bilingual) I'll be going to the police station about 11:30 tomorrow morning, so please... some prayers & thoughts to keep my strength up.
There is a fund raiser being planned by Barbara & Katie so if there's anyway we can help them out, please let's do so~! I think it's May 30th at Thunderbird lounge? I'll post the details here.
The vigil at the Sauna was so effective, I think I will be doing this again for the next several Sundays.
In recognition of the 28th Anniversary of the Gwangju Uprising I have posted an article written by Georgy Katsiaficas that blames the Gwangju Uprising like just about everything else unpleasant in Korean history, on who else, but the big, bad Americans:
Contemporary South Korean anti-Americanism appeared after the Gwangju Uprising – and for good reason. The U.S. government aided and actively abetted Chun Doo-hwan in suppressing the uprising and helped stabilize his government afterwards. In 1980, popular intuition in South Korea knew well the role of the U.S. The rationales for U.S. encouragement of the suppression of the Gwangju Uprising are commonly understood in terms of national security – avoiding a “second Iran” (where American hostages and the U.S. Embassy were still held by radicals in May 1980), preventing the debacle of “another Vietnam” (which had “fallen” only five short years earlier), repelling a possible North Korean threat, responding to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan on December 25, 1979, or stopping the threatened nationwide uprising against the military that loomed in 1980.
My reading of thousands of pages of official U.S. documents clarifies that the chief perceived threat articulated by the U.S. government in 1980 was of a capital flight by U.S. investors who worried that the R.O.K. government after Park Chung-hee’s assassination might prove unstable. These documents portray U.S. officials’ awareness of the need to demonstrate regime stability in South Korea in 1980, leaving little choice but to endorse Chun’s rule. The U.S. subordinated its own professed concerns for human rights to the economic interests of American corporations. [Gwangju News]
Make sure you read the rest of the article by clicking on the above link. Of course I highly disagree with much of the article, but it is still worth the read to see what many in the anti-US left think of America’s role in the Gwangju Uprising. I will probably post a more detailed response sometime next week, but in the mean time I highly recommend reading Richardson’s posting from last year and more importantly the comments that provides some great information and perspective about what really happened in regards to the Gwangju Uprising.
Likewise if you want to read more about the Gwangju Uprising I also highly recommend reading Linda Lewis’ book, Laying Claim to the Memory of May:
From the comments section from Brian................
GI, he’s giving a talk at the Gwangju International Center on May 31st on that topic, if anyone is interested.
I was down at some of the memorials today and yesterday. Wall-to-wall Mad Cow stuff. So much for solemnity. Also, on Chungjangno—the main drag in downtown Gwangju—they had a series of paintings, about a half-dozen of which were regarding the tank incident. The old standby “Fuck USA” was painted on one of them, and there was another mural of white soldiers aiming bayonets at helpless Korean children. Then, a few meters away there was tons of anti-FTA stuff . . . I don’t think “irony” is in the Korean dictionary because beside the posters lampooning Bush and Lee Myung-bak there were those featuring Kim Dae-jung shaking hands with Kim Jong-il. More anti-beef stuff at the cemetery, too. Oh, and there was a huge candlelight rally last night in front of the Old Provinicial Hall. Not to mourn the deaths of those murdered in Gwangju, hahahahaha, no, this was over Mad Cow Disease. They had a row of paintings devoted to the 2002 tank incident. “F* USA” made an appearance
GI Korea comment............................................................................................................................
The fact that the 5.18 remembrance was hijacked by the anti-US loons doesn’t surprise me in the least. I have seen so many disgusting things from these people I have no respect for them at all.
Shattered the Korean military did plenty wrong in Gwangju. Bayoneting people for protesting is usually not the best way to put down a protest. Plenty of thuggery by the ROK Army in Gwangju. I can’t blame the people in Gwangju for wanting to fight back against these thugs.
However, the anti-US left is just trying to blame the US for the thuggery instead of the name man who ordered it Chun.
NOW FOR THOSE WHO KNOW ME, I WRITE MOVIE REVIEWS FOR A FEW DIFFERENT WEBSITES. I RECEIVED A LOT OF FLACK FOR THE REVIEW I DID FOR THE MAY 18TH FILM (May 18th Review)
Long story short, It was a joke of a film and did not deserve the attention that it was shown at the Box Office here in Korea. The complaints I received were down right insane and now instead of a sorrow remembrance of the victims, we're fracking given this stoopid anti-beef crap.
