The FTA Has Turned Ugly

An anti-Free Trade Agreement protest of 25,000 has clogged downtown Seoul, and on that day, it wasn’t safe to look “American” on the streets, not even for the Swiss.

A Swiss man and two friends were set upon by a mob of angry protestors who apparently mistook them for Americans on Wednesday. The group of 10, who were taking part in a Gwangwhamun rally to protest against an FTA between Korea and the U.S., approached the man and his friends shouting abuse in Korean, most of which he could not understand.

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Jerry, 32-year-old Canadian who has lived in Korea for eight years, says he has also encountered the force of Korean protest. When he first came to Korea he found the spectacle of the demonstrations fascinating and even mimicked some of the chants to learn the language.

Nice of them not to lynch anyone, though. Rest assured that no one will be arrested or prosecuted.

A new America-hating cause celebre has been found, and it’s 2002 all over again. Eventually, they’ll be attacking, stabbing, kidnapping, and spitting on our troops again. How did we get to this state of affairs? The Roh government tried to pursue the economic benefits of the FTA without bothering to explain them to the Korean people. It refused to confront the deceptions, incitements, and hypocrisy of the pro-North Korean, anti-American left (whose adherents are past or potential Roh voters). They seized control of the debate by acting like thugs, and the government yielded its monopoly on violence to thugs in the service of tyranny. Not even the mothers of policemen are safe.

Since the FTA seems about as good as dead, I just wonder why we’re subjecting ourselves to needless acrimony at the cost of ever-worsening relations. Can we just call off this whole exercise, already? And for good measure, can we please announce the start of FTA talks with Japan?