This entry will be a repost from DemocracyKorea. It is an excellent bilingual* (English and Korean) resource for what is currently happening in the streets of South Korea. This is the news you won’t read in the major papers or see on the news channels. Please join us in supporting what is happening in Korea — a groundswell for democracy that cannot be ignored!!
300,000 and Still Peaceful
Despite the heat and occasional showers, hundreds of thousands of citizens gathered in Seoul Plaza and overflowed into surrounding streets yesterday evening. The police, as usual, has blocked every path to the Blue House; indeed, it seems that the President’s hiding place (wait, his residence) is the only place in the country that is being guarded. Well, we don’t give a damn about it anymore. Last week’s attempts to breach the barricade and march to the Blue House resulted in hundreds of serious injuries, and repeating such a brutality would only give the pro-government media another excuse to paint us as a lawless crowd of traitors and communists. Now the protesters know better, thanks to the religious leaders (Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, etc.) who have been preaching and practicing the art of nonviolence this past week. So we remain peaceful in our protests, notwithstanding our clear numerical superiority against the police.
Thanks to the Catholic priests who brought peace back to Seoul Plaza, their symbol — the rose — has been added to the list of our standard gadgets, along with the usual candles and various pickets.
Try counting the heads. For your information, Seoul Plaza (the square in the left marked by a few parked vehicles) can accommodate up to 50,000 people according to the police’s own guidelines. Now the police is saying that our number is barely more than 50,000, in an attempt to make it look as if anti-government protesters comprise only a tiny minority of the citizenry. Well, they have just contradicted themselves. This picture alone shows more than 100,000 people, and the street in the right is just one of the many streets that were packed with demonstrators.
Makeshift banners say “I love peaceful protests” and “I support the candlelight.” Thousands of others are similarly calling for peace, in order to keep at bay those few individuals who might want to do something nasty. (You know, there are bound to be a few such folks when you have so many people in one place.)
Street sections closest to police barricades have always been a site of violence and brutal suppression, so volunteers took it upon themselves to occupy those spots before anyone else does. These men, women, and nuns in green vests pledged to protect the citizens from the police in case violence breaks out. Thankfully, they haven’t had anything to do so far (2:30 a.m.)
Men in military uniforms (members of the reserve forces) also helped keep the peace. They are civilians for all practical purposes, but we know that these men are sturdy.
Nightfall. The number of protesters hasn’t decreased at all.
We staged a great “snake march” through downtown Seoul during the evening hours. Whenever we found our path blocked by the police, we simply took a different street. Many drivers who had to stop because of us honked in support nonetheless; we also saw dozens of people flying the National Flag on their cars.
We did this on June 10, and we did it again. We lined the central lines of downtown streets with bright candlelight. The banner in the background represents one of the latest additions to the People’s list of demands: a better policy for the protection of part-time workers. This issue has been around for at least a year in fact, but its proponents recently decided to join forces with candlelight protesters. Though many of us differ in our ideological allegiances, we welcome anyone who is willing to speak up peacefully but forcefully.
Won Buddhists — members of a Buddhist sect native to Korea — march at the front of the rally. Along with Catholics, Protestants, and a few other Buddhist sects, Won Buddhist leaders have decided to support the People’s causes. Their banner calls for the government to “humbly accept the last chance that the People are giving it.”
Another street also gets flooded with protesters.
A traditional band plays music while a Buddhist monk dances to the rhythm. Young people improvised street concerts at several locations in downtown Seoul, sometimes drawing crowds of several thousand or more.
This poster shows Uh Chung-Soo, head of the national police forces, who is primarily responsible for the brutal crackdown that has resulted in nearly 1,000 arrests and 600 injuries over the last seven weeks. As you might have guessed, the poster says “WANTED” and lists Uh’s crimes. Ironically, the number quoted at the bottom (112) is the Korean equivalent of 911, a number that will get you to the police itself.
Guy Fawkes masks, a fairly common sight in Western protests nowadays, showed up for the first time in Seoul last night. The character “V” in the film V for Vendetta wears this mask as he calls for the People to rise up against a tyrannical government.
More “V”s here. About 30 citizens drew attention to themselves by wearing the complete “V” outfit (black hat and black cloak) and holding a banner that says “The candlelight will win in the end.” Unlike in the movie, they didn’t use violence. The climax of that movie contains a scene in which the police runs away before the protesters, allowing the latter to march freely. Maybe that — rather than blowing up the Parliament — was what these 30 citizens had in mind.
It is nearly 3:00 a.m., but over 40,000 citizens remain in Seoul Plaza. This time last week, hundreds of people were running away from the police bleeding. In contrast, it is so peaceful now. People are singing; families are having fun; couples are dating; and volunteers are giving out food and drink — all while tens of thousands of candles speak for our Sovereign rights. There are also volunteers who are cleaning up the Plaza. And the best thing of all: we don’t see those haughty politicians anywhere. Many members of the nation’s several opposition parties are actually out there among the People, but we didn’t let them be conspicuous. Tonight, everyone is a citizen of the Republic of Korea. Nothing more, nothing less.
sahngnoksoo 
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