Protests in Seoul

Every now and again, the Korean public protests against something. Last summer it was American beef, now, it's against heavy-handed police tactics and/or relocation of people to make way for redevelopment. Back in January, there was a protest in Yongsan. The police were called to the site, and after everything calmed down, six people were dead, including one police officer. The protest was against proposed redevelopment of the area -- the city wants to move people out of the area in which they have either lived or worked for many years or even generations, to make room for new development. The city has offered people money to move into new apartments, however, I think many of these people cannot afford the costs of living in a newer, more modern apartment with the associated utilities and other costs. Also, the business owners in the area, which would be the restaurants and small shops, may be concerned that if they move to another area, they would lose their customer base. Many of these small shops cater to the people living in the immediate area. If the restaurant owner is forced to relocate, they believe that they won't have any customers in the new site, and would not be able make enough money to survive.

While the original protest against the relocation of people and businesses occurred relatively near where I work, I didn't see any of the action. But I do see some of the impacts of these protests. If there is a protest at or near the site of the original protest and fire, then the road I take to get home becomes a parking lot. Now, the protesters have moved to central Seoul, and the protest has become more of a general social event. Each evening now, on my way home from work, the bus has to make its way through a gauntlet of traffic, pedestrians, and police. The police have relocated their armored buses and lined them up nose to tail along the main street. There are lines and lines of policemen on the sidewalks along the buses, with the occasional groups of four roaming around.

In general, with the exception of the bus ride through the main intersection, I stay away from all of this action. I've been told that foreigners will be safe, that no one will bother us. But that still doesn't mean I want to test that theory. So for now, we'll be heading in other directions for our walks and avoiding the central area. But I do find it somewhat intriguing to actually have a front row seat for all this -- I can see one of the main intersections where the action is taking place from my apartment. Fortunately, we have the option of taking the subway and can go out the back door and in the opposite direction to catch line 5.