So would it be safe to say that MAY 18TH MEANS NOTHING IF THIS IS THE RESPONSE, and if this is it, why in the hell should anyone care about it? If those who's' families were affected by this have DECIDED THAT IT IS MORE WORTHY TO PROMOTE THIS LIE THAT TO REMEMBER THE HONORED DEAD THEN THE HELL WITH ANYMORE MAY 18TH PROGRAMS OR STORIES!
Why should the world give a damn to remember when the Koreans themselves will not?
A GREAT BLOG ENTRY ABOUT THE INSANITY OF THE US BEEF PROTEST..
Demagoguery and a gullible public
Here are some of the groundless, unproven, even downright false, allegations and rumors that have been circulating in South Korea in recent weeks mostly through the Internet and over cell phones. They are being circulated by nameless, faceless and irresponsible “netizens,” scaring a lot of people, especially young impressionable middle and high school students.
--The United States has pressured the administration of President Lee Myung-bak to import American beef tainted with the mad-cow disease as a pre-condition to supporting the Free Trade Agreement;
--Americans themselves are eating beef imported from Australia and Canada while they are exporting their own beef infected with the mad-cow disease to South Korea;
--The mad-cow disease is so potent and dangerous that it can contaminate other meat such as pork if they are prepared on the same counter during cooking;
--Parents stop sending your children to schools where lunches are cooked with American beef;
--The first case of mad-cow disease was found on May 2. [even though imports hadn’t begun yet]
--President Lee, who is also pro-Japanese, has handed the disputed Dokto islets in the East Sea over to Japan.
What is especially unbelievable is the fact that the nation’s public-supported and government-financed television networks, namely, the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and the Munhwa Broadcasting Company (MBC), were fanning the mass-hysteria against American beef.
The broadcast media as well as political propagandists using the Internet are also whipping up a new wave of anti-American sentiment through unabashedly biased reporting and so-called in-depth news analyses and commentaries.
Meanwhile, the opposition political parties and left-leaning politicians, who were soundly defeated by Lee Myung-bak and the conservative Grand National Party in the presidential election last December and the parliamentary election in April, are busily engaged in demagoguery against President Lee and his administration which was inaugurated only three months ago.
Ignoring the fact that less than half a year ago an overwhelming majority of voters gave the conservative President Lee a clear and unequivocal mandate to govern the nation, the “progressive politicians,” a euphemism for “the leftists,” launched an Internet campaign to impeach the president, blaming him for what they called “the mad-cow beef fiasco.” They are also said to have instigated the mass “candle-light protest.”
By the way, I am curious why Korean demonstrators, especially young protesters, hit the streets with lighted candles, the minute they come cross a political issue with an anti-American angle to it.
Recalling the term, “candle light vigil,” I wonder if they are trying to add some religious fervor to their protest. Perhaps, they want to attach a romantic connotation. Or maybe, as I suggested in another article earlier, they were encouraged by--or even in collusion with—candle manufacturers.
Whatever the reason, demonstrators, in the tens of thousands, came out of their homes and lit candles once again to protest beef imports from the United States. One well-known actress went so far as to say in her homepage that she would rather swallow a capsule of cyanide than mad cow beef. But South Korea is a free country. She has the ability to choose, nobody is going to try and ram a piece of American beef down her throat against her will.
For my part, as soon as I came back to America last week, I looked around to see if I could find beef imported from Australia or Canada, but I couldn’t find any, at least, not in the supermarkets I went to. And as far as I can remember, I have mostly been eating USDA choice beef for decades without feeling any ill effect.
Incidentally, watching and reading about the protests against American beef imports, I was quite mystified by the meek, almost inaudible, protests, much less action, against harmful products imported from China. So many Chinese goods, including foodstuff as well as toys, have been scientifically proven to be toxic and harmful to our health and yet not a “boo” has been uttered against their import.
Does this mean that we, Koreans, are such a gullible people that we can only react when the biased media and some unconscionable politicians and entertainers spread groundless rumors and unalloyed lies? Yes, this, I am afraid, is true to a large extent.
But what makes us so gullible? Are we collectively naive or stupid so that we can easily be manipulated and swayed by politicians or other interest groups? I don’t think so. We may be often blinded by or made to believe in something because of monetary and material greed, but never because of naivety or stupidity.
If anything, Koreans, on the whole, are very emotional and hasty rather than coolly rational and deliberate in making judgments on any social and political issue. And let’s face it, we are also a pretty insecure and paranoiac bunch of people as we have long been suffering from an inferiority complex.
