Well, wouldn’t have expected to see this on the Berlin Wall.
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Wall art?
This entry was written by Robert Koehler, posted on August 17, 2005 at 11:39 pm, filed under ROK-US Issues. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
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I just translated the Daum version of the article on my site. I was a little surprised myself.
Why doesn’t the US government just come right out and say “If you say the word you want us out, we’ll go”? I don’t mean in a round about wish washy way, but an outright declaration from Mr.Bush himself, speaking to the ‘human rights lawyer’ Mr. Roh and comrade Mr. Chung Dong Yong. This speech will shock some in the Korean government, but I think that’s the cold water in the face that’s needed here.
Kimbob, the removal of 12,500 troops was that cold water in the face.
Look, there is a small but substantial population of far-left true believers. They will milk the death of these two girls for all their worth because they know this situation is one that will rile people up. These people will always be doing things like this, so is it such a news event when someone sticks something like this up? Is Bush to react to it just because we think that will stick it to whoever?
There is anti-Americanism in every country, including America (though we call it something else). And here in Korea the leftists have learned how to manipulate the media (although the #1 paper is in the opposite camp) so why get one’s underwear in a bunch over this? At least no one’s setting off car bombs or setting explosives for American military vehicles.
The people who put this up and the people who worry about the U.S. leaving are not the same people. Why punish the second group because we don’t like the message of the first group?
Withdrawl of 12,000 US troops was a shocker to some, but look how it was reported by the US government. It was reported that they were being withdrawn because of Iraq, not because of anti-Americanism in Korea. The Korean media and the government eagerly parroted the Washington line because they’re in denial (well everyone’s in denial).
Right now the ‘first group’ is drowning out the ’second group’. I think if the US officials should just come right out and say we will leave soon, this will give a strong shot in the arm to the second group who then will say to the fence sitters ’see what they’ve done’? The first group will be told to shut beep up before they cause more trouble.
Other American allies (like Canada) can do more, like telling the Korean government, if no US military, then no more investment dollars for Korea. Britain has done that already.
This mainly just reflects badly on the judgement and maturity of Korean activists. Everyone on earth knows the difference between a traffic accident and a crime — except some Korean lefties.
Diese Leute! Warum denken sie sie k?nnen auf unsere Wand schreiben? Wenn sie etwas haben, ??ber Amerika zu sagen, lassen Sie sie es in ihrem Land sagen!
It must of been very difficult for whoever wrote that to resist the temptation to scrawl “Dokdo is Korea’s Land!”
Verdammen Sie diese Leute! Wer sind sie, zum zu gehen, jemand anderes zu entstellen Grenzsteine? Gehen Sie zur??ck zu Korea, wenn Sie das tun m?chten. Wir interessieren nicht uns f??r das Korea US Verh?ltnis und m??chten
nicht Sie h?ren, ??ber es zu jammern.
Yes, we may as a group be multitalented (as you wrote on another thread), but I’m really going to brush up on my completely forgotten German. “Was ist los?” is about all I know…oh, and “Ich bin Hans” and “Lumpi ist mein hund.”
Hmmm, the translation of the last passage came out more or less okay in Bablefish, except for the last clause: “over it too jammern.”
Are you German, James? “Unsere Wand” means “our Wall,” does it not?
kimbob wrote:Withdrawl of 12,000 US troops was a shocker to some, but look how it was reported by the US government. It was reported that they were being withdrawn because of Iraq, not because of anti-Americanism in Korea.Of course it was. Even if that were the case, they wouldn’t likely come out and say it.
But whatever the stated reason, it was meant at least in part as a wake-up call to all politicians in Korea (wherever they are in the spectrum): nothing forces us to keep the number of troops we have here, so this is how we are prepared to react if the current government’s foot-in-mouth disease isn’t brought under control soon.The Korean media and the government eagerly parroted the Washington line because they??re in denial (well everyone??s in denial).Speaking as someone in the media, I would have to say that your statement was the opposite of what was going on, at least on radio and on the ‘Net.Right now the ??first group?? is drowning out the ??second group??. I think if the US officials should just come right out and say we will leave soon, this will give a strong shot in the arm to the second group who then will say to the fence sitters ??see what they??ve done??? The first group will be told to shut beep up before they cause more trouble.And we all know how well the first group listens to the second group. The first group will be emboldened by Washington’s threat. And then the folks on Okinawa will, and then maybe even Guam.Other American allies (like Canada) can do more, like telling the Korean government, if no US military, then no more investment dollars for Korea. Britain has done that already.That would be preaching to the choir. The supporters already cite that as a reason for non-pro-USFKers to shut the fuck up. But I do agree that it would be a good message to be put out there, at least as a reminder.
“Diese Leute! Warum denken sie sie k??nnen auf unsere Wand schreiben? Wenn sie etwas haben, ?ber Amerika zu sagen, lassen Sie sie es in ihrem Land sagen!”
I left Germany when I was 9, but…
These people! Why do they think they can write on our wall? If they have something to say about the U.S., let them say it in their own country.
you got it.
Bleh. Translators mutate German grammar.
It’s 3 AM, and I meant mutilate.
