June 25th was the 58th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War and how would you expect people in Korea to memorialize the outbreak of the Korean War? By protesting US beef of course! Courtesy of a reader tip come these photos of the anti-US beef protesters violently battling with the Seoul riot police:
You can see in this picture how the riot police buses continued to be used to block the road leading up to the Presidential Blue House to prevent the protesters from reaching it:
To get by the buses the protesters tried to use ropes to move them out of the way:
In response the police started hitting them with water cannons:
I wouldn’t be surprised if these younger protesters were from Hanchongnyun:
So then the protesters decided to try and go around the buses in another area and were met by police who stopped them:
With the water cannons ineffective in dispersing the crowd the riot police moved in to disperse the protesters where of course violent clashes broke out:
Can someone tell this idiot he is at the wrong protest? He looks like he should be at an anti-war protest:
The riot police also used what looks like fire extinguishers to try and disperse the rioters:
Also notice how many of the protesters during the clashes were able to steal equipment from the riot police:
Of course as the clashes continued there were injuries:
There were arrests as well which anyone knowing the Korean legal system, these people will be back on the streets the next day attacking policemen with no punishment:
I think it is pretty clear that the anti-US groups are on their own now as these protests are no where near as large as prior protests held in Seoul because the anti-US groups pulling the strings behind these protests have shown their true colors and it appears for now the Korean public isn’t supporting their agenda.
Currently US beef has entered the country for quarantine inspections and after that it will be distributed to markets across Korea. Violence has broken out in Busan where the meat is being inspected and stored as protesters clashed with police there.
President Lee Myung-bak has ordered a “crackdown” on the violent protesters but just like with any other “crackdown” in Korea it will do nothing and these thugs will be allowed to destroy property and violently assault the conscripted young men that make up the Korean riot police squads that have to deal with these idiots.
10:48 am on June 27th, 2008 1
[...] Comments Pictures of Violent Anti-US Beef Protests In Korea on LMB Orders Crackdown on Violent Demonstrationscm on Photo of the Day: Rain Slickers vs. Riot [...]
11:00 am on June 27th, 2008 2
I’d be curious to know which country in the world has the highest ratio of standing riot police per capita, and what that says about that country.
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11:47 am on June 27th, 2008 3
I really wish these people had the first clue about how to dissent effectively. It’s truly pathetic.
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1:15 pm on June 27th, 2008 4
I think its time to cut these people off…stop importing Hyundai s and pull out of Korea. Let them fend off the north themselves and if they fail…eeeeh so what
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7:43 pm on June 27th, 2008 5
I’ve been watching the protests with great interest since the “adults” took over on 24 May — and I just wanted to say that I may be the only one who thinks the riot police have been doing things right UP TO THIS POINT.
On the morning of 26 Jun, I watched on internet TV how the riot police did a perfect pincer movement (with a second element doing a rear guard) to corral all the violent protestors while at the same split them away from their support crowd. The dozens of flying flags in the tightening circle was gone in minutes. After that the protest was over for the day. But I guess only I saw it since no one else mentioned it. Yesterday, the riot police did not give the protestors a chance to consolidate their efforts by turning on the water cannons as soon as they started. The hard-core protestors were left by themselves and the bulk of the crowd stayed way in the back out of range of the water cannons. They isolated the protestors and then cut them off to be arrested. After that they moved in and pushed the crowd back — and pushed them back again reasserting their control. However, they did it without a lot of casualties. For this, I have only the greatest respect for these police commanders who have worked out the tactics.
But in saying that, your pics do not reflect the horrors that these protestors are doing in recent days. They have started using the same techniques the riot police do by pulling violent protestors in behind their lines and then arresting them.
Only now the protestors are pulling the riot policemen behind THEIR lines and beating the living bejeezus out of them as a mob ganging up on one lone policemen. There are now enough photos of them doing this on the internet.
There are other published photos of the mob cornering a group of police in a demolished site — but a video clip showed up later that showed what REALLY happened. They were doing flying taekwondo kicks to the shields, hurling stones at the police heads, ripping away their shields and then hurling objects at them, using uprooted stumps as clubs, pounding on the shields with large cinder block bricks, etc. These protestors are hard-core pros and they are out for blood.
Finally the Chosun ran an article about these policemen’s plight — but it was only because the Chosun had its poor little sign torn down with a note that the next time they would “shit” on the sign. I have nothing good to say about the conservative media who kept their mouth shut for so long…while these policemen suffered.
On my site, I believe that tonight will be a turning point. Last night the UDP showed up at the protests giving legitimacy to the mob rule to impeach LMB. The weak showing of the protestors last night showed that there are hard-core protestors in the front, but the majority of the crowd are only “candlelight vigil types” — only interested in protesting with a candle. The protestors last night were shouting that “This is a war!!!” It is. What we have is President Lee Myeong-bak’s authority as the most powerful man in Korea (politically at least) standing for law and order versus the activist NGO groups who are preaching anarchy. He said that the violence must end and the protestors last night threw down the gauntlet taunting him to just try to do that.
