Well this ought to be fun to watch if the beef craziness is still going on, especially when the Bush administration is already having to make apologies for visiting in the first place:
A presidential aide says that the government has accepted the United States’ apology for unilaterally making public U.S. President George W. Bush’s plan to visit Korea.
The official told reporters Wednesday that the announcement of the presidential visit was not well coordinated. He was quick to add, however, that it was a mistake, not a serious diplomatic gaffe.
The official said that the two countries will officially announce Mr. Bush’s plannned visit to Seoul after discussions.
The White House announced in Washington that Mr. Bush will make a two-day visit to Seoul on August fifth on his way to Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. [KBS Global]
It is going to be an interesting dynamic to watch and see if the anti-US groups in Korea will come out in force against Bush or lay low until he leaves.
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11:43 am on July 3rd, 2008 1
Though I’ve been preaching that the current protests have not shown signs of anti-Americanism, I was just thinking of the perhaps that the PERCEPTION of anti-Americanism might be felt if on Friday (the 4th of July) there is violence from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). The KCTU said it is sending 50,000 members to Seoul to join the non-violent activist religious groups and experts fear that there will be violence.
If it turns violent on the 4th of July, perhaps the message of anti-Americanism in these protests might be PERCEIVED in the American media.
The US media must be asking the same questions as you of whether the anti-US groups will protest Bush or not and if there is violence on the 4th of July, I wonder if they will write about it in headlines in the US — “Radical Anti-US beef Forces Attack US Ally Lee Myeong-bak on America’s Birthday.”
Just scare-mongering…
12:32 pm on July 3rd, 2008 2
I can recommend a few love motels to Lee and Bush if they are looking for someplace discreet to play tops and bottoms!
4:03 pm on July 3rd, 2008 3
Oh my, aren’t we clever?
By the way, where did KDJ stay when he paid $500 million to take it up the keister from Kim Jong-il? And how about Roh Moo-hyun (details of that payoff haven’t come to light yet)? I trust Pyongyang has a special “love motel” set up for such visitors to play bottoms with the Dear Leader.