Democracy Dying in South Korea
- After 28 years, the call for democracy still continues
What is happening in South Korea; The media, like the
government, refuses to report the truth - the people's desires for
democracy and calls for a better future.
South Koreans first started a silent candlelight protest on
May 2^nd^ 2008 against the newly elected president Lee's policies
concerning the free trade agreement, privatization, and the Korean
ownership of Dok-do. Mothers came with their children. High school
and middle school students came with their friends. Workers came
after work to hold candles and ask President Lee Myung-Bak to
reconsider his policies and live for the people. While more than
20,000 people congregated in the middle of Seoul and some main
cities of Korea, their numbers were reduced to a mere 5000 people
by Korea's main news stations, KBS and SBS, and newspapers Choseon,
Joonang, and Dong-A.
On May 24^th^, people congregated once again for a peaceful,
candle-lit protest. Frustrated by the government's ignorance and
media's indifference, a group of people stood up and started
marching towards the Blue House calling for President Lee's
impeachment. Suddenly, the unconcerned government responded with
violence. The peaceful protest soon deteriorated with threats and
armies of policemen. Harsh lights were forced upon the bewildered
people. A watering truck carrying water to spray onto the
protesters and disperse the crowd was also thrown in. A woman with
a seven-year-old son on her back asked for mercy. Her cry for help
was shut out by the police, who pushed her away roughly. Throughout
the night people's peaceful protest was trampled upon by the
police. 37 people were forcefully arrested, a few of them high
school students. Students, children, old men, and women were all
physically assaulted with shields, truncheons, and water. The
police, who were once the "protectors of the people" have become
their oppressors.
All of this is currently only known by the people who
participated in the protest that night. Korea's main news stations
have not reported the unjust physical assaults of the police on the
peaceful protesters. Rather they have distorted the truth, lying
about the physical actions of the police and the spraying of
forceful water onto the civilians, who were only holding candles
for protection. What once was a peaceful protest of 50,000 people
is being portrayed as a riot of 500 people by the main Korea media.
Word is spreading through the Korean internet, and more and
more people are assembling in the protest. Now people are not only
asking for the president's reconsideration of his policies, but
also for his impeachment, freedom of speech, and democracy in South
Korea. Already people are referring to the protest as a recurrence
of the democratic protest that happened 28 years ago in May in
Gwang-Ju, a city in South Korea, against military dictatorship.
While the president, the government, and the media remain
silent, ignoring the wills of the people, Koreans themselves are
collaborating to uphold the first rule of the national
constitution, which clearly states that Korea's sovereignty lies in
its people, and all state power comes from the people.
(i'm sorry if it felt like more of a petition. -someone else
wrote this on an internet comm - and it wasn't exactly for this
type of use(and yes,i got a permission from her). we're also
planning to upload more news-like ones later. but then, we didn't
really have enough time. people are getting beaten by police on
streets as i do this. every possible media is under control;
including major web search engines. hear us out.)