Because of these regrettable national traits, we easily become prey to the demagoguery of a few unscrupulous people who have their own ax to grind or political hay to make at our expense. But we are smart enough and are living in an advanced society where we should be able to make our own judgments and decisions based on objective facts, not just listen to other people and follow them blindly.
(END)
Well, I am not dead.
I know this will sound crazy but at Dave's ESL there was a rumor that their was going to be a candle light vigil in remembrance of me. I have no idea how anyone confused me with Mike White but last night I was told about the vigil for me. The error has been corrected.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A story from the Korean Herald about Michael White.
Mother cries foul after son`s sauna death
A mother from the United States is crying foul after her son drowned in a sauna complex for no apparent reason.
According to local police, 14-year-old Michael White was discovered in the cold pool of the sauna in Gyeongsan, near Daegu.
A staff member at the sauna complex saw him face down in the pool, but did nothing, assuming he was bathing, police and sauna management said.
When the employee saw him again later, he was still face down in the pool. Emergency services were then contacted.
Police say they are investigating, but they have no reason to believe a crime had been committed. There were no signs of obvious injury on the body, they said.
At the time, the mother and her female friends had separated from her son while they used the bathing areas. There were 15 other people in the bathroom at the time, according to police.
When Michael`s mother was notified, he was being treated and loaded into the ambulance. The hospital confirmed they declared him dead on arrival.
The mother, Stephannie White, says when she asked the ambulance crew why they had no oxygen or defibrillator's, they told her that workers at the sauna reported him as dead to the emergency services. She claims the staff did not contact her until after the ambulance arrived.
"The really heart wrenching thing is that staff didn't get us," said White. "We are both first responder trained and we could have saved him."
The manager of the sauna denies that the boy was called in dead, and says he tried to notify the mother through an announcement. According to the manager, the announcement was in Korean, but used the English word "dangerous" to try and locate people accompanying the boy.
"He was such a kind, caring and generous young man," White said of her son. "He had pulled I don`t know how many puppies off of the streets, he spent his own money getting them shots and housebreaking them and putting them up for adoption."
There is a law barring minors from entering sauna complexes unaccompanied. However, the management said there was nothing preventing minors from separating from their supervisors once inside.
A vigil was held outside the U.S. Embassy in Seoul yesterday morning, and another will be help outside the sauna complex tomorrow.
By paul Kerry
(paulkerry@heraldm.com)
Another Update...................................................................
Why my friends are raising funds: (From Mikes Mom Stephanie)
insurance doesn’t cover any expenses after death. I have to shoulder the morgue fees for storage while we wait for the autopsy report to come back (about 2 million won) and I have to pay for a second autopsy (don't have an estimate on that but am looking) not to mention funeral costs.
I am paying out of my own pocket, not the fund, for the vigils (flyer's, prayer cards etc) my friends have networked for a free lawyer and possible a free cardio expert to testify in court. I am paying out of my own pocket for his medical record to be sent from back home to prove no preexisting condition.
And why does he have to pay attention to his heart & breathing in a sauna if he was healthy? What an idiot you are. EVERYONE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION~! this was just a statement of fact that Mike knew the safety rules about sitting in a hot sauna & going into a cold one too quickly.
Calling my kid “fat” when you’ve never met him is verging on some serious disrespect. He’s 6 foot tall with a shoulder breadth of over 2 feet. What are you some kinda freak you have to throw out negativity like this? If you want to raise questions, do so respectfully. And if you can’t have the guts to say it to me!
THE BANK ACT # FOR PEOPLE WANTING TO GIVE $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
S.Micheal White Fund (acct name, but it's really spelled Michael) daegu Bank 080-10-004509
A message to all members of Remember Michael
(from Mike's Mom)
Legal report: Yesterday I met with Mr. Lee, a lawyer in Daegu. While he is willing to offer legal counsel, he will not be acting as my lawyer in civil or criminal proceedings. In criminal proceedings, I do not need a lawyer as Mike is the victim. I can not begin civil proceedings until the criminal proceedings are completed. The purpose of the lawyer yesterday was to offer to act on my behalf in negotiating an out of court settlement. He explained that there is a monetary difference between the amount awarded by the courts and the amount I could expect from an out of court settlement.
While I can agree there is a difference in the ‘amount for damages” the difference is MARGINAL. Again, I am only interesting in covering expenses, not “big payout”, hence, I don’t give a flying flip about an out of court settlement. An out of court settlement would prevent the case from being heard in court, from there being a public record of the incident and from the inadequate regulations being overhauled.