My only hope is that Lee Myeong-bak sees what is at stake — not simply head bashing bad publicity, but the health of the nation. I hope he lets the riot police carry their batons to the demonstrations for the first time since Daechuri. He MUST reestablish law and order in Korea. It is an imperative — though he will get a mess of bad press from the progressives (and internationally) in the short term.
We’ll see tonight. If the activists show up, I hope Lee allows the police to take the gloves off and do their job. Personally I hope the activists DON’T show up and that the riot police can have one day off to rest for the rotten job they have.
BTW the other day, on the spur of the moment, bought two Cokes at the 7-11 in front of Osan’s Main Gate and walked to the riot policemen on duty and handed them the Cokes without a word. I just wanted to say thanks to these folks…and I don’t live on-base. I hope other Americans would do the same for these guys with a thankless job of protecting the gates from these radicals. A simple thanks to them would be nice.
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8:24 pm on June 27th, 2008 6
Kalani you are right that people should thank the riot police for doing the thankless job that they do. When I was in Korea I would talk to the riot police to thank them for what they were doing. I used to also have the gate guards leave hot coffee for them to drink when it was cold outside which they appreciated.
It is a national disgrace how these conscripts are treated by their own citizens.
As far as 2MB I’m quickly losing confidence he has the fortitude to stand up to these thugs controlling the streets and assaulting these riot policemen.
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9:33 pm on June 27th, 2008 7
Update: Just looking at Kyunghang Ilbo and my comment on the baton being used may be possible. A photo of the demolishing of the tent city at Seoul Plaza shows one of the riot policeman with a short padded baton — not the long one normally used in full-scale riots. Maybe they finally are getting serious…
Also a small note that starting today the police are going to use dye in the water cannons to identify the protestors after a confrontation.
A couple of days ago on my site, I suggested (without expecting anyone to read my blatherings) that the riot police need to (1) let the air out of the bus tires to make dragging impossible and lowering the center of gravity so that rocking the bus is also hard; (2) greasing the roof tops so that getting on top of the bus will make protestors look like buffoons trying to keep their balance; and (3) the use of dye-packs for close in action and dye in the tanker water to douse the entire crowd for larger protests. I suggested that it should be a horrid color so that it doesn’t turn into a “badge of honor.”
Weeelll, one out of three suggestions ain’t bad.
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5:20 am on June 28th, 2008 8
I say let the Riot Police piss in the water cannon tanks!
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6:49 am on June 28th, 2008 9
Like most koreans I agree that we have to control the meat imported from USA, but this is not the way of doing it. This is perhaps one of the most shaming moments in modern korean history. We need to learn to behave before the international community.
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10:57 am on June 28th, 2008 10
[...] violent anti-US beef protests that have been paralyzing downtown Seoul continued on Thursday night, June 27th. The usual [...]
11:52 am on June 28th, 2008 11
I don’t understand…. don’t these people have jobs?? How do they find time to protest for weeks on end? How do they feed themselves?
There is obviously an agenda here that has nothing to do with tainted beef and everything to do with anarchy or perhaps even communism.
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12:05 pm on June 28th, 2008 12
You have to remember many of these anti-US groups are funded by the Korean government:
http://rokdrop.com/2006/05/19/anti-us-groups-in-korea-to-keep-government-subsidies-2/
Also remember the KTU and KCTU are unions that receive union dues to further fund their activities. So basically these people’s jobs are to be professional protesters. That is why they are so efficient at bashing in the Korean riot police.
Other groups like Hanchongnyun are college students which means they don’t have jobs that have ties to Pyongyang which they receive funding from as well:
http://rokdrop.com/2005/05/30/it-must-be-summer-time-in-korea/
We all know most Korean colleges are a joke and these students can cut class anytime they want to go protest, probably with the approval of their teachers.
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1:13 pm on June 28th, 2008 13
[...] Many other photos are at ROK Drop. [...]
2:04 pm on June 28th, 2008 14
I was told by my husband we may have come up for a command sponsered tour near Seoul. I was looking up info about family life and Korean customs and found this. Is it safe for my two young blonde, blue eyed girls? Do many Koreans feel this anti-American? My husband has been to Korea prior and claims it is safe. Anyone out there have advice for me?? Do you think we would be putting our children in danger??
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7:46 pm on June 28th, 2008 15
“Do you think we would be putting our children in danger??”
Put it this way.YES!!! Korea is NOT the USA. In Korea if your daughters get drunk then raped, then its legal. YES its true.
