Once again there has been more dioxin found in beef imported from Chile:
South Korea’s national quarantine service said Wednesday that it has ordered a recall of Chilean pork after finding a package containing more of the toxic compound than permitted.
The National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said detailed tests conducted on a package containing 25.9 tons of meat from a Chilean exporter showed 2.3-15 picograms of the cancer-causing substance in the fat, which surpasses the 2-picogram limit set by Seoul. One picogram is equivalent to one trillionth of a gram. [Yonhap]
So with real tainted food coming from a country that Korea does have a Free Trade Agreement with, you would think the protesters who claim they are only concerned about food safety would be out protesting a renegotiation of the Korea-Chile FTA. However, what they are doing instead is continuing to launch their ridiculous crazy cow protests:
Efforts by hundreds of protesters to gather at Seoul Plaza for a candlelight vigil against U.S. beef imports collapsed due to a police blockade.
Police blocked entry into Seoul Plaza by deploying 15 police units and 30 buses around the plaza on Sunday.
However, a group of some five-hundred protesters managed to stage a rally at 7 p.m., as they convened before police began its barricade.
The demonstrators claimed the police had forcibly removed tents set up by protesters near the plaza, a move they said was disrupting peaceful gatherings. The protesters vowed to continue rallies until the government seeks a renegotiation on the beef issue with the U.S.
Police had initially said they would not use blockades if protesters did not engage in violent acts or dominate the streets until late hours. [KBS Global]
Just a further example that the US beef protests had more to do with anti-Americanism and politically neutering Korean president Lee Myung-bak then had to do with any concerns about public food safety.
Popularity: 4%
My StumbleUpon Page
9:09 am on July 24th, 2008 1
This is so true.
9:29 am on July 24th, 2008 2
The Chile item highlights the importance of the common man in these prolonged periods of unrest:
I tend to focus on “the average Korean” or “the society as a whole” —- something like Cows Gone Wild!! Hysteria can’t happen as it has - without a willingness of the society to entertain such events.
Back when the Chile FTA was first cut and before the signing, there were some protests by the usual farmers groups and the press played a long a somewhat - but it was just basically an item in the news. —- Average Koreans weren’t interested, and eventually, the regular groups gave up and moved on to something else.
But, when it is something like beef with the US or garlic with China or Dokto with Japan — the people are MUCH more receptive to the actions of the fringe civic groups.
It isn’t just an anti-US thing.
In fact, it seems Korean society has a habit of running wild against — who? — the nations in which they have the biggest national interests!!
But, the US and Japan are the prime targets of this misguided Korean nationalism. — The Olympic torch riots proved that to me…
9:55 am on July 24th, 2008 3
If I remember right, the farmers were taking violent action against the Chile FTA. It didn’t matter what country was going to slit their throats economically.
But GI, I question your use of a 7 Jul KBS article and representing it as current to illustrate your anti-American point. There are plenty of other examples like the protest this past Sunday.
But I again say the protests did not show any signs of anti-Americanism — though there was a lot of anti-US government feeling.
1:38 pm on July 24th, 2008 4
Kalani, the dioxin in the Chile beef was originally found and reported on KBS on 03JUL08. The beef protests continued well after 03JUL and still continue even to the present.
3:24 pm on July 24th, 2008 5
Yes, Kalani, there were about 500 anti-2MB demonstrators at Ch’onggye Plaza when I passed by at around 8pm last night (Wed.). It was an odd coalition of young female students and older men, many of them apparently union types (it was raining so hard to tell, what with the slickers they were wearing and all). I wonder if this is a new twist on the whole wonjo kyoje thing?
7:39 pm on July 24th, 2008 6
No more chilie for you
12:16 am on July 25th, 2008 7
I honestly can’t understand how long term expats with so much experience in Korea can say things like what you see is anti-US government feeling.
I respect Kalani’s opinion and listen or read the things he has to say. And he has a heck of a lot more experience living in Korea than I have — but I still have to go with what I know — when what I know seems so obvious.
I can remember a few others in articles describing how Korea’s activity differed from similar activity in Western Europe specifially in that Korea meshes everything together.
And that has been what I got from teaching adults in the late 1990s and through watching different events come and go.
To me, you would have to narrow the definition of anti-Americanism too much to say the beef issue isn’t part of it or that its an anti-Bush or anti-US government thing.
Yes. Anti-Americanism isn’t the kind of bigotry against the Japanese.
I wouldn’t say anti-US culture is bigotry.
But it has the same characteristic of often being irrational and to blend everything together as an excuse for the dislike or righteous rage.
3:52 pm on July 25th, 2008 8
USINKOREA I think I agree with your point(s) but unfortunately your post was far from cogent.
11:47 am on July 26th, 2008 9
“Koreans have strongly resisted the free trade agreement between Korea and the United States. However, they have no interest in Korea’s FTA with the European Union, which will affect their lives as much as the Korea-U.S. FTA. How can it be explained?”
Park Jae-wan, Korean senior presidential secretary for political affairs
I think most of us know the answer to this question.