It is my personal choice to forgo the fraction of an “increase” that an out of court settlement would bring, and instead pursue an in court investigation. Since I am not interested in an out of court settlement, Mr. Lee will not be representing me in gathering evidence to present to the police. This makes the media outcry more important than it ever was before.
Please help to spread the word about giving a testimonial for Mike to the Korean Herald and Seoul Times. Help me monitor the blogs and counter any false rumors or innuendo that it was natural causes. I am counting the days until I have an English translation of the autopsy so I can counter those specific lies.
So, as it stands, I will continue to leverage media & diplomatic channels both in & out of Korea to bring pressure to the Gyeongsan police dept to do a thorough investigation.
I really really hope someone can help~
Visit Remember Michael at: http://guidinglight.ning.com
Now I must ask you my friends, if you have a personal experience with Mike, a story you'd like to share, please help me show everyone what an awesome guy Mike is.
Please email your testimonial to the editors of the Korean Herald and the Seoul Times (in the subject line, write "letter to the editor"). For those who haven't yet seen the news, there was a short blurb about Mike in Fridays' Seoul edition of the Korean Herald and a longer piece today in the Herald. These have obviously been glossed over. I realize most folks don't want to get involved in arguing the why/how of Mike's untimely death, but at least, let us let the world know just what they are missing out on in a friend in Mike.
Humbly I thank you for your continued support. Let the Sun Decide Mike's mom
500 word limit
Korean Herald khooran@heraldm. com
Seoul Times: seoultimes@gmail.com
Please write "letter to the editor" in the subject line, 500 word limit
A 14-year-old American boy died this week in a sauna in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, on the outskirts of Daegu, however police are seemingly unable to pinpoint the cause of his death.
The tragedy took place last Sunday, when Stephanie White, her son Michael and two of her friends went to a jjimjilbang (Korean style sauna). Her son went into the male bathing room, while White and her friends went to the ladies section. Some considerable time later, sauna staff called the mother to check on her son who was in a critical condition.
When she arrived at the scene, her son had collapsed and emergency staff were placing him into an ambulance. However, they apparently reported Michael as dead, though this was not the case. On arrival at the hospital medical staff saw this and tried to resuscitate him through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but despite their efforts he died a few minutes later.
Michael had allegedly been coughing and dry retching ― without anyone inside the sauna offering assistance ― for a long time and that could have been a contributory factor in his death, doctors said initially. However, an autopsy showed that the cause of death was drowning.
Stephanie White said quick treatment could have saved her son.
She also criticized the sauna for having poor emergency measures and trying to cover up the incident; the hospital for being slow to drain Michaels' lungs of fluid; and the police for not conducting a thorough investigation and reporting the results to her.
The police apparently did not question the sauna owner, while staff there kept calling her up about the details and tried to cover up the story, she said.
White also said that her son was not dead in the sauna ― as alleged by the emergency response staff ― in view of the fact that doctors tried save him at the hospital. She added that she is a certified and trained lifesaver and could have saved her son if she had been notified in time ― nobody offered Michael assistance for about an hour after he apparently started having respiratory problems.
Friends and colleagues plan to hold a vigil in front of the United States Embassy in downtown Seoul Friday and have started a fundraising campaign to finance legal fees. White may file a lawsuit against the sauna and responsible parties.
Some have pointed to the Korean people's indifference as the cause of the tragedy. White lamented that its was really hard to understand why no one seemed to care about a young boy who was obviously having problems ― coughing hard for a long time ― and who then collapsed.
Blogger Mike McStay said, ``What do you call it when a room full of men/boys doing their family bathing before the Buddha holiday just turn their backs on someone who's coughing and retching so bad that there's extensive damage to his throat, lungs and back of the mouth.''
I NEVER TALKED TO THIS REPORTER. HE NEVER CALLED ME, EMAILED ME NOR TALKED TO ME NOR DID I CALL.EMAIL OR TALK HIM. I JUST REPOSTED AND GAVE THE EXACT LINK OF MRS. WHITE'S COMMENTS IN MY UPDATE LINK #2 OF THIS SAD STORY.
WHAT A WAY TO MAKE THE KOREAN TIMES FOR THE FIRST TIME.
ITEMS TO UPDATE ON THE HORRIBLE STORY ABOUT MIKE IN DAEGU. I NEVER MET THE YOUNG MAN. IF YOU HAVE PLEASE WRITE LETTERS AS HIS MOTHER HAS REQUESTED.
May 17th update: Embassy Success ~!
