Korea Dispatch

Lee Myung Bak derided for his policies

I’ve been trying to wrap my head around these beef protests ever since they started a month ago here in Seoul. From peaceful candle light vigils to violent clashes between police and protesters the whole thing has just boggled my mind.

I remember my first reaction was to dismiss the protesters as naive. As the rest of the world was trying to figure out how to feed itself, here were mostly young Koreans refusing to accept food on the basis of very questionable rumors and reporting. I got angry, stirred by an overinflated sense of righteous indignation.

Then from beef the whole thing shifted to a condemnation of the newly elected president, the “Bulldozer” as he was once known, who not three months back won in a landslide victory on a very clearly stated campaign of fixing the economy and repairing ties with Washington. Where were all these folks during the election? Why’d they vote for him in the first place? People knew the kind of businessman he was, and the kind of leader he’d be. Why the surprise? 

Now what were once peaceful vigils in a show of concern for the nation’s health have turned into violent clashes between tear-gas wielding police and metal pipe swinging thugs. I’m not even sure anymore what the whole dispute is about. Where’s the beef in all of this?