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200503/200503280039.html
If during her rape she doesn’t fight back hard enough, then it is the same as consent.
http://rokdrop.com/2006/07/16/philippina-woman-raped-in-korea-seeks-justice-2/
In the eyes of the Korean court, YOU and your CHILDREN don’t count. I know many foreigner women who were raped. When you tell Koreans about it, they laugh and grin.
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7:47 pm on June 28th, 2008 16
spam filter ate my comments. Ma’am, I would refuse to go if I was you.
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11:10 pm on June 28th, 2008 17
Household 6,
Command sponsored, you say? Congratulations. You’re about to enter a life of luxury and splendor unparalleled in any other assignment worldwide. Make sure you go to ACS for all the cultural tours and grab some peachy-keen Area II publications. Wherever you go on-post and many places off-post, the Koreans will ask if you’re command sponsored, and when you reply “yes,” you will be catered to and waited on with precedence over all the non-command sponsored urchins and untermensch. Your children will be safe and sound on post in the outstanding moral-ethical environment of a DoDDS school. As long as you ignore the ogling servicemembers and USFK civilian employees who troll the area in POV’s in front of the schools, you’re perfectly fine on fortress Yongsan. The Koreans on post will treat you extra special with never-before seen politeness and courtesy when they see blond hair and blue eyes, as if they were totally aloof of protests and anti-American sentiment. Make sure you request to live in Burke Towers and you could quite possibly go an entire tour without setting foot off post. It’s a bit more scary world out there in the trenches.
Once again, congratulations. Mentos!
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12:22 pm on June 29th, 2008 18
Household 6 I will pray to baby Jesus that you are safe. But I don’t think even the watchful eye of baby Jesus can help you.
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12:49 pm on June 29th, 2008 19
Household 6, your family will be fine in Korea especially if you live on post in Yongsan. All USFK family members and personnel are supposed to stay away from these protests and forewarning is put out way in advance.
IMO the biggest thing to worry about for two young girls in Seoul would be as Shattered point out, sexual assaults, not these idiot protesters. US soldiers and expats have been raped before in Korea and their attackers either not caught or released because the victim didn’t resist enough. Sexual assaults are not uncommon and punishment is very light if any for the perpetrators.
Common sense things like not letting your daughters run around all night in Seoul can largely prevent these things from happening. Seoul is big city and the vast majority of the people are nice and will leave you alone. If you take the same precautions you would take if you lived in a big city back in the US you will be alright.
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1:33 pm on June 29th, 2008 20
GI Korea,
Thanks for your reply! I am sure we will have no problem with our 5 year old daughters running the streets of Seoul. My father,& father in-law,and husband have all served tours in Korea before,all non-command sponsored, and have had many kind things to say about the Korean people. I doubt many Koreans are laughing and grinning at the rape of anyone. I think SOME PEOPLE either like to say bad things about good people or enjoy trying to scare people. I was just hoping some SOLDIERS or DEPENDENTS that have been stationed in Korea could tell me if they felt safe and if they met many Koreans who were anti-american.
Thanks for your reply.
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5:59 pm on June 29th, 2008 21
If your daughters are that young you will have no problems. Koreans really love young children so you will probably receive lots of compliments from them about your two young daughters. If you get stationed at Yongsan you will especially have great tour in Korea.
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9:56 pm on July 2nd, 2008 22
Some of these comments are ridiculous. Americans are safe and sound in Korea, these are ANTI-GOVERNMENT protests. The whole beef issue is only a way to get at the government for thie high-handed behaviour against its own people. I went to the protest one night recently and it was 95% peaceful – things have gotten out of hand since then, but considering that this country was a ruthless dictatorship that massacred its own people until the late 1980s, I’d say people are well entitled to be scared about the railroading of their civil liberties. I could walk down the main street of Seoul wearing an American flag and singing the star spangled banner, and I’d be perfectly safe.
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10:39 pm on July 2nd, 2008 23
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12:00 am on July 3rd, 2008 24
Liam it sounds you have case of Stockholm syndrome. I have seen it before when a English teacher will buy hook line and sinker anything his hogwan master tells him to think.
I would avoid the anti-American protests if I was you. But if you insist on proving the protest are not anti-American, then go ahead and post a picture of yourself with your American flag, at the anti-American protest. I suspect you are a liar, and wont, but go ahead.
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5:55 am on July 3rd, 2008 25
After the Seoul torch relay violence, Chinese netizens posted photos of violent Korean demonstrators attacking police in Korea and at the 2005 WTO forum in Hong Kong to illustrate the maxim “When in Rome…”.
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6:40 am on July 3rd, 2008 26
Houshold6, the protests usually are in a particular area and things don’t get bad until all of them assemble.
Besides you’ll be in Youngsan which is in a very safe area.
You should find out what part of Seoul to stay away from during orientation. Also ther are plenty of people to find out which areas to avoid during your stay.
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4:04 pm on July 30th, 2008 27
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