Korea Times Advocates Moving MacArthur Statue?
UPDATE #2: One of my commenters Michael has pictures of Ike’s statue in France up on his site.
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UPDATE #1: Somebody has called the Korea Times on there misinformation attempt and the Korea Times actually published it! Will miracles never cease! Interestingly the Korea Times didn’t publish the author’s name who informed them that France does in fact have many statues not only honoring Eisenhauer but also other famous American generals. So whoever it was great job.
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This editorial in the Korea Times began by giving the same government talking points about the MacArthur Statue, that it should stay in Korea, that MacArthur with his faults still is the one that lead the Inchon Landing, blah, blah, blah, etc. Until this last paragraph where this was slipped in:
As President Roh made it clear that it is the government’s position to keep the statue, U.S. lawmakers had better wait and see. Nor is this an issue for partisan wrangling domestically. Related officials can consider relocating it to a war memorial from the present public park someday. We have never heard of a statue of Dwight Eisenhower in Normandy to commemorate D-Day.
Does this mean that the Korea Times wants the statue removed and sent to the Korean War Memorial instead? This statue has stood in that park for almost 50 years and now because of few communist hate groups don’t like seeing it, the Korea Times advocates removing the statue?
The people of Inchon are the ones who bought the statue and emplaced it in their park. They are the ones who should decide if MacArthur should go or not. Not the hate groups, the media, or national government, but the people of Inchon. Put it to a referendum to let the people of Inchon decide. That would end this controversy right then and there.
Of course the hate groups, that want to see the statue go, don’t want that because the people of Inchon will overwhelmingly vote to keep it. That would be democracy in action and that is not what these communists want to see. Apparently neither does the Korea Times.
The problem is that it isn't as small a problem as a few rabblerousers. The Times editor is not the only voice of influence in Korean social institutions.
The Korea Herald editor is my personal favorite. At one point in 2003, I wished I could buy a ticket and fly to Korea for a day and punch her in the nose. The Korea Times editor is just stupid with facts. He was the one who wrote about the DUI fatality a year ago that it was the "first time" a Korean court would get to put a GI on trial if let them this time.
But these two editors are just part of a much larger trend in educated Korean society. It touches all adults. It is found in the National Assembly too, and it is in pop culture.
That is why I want troops out.
The battle for the hearts and minds of Korea is a losing one. As more of the Korean War generation pass away, the more and more Korean society will be sliding toward the radical position —- though it will never really reach the level of the hardcore radicals of today.
Basically, the US keeping troops in Korea is waiting for two things —-
1. North Korea beginning to collapse and deciding to go for broke and really just for spite to take the South down too. I believe the highest ranking defector yet who said in the late 1990s that the North would never go down alone.
2. For South Korea society to reach a tipping point in the balance between wanting to see the US as an evil vs seeing it as a necessary evil —- at which point South Korea will choose as a society to unleash enough rage to force the US out, or something will get a snowball rolling they won't be able to pull back from becoming an avalanche. They almost failed to do so in early 2003.
usinkorea, it seems that you and I are part of a small minority that believes anti-Americanism is much more deeply rooted in Korean society than what most ex-pats think.
Call me pessimistic if you will, but beneath the surface of Korean society there is a swell of anti-Americanism just waiting to burst.
In addition to the statue in France. There is also a cemetery where thousands of soldiers were laid to rest after falling during d-day. I can't even imagine that any significant group of French citizens would dream of tearing down the statue or removing the remains of their liberators. A reminder also…WWII ended and Europe had to be rebuilt. Much of it under General George C. Marshall who directed the rebuilding of the region after the war. Someone can certainly correct me if my history is fuzzy here but not only did he organize the rebuilding allied countries such as of France, the Netherlands, Austria, etc. but he also directed the rebuildinig of the instigators of the war…Germany (and Italy). A statue of Marshall stands in front of the Marshall Center for Security studies in Garmish, Germany (near Munich). I don't see anyone trying to tear that down either. This whole thing in Korea is just a bunch of ill-educated troublemakers just trying to get some media attention to promote their racist agenda. It will amount to nothing in the end. I do wish, however, that the president of Korea would come out a little stronger against the protestors and really lambast them for embarassing themselves and their country.
There is a statue of General Dwight Eisenhower in Bayeux, France, located in Eisenhower Plaza. The Korea Times is consistently full of shit. Move the statue out of Inchon and all the U.S. troops out of Korea. They're not appreciated.