Comments | anthropologist: The Exciting World of South Korean Protests

kenosis in anthropologist

The Exciting World of South Korean Protests

Jul 17, 2007 22:40

For a country of about 50 million people, there are a lot of protests in South Korea. With a national average of 11,000 public protests a year, the average South Korean riot policeman is mobilized to contain 85 demonstrations a year.Following this link will bring you to pictures including ( Read more... )

public behavior, asia

Comments 8

neoreulwonhae July 18 2007, 04:33:07 UTC

Wow. Those are amazingly ridiculous. I was expecially appalled by the one where they tore apart a live pig. A live pig. I just. Wow. :/

neoreulwonhae July 18 2007, 04:33:28 UTC

*especially

thorny_rose July 18 2007, 08:18:44 UTC

I think I'm gonna like it there.

kenosis July 18 2007, 15:00:20 UTC

It looks like a fun country as long as you're not a pig. I know a few people that live there and they really like it.

banana_republik July 18 2007, 15:09:44 UTC

This really shouldnt be a surpise. As far as public dissent goes, especially radical or confrontation dissent, what we see in the English-speaking world is minor and pathetic. We've been brain washed by the hand outs of representational democracy and consumer capitalism. Its gross.

kenosis July 18 2007, 15:21:25 UTC

Who's "we" and what system of economic organization and government do the South Koreans have?

banana_republik July 18 2007, 15:30:56 UTC

We-->citizens of the english speaking first world minus large groups of the socioeconomically disenfranchized who engage in struggle with capitalism and the state. In Canada, for example, that would include many First Nations people.

Concerning South Korea, South Korea has been a democracy since 1987 (according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_South_Korea) and it is capitalist society, however, due to the history of colonialism, imperialism, oppression on the planet they are not the greatest benefactors of the capitalist system. And thus regularly lash out against it compared to us folk living in the belly of the beast, the English speaking First World.

kenosis July 18 2007, 16:40:01 UTC

I would, then, expect places with little to no history of being colonized to be benefactors of the capitalist system more than South Korea. The track record of regions like Tibet, Sikkim, Bhutan, and (to a lesser extent) Ethiopia and Liberia aren't very good at arguing that poverty is caused by colonialism or imperialism, though. If you'd like to argue that colonial policies may have had a hand in generating institutions that, in turn, economic development, I think you might have something. But arguing that former colonies - like America, Ireland, Hong Kong, or Singapore - are poorer because they were, themselves, once colonies ... well, you can see the problems with that. They have a lot in common, one thing as being the receiving end of imperialism ( ... )