It??s 3 AM, and I meant mutilate.To quote my favorite Korean ?????: “? ?.”
I know what I’m posting here is unrelated to this subject. But while going through the news today, I read this (about the Brazilian in Britain who was shot to death for being a visible minority), and it just horrified and angered me to the point that I had to post it here because there’s no other place for me to do so (any possibility Marmot, that someday we can have an open forum?).
But here it is:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com.....rnational/
But deep shadows were cast over the police after a leaked investigation report revealed they had identified Mr. de Menezes as a would-be bomber without looking at his face because their intelligence officer was busy urinating; that he had not run from them or jumped any barricades; that he was not wearing a bulky jacket; and that police had given him no indication he was being pursued. He had also been physically restrained in the train by one officer without resistance when a second fired seven shots into his head and one into his shoulder.
London police were following a new and controversial Israeli-influenced strategy known as Operation Kratos, whereby suspected bombers may be killed immediately with bullets to the head, without any shouted warning, if it is believed they pose an immediate threat of terrorist action.
Veterans of British terrorist-hunting campaigns from previous years said yesterday that the officers’ actions were bizarre. But they stressed the police must have been following direct orders.
Particularly alarming for minority groups was that the Brazilian had been followed from his apartment building and subsequently targeted because he had dark skin and “Mongolian eyes,” as police told investigators. While his building came under surveillance because of information on documents found with the four bombs that failed to explode the previous day, he appears to have been singled out largely because of his skin colour.
“The officers who have done this have to be sent to jail for life because it’s murder and the people who gave them the order to shoot must be punished,” the victim’s cousin, Alessandro Pereira, said in an interview with the Evening Standard newspaper.
“Jean was an innocent man who was shot in cold blood. We now know that he wasn’t wearing a bulky jacket, that he wasn’t acting suspiciously or that he was told to stop by the police,” Mr. Pereira added in an interview on British TV. “He was being restrained when he was shot and killed. My family deserve the full truth about his murder. The truth cannot be hidden any longer. It has to be made public.”
Policing experts said the shooting was particularly galling because it seemed to have been directly controlled by Scotland Yard.
Dogbert “It must of been very difficult for whoever wrote that to resist the temptation to scrawl ??Dokdo is Korea??s Land!??”
You’re becoming cynical as you drift into old age dogbert. everyone knows that a wall is no place for a phrase like that. that type of crap is best reserved for 8 year olds’ tae kwon do uniforms and pizza boxes.
camel96
are you implying then most koreans are of mentality of 8 y.o?
i have seen enough “dokudo is korea’s land” everywhere in the sightseeing places in japan, and even at the japanese sdf base at iraq.
Mae (#19), are you referring to a certain picture of a Korean soldier between two Japanese soldiers holding up a sign? If so, the picture is apparently a fake.
The person who defaced the Wall with that idiotic stencil (”Who is next?”–gee, retard, let’s ask Kim Jong Ill who he thinks is next) at least has the freedom to travel abroad to express his or her shallow understanding of geopolitics thanks to the U.S. troop presence, unlike those north of the DMZ. Unless this was done by someone from an N.K. mission overseas, it really shows the glibness of so-called leftists here who give progressive thought a bad name.
First I want to point out the obvious that Bush probably don’t threaten to “pull out” as that would be like saying, “yes KJI, your insane antics is working and our alliance is now over like you wanted it. Your hard work is now rewarded. Please continue to do what you do.”
Secondly, although unlikely, that wall “art” may not have necessarily been done by native Koreans. I mean, I see tons and tons of kids in lower east side here in manhattan wearing Che Guevarra paraphernelia and I don’t think most of them know his philosophy. Lots of kids are known to voice opinions and hold demonstrations over issues they are not very versed in. When I was in Amnesty in HS, I used to write tons and tons of hate mails to government officials over issues I didn’t really know anything about.
Amen to your first paragraph, Virtual Wonderer.
camel96
are you implying then most koreans are of mentality of 8 y.o?
i have seen enough ??dokudo is korea??s land?? everywhere in the sightseeing places in japan, and even at the japanese sdf base at iraq.
Japan and Iraq…?
Wow, that’s nothing.
Look where I’ve seen them.
http://img.photobucket.com/alb.....dokdo3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/alb.....dokdo5.jpg
You’d figure if even Jesus endorses who owns the friggin Liancort Rocks then they MUST belong to Korea.
camel96 gave us a couple hilarious Tokto photo links:http://img.photobucket.com/alb.....okdo3.jpgI knew the North Face gear they sell in Itaewon was pretty good, but I didn’t know it was so good that it could protect you from the -100 degree temperatures on the moon.http://img.photobucket.com/alb.....do5.jpgWow, this picture is old. It’s not even a black-and-white photo, but a black-and-white painting.You??d figure if even Jesus endorses who owns the friggin Liancort Rocks then they MUST belong to Korea.When I was in Ch’??ngju, the local Sunbog??m Church (the really fanatical ones that border on being a cult) had a big banner over their building saying something in Korean like “Tokto was created by God, God gave it to Korea, so Tokto is our land!”
Disgusting.