I am humbled and on my knees in gratitude to all those who were either able to stop by for a minute or two to write your name on a "waiting for answers" page and giving it to the embassy staff or projected your thoughts & prayers to Michael yesterday.
The Embassy has said that they have gathered the forms, will have them processed via the Consul General and then send them to the police in Gyeongsan to have them entered as show of community support for a continued investigation in to Mike's mysterious death.
Again~ I am eternally grateful to all the Koreans & Expats who came yesterday in thoughts or presence... this could not have happened without YOU~!
Now I must ask you my friends, if you have a personal experience with Mike, a story you'd like to share, please help me show everyone what an awesome guy Mike is.
Please email your testimonial to the editors of the Korean Herald and the Seoul Times (in the subject line, write "letter to the editor"). For those who haven't yet seen the news, there was a short blurb about Mike in Fridays' Seoul edition of the Korean Herald and a longer piece today in the Herald. These have obviously been glossed over. I realize most folks dont want to get involved in arguing the why/how of Mike's untimely death, but at least, let us let the world know just what they are missing out on in a friend in Mike.
Humbly I thank you for your continued support. Let the Sun Decide Mike's mom
Please put "letter to the editor" in the subject line:
In an unusual twist on the current U.S. beef issue, animal psychologists in the American state of Montana are reporting a growing resistance among American cows to the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
``They don't want to be eaten by Koreans," said Bucky McGee, the legendary ``cow whisperer" who has been working worldwide since the first outbreak of mad cow disease in the United Kingdom in the 1980s.
Cows are normally docent creatures, McGee said, but there have been one or two cases of violence against humans on ranches. In one incident, a man was kicked in the genitals by a cow after saying ``eum-mae," which is the Korean word for ``moo."
Other counselors, whose main jobs are to prepare cattle for their fate, say that the word is spreading like a virus that cows should feign mad cow disease to avoid being sent to Korea. ``Koreans don't have the best image in the animal kingdom so they're really scared," said one bovine therapist.
``Activists have convinced cows that they will be sent to Korea on the hoof," he said. ``Cows are not the brightest of animals and they don't realize that they'll be sent as prime cuts."
Experts say that an outbreak of feigned mad cow disease would look just like the real thing with cows foaming at the mouth, swaying about like drunks and head-butting vets. As such, it would have a devastating impact on the U.S. beef market. At present, 96 percent of U.S. beef is consumed domestically with only 4 percent exported.
Meanwhile, in Korea, tens of thousands of ardent protesters took to the streets, after being told the FTA would require them to eat contaminated meat which otherwise wouldn't be sold because the Bush Administration won't let Americans eat it. Officials have tried to clear this misunderstanding but found it difficult to battle the enormous nostalgia for candlelit protests and the thrill of discovering a protest theme after a long hiatus in anti-American activism.
In its English-language pronouncements, the government has tried to keep its commitment to the United States while trying to calm public sentiment with some new implementation criteria limiting sales. These were released in Chinese characters to Korean media so that the U.S. embassy wouldn't understand. One pledge, for example, initially proposed by the opposition United Democratic Party, is that contaminated U.S. beef will only be sold to people who have more than three apartments and whose children have dual citizenship.
One minor casualty from the furor over beef is this newspaper's Blue House reporter, Kim Yon-se. As reported in Thursday's paper, Kim has been banned for a month from the presidential offices by his colleagues for revealing a joke the President made in the United States which other journalists promised the president's aides to keep off-the-record.
The presidential witticism came at a meeting with some American business leaders about the beef deal. He said that the talks were so protracted that the two sides' negotiators must have ``reached an agreement half-asleep and half-awake at dawn." Erm, I didn't get it either. Nor did the American business leaders. But they laughed because that's what you do with presidents.
In a related development, middle school students in the American city of Wall Street staged several silent protests earlier this week after a report in the local Wall Street Journal that avian flu had reached Seoul. The report alleged that the latest outbreak had started in the southwestern Jeolla provinces and spread through most of the country.
Many said they had received text messages saying that, according to the FTA, U.S. school canteens would have to buy Korean chicken if Koreans themselves were prohibited from eating it because of bird flu. Some said they were told they would also have to eat dog meat on Fridays.
After being told these were false rumors, they admitted to being embarrassed and apologized to Koreans for their stupidity.
Michael Breen is president of Insight Communications Consultants in Seoul. He can be reached at mike.breen@insightcomms.com.
I'm single. I believe in God and am a member of the Church of Christ. I have 2 kids, Claudia and Sean McStay. Hopefully one day we can be reunited. I miss you 2 so much, you are growing up without me.
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