Liberation Day & Kang Ki-kab
Korean President 이명박
Saturday, 15 August marked the 64th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. Known as 광복절 (Gwangbokjeol; Restoration of Light Day) in South Korea and 조국해방의 날 (Chogukhaebangŭi Nal; Liberation of the Fatherland Day) in North Korea it is a national holiday in both countries commemorating the surrender of Japan that signaled the official end of World War Two. (Of note, the day is also celebrated as an official holiday in the US state of Rhode Island. Huh.) There were plenty of events going on to mark the occasion, and it looked like quite a few families were out enjoying the sunny - if hot - weather that we had over the weekend.
I spent the afternoon in Changdeokgung with a friend and her mother, followed by a walk up to the Daehangno district of Seoul where we encountered a political rally-cum-demonstration held by the Democratic Labor Party of Korea (민주노동당). While the party's name itself might not mean much to expats here, the antics of party president and current National Assembly member Kang Ki Kab (강기갑) ought to be recognizable to those who keep up with Korean blogs. For anyone interested in a quick introduction to what goes on in Korea's National Assembly I would suggest checking out Brian in Jeollanam-do's series on Extreme Championship Government. Fun stuff.
민주노동당 rally
There were plenty of riot police gathered along Daehangno - mostly sitting on their riot shields and trying not to get heat stroke out in the sun - but apparently they saw quite a bit of action in other parts of the city. Getty Images provides several instances (1, 2, 3) of protesters doing their best to make life hell for the 20-somethings serving out their conscription in the police ranks. Things in Daehangno seemed pretty laid-back while we were there -- folks handing out green balloons, the occasional speaker trying to rile up the crowd without much success, and - definitely saving the best for last - holy crap, Kang Ki Kab! Korea's craziest politican* didn't seem to make much of a scene and I never did hear him say a single word the whole time we were near one another. Then again, why do any talking when actions speak louder than words.
He seemed willing enough to have his photo taken with a complete stranger although this may have been due to the fact that there weren't any gavels present to smash. Otherwise, he may well have been more dangerous than Donkey Kong on steroids.
* Actually, I think that honor properly belongs to Huh Kyung Young (허경영). President of the Economic Republican Party (경제공화당), he ran for office during the last presidential election and received 0.4% of the vote. In addition to claiming an IQ of 430 he also said he can communicate with aliens, has the ability to levitate and heal others with his supernatural abilities, and that he saw the ghosts of Roh Moo-hyun and Michael Jackson three days before their deaths. Oh yeah, and Wikipedia reports that he came out with a digital single over the weekend. I wonder how well that's going to do ...